Is there a risk of blackouts in the UK? How much spare capacity the electricity grid has, the grid operator's warnings and gas supply. Most of the time the margin is comfortable; this page shows when it is not.
Electricity grid strain and blackout risk
updated 13 Nov 08:14No warnings in force. The last one was on Monday 9 November. If supply gets tight, the steps below light up in order.
Electricity Margin Notice or Capacity Market Notice
Supply is tight. Nothing for you to do. Power stations are being asked to produce more.
Demand Flexibility Service
You may be asked to use less. Some households are paid to cut back at peak times. It is voluntary.
High Risk of Demand Reduction
Power cuts are possible. Charge phones and power banks. Check on anyone who relies on powered equipment.
Demand Control Imminent
Power cuts within 30 minutes. Expect to lose power for a time. Follow your network operator's advice.
How much spare power is expected each day?
Spare power at the busiest time of day (early evening), after the safety reserve. Taller is safer.
Spare power over the next 12 hours
Updated every half hour. It dips when demand is high, usually 4pm to 7pm.
Details for specialists
Status is the worst of three readings. Notices: AMBER while a margin or capacity notice or the Demand Flexibility Service is in force, RED at a High Risk of Demand Reduction or Demand Control Imminent notice. Days 2 to 5: AMBER when the lowest surplus is under 3,000 MW, RED under 0 MW. Next 12 hours: AMBER when the de-rated margin falls under 4,000 MW, RED under 2,000 MW or at a loss-of-load probability of 1%. On 5 years of history a surplus above 6,000 MW two days ahead was almost never followed by a tight day; below zero, about a third were. The forecast further out runs about 1,400 MW optimistic and misses some tight days, so days 6 to 14 are an outlook only. 1 GW is 1,000 MW. Spare power each day is NESO's operating surplus after reserve; over the next 12 hours it is the de-rated margin. Source: Contains BMRS data © Elexon Limited copyright and database right 2026 (NESO forecast).Electricity and gas system
Wind output, % of normal for the time of year
Cold: heating degree days above (+) or below normal
Gas share of generation, %
Net imports through interconnectors, GW (daily average)
GB power price, £/MWh (Elexon market index)
UK gas in store by gas year (Oct to Sep), TWh
EU gas storage, % full by gas year (AGSI+)
Gas and power prices, £/MWh
Daily data to 12 November 2026. Wind and gas share from Elexon generation by fuel; temperature is the Met Office Hadley Centre Central England series, with normal as the 1991 to 2020 average; a heating degree day is a degree below 15.5°C. Net imports are flows on the interconnectors, imports less exports; below zero Britain is exporting. Gas price is the system average price.
National detailNational electricity and gas supply
National electricity and gas supply
AMBER · Elevatedas of 2026-11-13 08:00 UTC (58 min ago)No margin notices are collected yet. Status is a proxy: AMBER when the daily power price is at least 2x its 90-day median or GB medium-range gas in store is below 80% of prior years for the date.
Daily power price gbp per mwh
Generation mix now
| Source | Gw | Share percent |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 9.4 | 23.9 |
| Solar | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| Gas | 10.6 | 27.0 |
| Nuclear | 5.1 | 13.0 |
| Biomass | 3.1 | 7.8 |
| Hydro and pumped storage | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| Coal, oil and other | 2.9 | 7.4 |
| Net imports | 6.4 | 16.3 |
Gas
| Item | Value | Unit | Date | Public |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB long-range gas in store (Rough) | 0 | GWh | 2026-11-12 | no |
| GB medium-range gas in store | 9,780 | GWh | 2026-11-12 | no |
| GB medium-range store vs prior years for the date | 57.9 | % | 2026-11-12 | no |
| GB LNG terminal stocks | 8,854 | GWh | 2026-11-12 | no |
| EU storage | 71.2 | % full | 2026-11-11 | no |
Source: Contains BMRS data © Elexon Limited copyright and database right 2026 · BMRS Data Licence; Carbon Intensity API (NESO) · CC BY 4.0; Sheffield Solar PV_Live · CC BY 4.0; National Gas data portal; GIE AGSI+