§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the demand for electricity was on 10 March between 19.00 and 19.30: how much capacity was available; and if she will make a statement. [162202]
§ Mr. TimmsOn 10 March, maximum demand between 19.00 and 19.30 was 49,012 MW. Peak demand for the day was 49,774 MW in the period from 18.30 to 19.00. Throughout these periods, generation capacity available in the market exceeded NGC's Reserve Margin of 3,500 MW.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with National Grid Transco about the level of spare capacity on 10 March between 19.00 and 19.30: and if she will make a statement. [162203]
§ Mr. TimmsDTI receives system notices from NGC as a matter of course. The system notice issued by NGC on the morning of 10 March was a NISM—Notice of Insufficient System Margin. NISMs are part of normal operations and are issued to signal to the market that additional reserve is desirable. The market responded to the 10 March NISM by making available additional generation capacity.
NGC confirmed to DTI officials that a NISM had been issued, and provided updates during the day as the situation improved until the NISM was cancelled.
§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with National Grid Transco about(a) the level of maintenance and (b) the state of repair of the electricity network; and if she will make a statement. [162204]
§ Mr. TimmsAs part of the regular contacts Ministers and officials have with National Grid Transco, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with Roger Urwin the company's Chief Executive on 9 February. A range of issues were discussed at the meeting including those arising from the Engineering Inspectorate's investigation following the major power failures last year. Maintenance and repair were factors that were looked at as part of the investigation.