National Grid Electricity System Operator (NESO) has published its 2025 Summer Outlook, anticipating record-low electricity demand on Great Britain’s transmission network—potentially falling below 13.4GW.
This follows recent surges in solar power generation, with a new record of 12.68GW already set this spring, exceeding Britain’s total import capacity from European interconnectors.
The anticipated dip in summer demand mirrors the previous low set during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020.
This year, NESO’s advanced operational tools, such as the Negative Reserve Active Power Margin (NRAPM), may be used to ensure stability across the grid, as increasing renewable generation, particularly solar, continues to reduce the demand placed on the national transmission system.
NESO is confident in its ability to manage these conditions thanks to its 2025 ambition to operate a zero-carbon network when market conditions allow.
Since 2019, NESO has pioneered innovative pathfinder projects to deliver key stability services—traditionally supplied by fossil and nuclear generation—through low-carbon technologies like battery storage, hydro, solar and wind.
Dr Deborah Petterson, Director of Resilience and Emergency Management at NESO, said:
One of the great engineering challenges of decarbonisation is managing our system when there is lower demand coinciding with higher levels of generation from renewable sources.
“So, to deliver our 2025 zero carbon ambition we have made great progress re-engineering how we operate the national electricity network. These innovations will not only further increase the resilience of Great Britain’s national electricity network but will also deliver economic benefits in balancing the system by improving the flexibility and competitiveness of running the electricity network at low demand.”
These developments mark a vital step in the energy transition, supporting a cleaner, more flexible and resilient electricity network for the future.
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