E.ON withdraws gas power plant from grid

E.ON has announced its Killingholme CCGT plant will no longer contribute to grid capacity. The gas power station on the banks of the Humber estuary has 900MW of Transmission Entry […]

E.ON has announced its Killingholme CCGT plant will no longer contribute to grid capacity.

The gas power station on the banks of the Humber estuary has 900MW of Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) which will now no longer be available to National Grid. E.ON has also said the power station is at serious risk of permanent closure, subject to the outcome of an ongoing tender for National Grid’s Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR) service.

E.ON UK Chief Executive, Tony Cocker, said: “First and foremost we are focused on supporting our colleagues who are potentially affected by this change and will work closely with them in the coming weeks and months to ensure the best possible options are available on an individual level.

“The reality, however, is that the market conditions for gas-fired power stations are extremely difficult and without support from the SBR contract, permanent closure is a real and present risk to Killingholme. Over the last few years we have invested billions in the UK’s energy infrastructure but there is no doubt that the challenging operational environment continues to provide uncertainty and risk that must be addressed.”

Killingholme, which was entered into the recent UK Capacity Market Auction but was unsuccessful, is a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine comprising two 450MW modules.

Approximately 50 people in total are employed at the North Lincolnshire site. E.ON have not ruled out redundancy as a possibility if the SBR tender is unsuccessful.

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