Electricity Supply (Hansard, 30 October 2003)

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contingency plans are in place to deal with a sudden reduction in electricity supply; and whether priority areas to be supplied have been designated. [134818]

§ Mr. Timms
Sudden reductions in electricity are handled by National Grid and the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) using the procedures set out in Operating Conditions 6 of the Grid Code (www.nationalgrid.com/ukindinfo_code/).
Generally, demand reductions of up to about 10 per cent. will be handled by voltage reductions. Most consumers would be unaffected—lights may flicker or dim for the period necessary. Some sensitive industrial equipment, such as alarms, may be affected.
If immediate demand reductions above that figure are needed, it is likely that customers would be cut off. The speed with which action has to be taken, and the loads involved, means that isolations are made in local areas at primary sub-station level. This action reduces the likelihood of incidents such as cascade tripping, which were seen recently in the US and Italy. However, discrimination between customers in those areas cannot he implemented.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to avoid electricity power cuts to(a) domestic and (b) commercial users. [134872]

§ Mr. Timms
I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 14 October 2003,Official Report, column 118W.

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the benefits of generating electricity closer to the source of demand. [134128]

§ Mr. Timms
Through the New and Renewable Energy Programme, the DTI has funded a number of assessments of the benefits of distributed generation, i.e. smaller generation, which is connected to the distribution networks. Some of the most recent include a study of the impact of distributed generation on network security by UMIST and an investigation of the benefits of "islanded" generation operation by PB Power. Both these studies were undertaken in 2002. Currently, the DTI is funding work through the Distributed Generation Coordinating Group to produce guidance on the potential contribution of distributed generation to the security of the distribution networks, to be used in the design and operation of those networks.
Many of the projects relating to distributed generation initiated by the New and Renewable Energy Programme can be accessed via the DTI's website and a complete list of completed and on-going projects can be provided on request. Details of projects commissioned through the Distributed Generation Coordinating Group can be viewed on the Group's website at: distributed-generation.gov.uk