The coming decade will see many changes in the UK’s energy infrastructure and electricity markets, making it essential new generation plant comes online as scheduled, according to DECC.

Energy Minister Charles Hendry today gave to Parliament the 2011 Statutory Security of Supply Report (SSSR), produced jointly with Ofgem and with input from National Grid. The report details the factual information to the market on security of supply.

National Grid project that peak electricity demand will remain relatively stableat around 60 GW, but it is the generation capacity, currently at 90.2 GW that is set to cause the headaches. With some 19.1 GW of current coal, oil and nuclear plants potentially closing by 2020, the gap between peak use and our generation capacity is quickly narrowing.

According to the report, however, around 8.3 GW of new plant is already being built. 4.3 GW of this is gas plant and 3.6 GW is renewable generation. A further 13.2 GW has planning permission, of which 8.7 GW is gas-fired generation and 3.7 GW renewable making the total of new and consented plant greater than the amount we are set to lose at 21.5GW.