Latest news with #NationalGrid
Leader Live
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Leader Live
Halkyn Road linking Flint with A55 set for 3-week closure
Halkyn Road, between the A55 Pentre Halkyn and Bryn Glas, Flint will close to motorists on July 8. Where the road closure will be in place. (Image: roadworks page) The closure will be for an approximate distance of 446 metres and is to facilitate a "critical upgrade" of overhead power lines with associated works for National Grid. The closure is set to last 21 days, and the alternative route for vehicles by it will be signed accordingly. Halkyn Road is commonly used by motorists leaving the A55 heading to Flint.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Boston man in bid to win UK's strongman crown
A National Grid worker from Lincolnshire is taking part in the final of the UK's Strongest Man contest this Mason, from Boston, will be competing against 15 others in the televised competition in include a 12-tonne truck pull, bending a metal bar and carrying a 310lb (140kg) sack three times over a 27-yard (25m) Mason, who works as a cable jointer, credits working outdoors as helping with his training. The 35-year-old began his career just after the Covid outbreak when his gym installed some strongman equipment."I had a play and fell in love with it," he entered his first competition in 2021 and soon won Boston's Strongest Man, before working his way up to national 25 stone (about 160kg), Mr Mason's preparation for the three-day event involves consuming 7,000 calories a day, with a breakfast including eight said winning the event would "be amazing" and added: "I'm just going to enjoy it and give it my all."I never expected to get to this level as it is, so to be crowned the UK's strongest man is like the ultimate dream."Mr Mason's supporters from Boston will be at the event at the Motorpoint to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
South Wales Argus
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Matt Baker climbs pylon in Vale of Glamorgan for new show
Matt Baker, best known for presenting Countryfile and Blue Peter, scaled the structure near Aberthaw as part of the final episode of his More4 series, Matt Baker's British Isles. The episode, which aired on Tuesday, June 24, featured Mr Baker working alongside National Grid engineers as they carried out essential upgrades to transmission pylons on the South Wales coast. Gareth Davies, an overhead line engineer who mentored Mr Baker during the climb, said: "It was great to show Matt how our overhead lines teams operate, and talk him through what's involved. "We're proud of the work we do to keep power flowing safely around Wales and beyond, and hopefully, viewers of the show will be interested to learn what we do and how we do it. "We're always looking to bring in new talent to our overhead lines teams across the country. "Hopefully, this will encourage people to look to these roles as a career. "It's rewarding work, and there aren't many offices with such a good view." Before the climb, Mr Baker completed safety training at National Grid's centre in Eakring, Nottinghamshire, and a familiarisation climb on a de-energised pylon. He then joined the team in South Wales to observe the replacement of ceramic insulators with lighter polymeric versions. The upgrade work forms part of National Grid's wider investment plans. The company is planning to invest £35 billion in its transmission network across Wales and England between 2026 and 2031. The investment aims to support growing demand from data centres, gigafactories, and new electricity generation sources such as wind and solar. The National Grid team has since completed upgrades along the full route from Aberthaw to Cilfynydd substation, helping to futureproof the energy network in the region.
Leader Live
a day ago
- Business
- Leader Live
British billpayers saved £300m through energy flexibility in 2024, figures show
The data shows households and businesses reduced their bills by changing the time or day they used electricity – such as by cooking or washing earlier or later in the day, or setting electric cars to charge at specific times. In the past when most of the UK's electricity generators were fossil-fuel power plants, supply of electricity adapted to demand. Today as the wind and the sun influence when renewables are being produced, incentivising users to adapt their demand to when there is a lot of supply can help take pressure off the grid. Flexibility can also be a valuable tool to optimise capacity while longer-term infrastructure upgrades are planned and delivered. The Energy Network Association (ENA) on Thursday said electricity networks in Great Britain secured a record high of 9 gigawatts (GW) of flexibility last year. In turn, a total of 22 gigawatt-hours of flexibility was harnessed across the network – enough to power almost 7,000 average UK households for a full year, according to the figures. It represents a three-fold increase since the previous year, which is the biggest jump since data collection began in 2017, ENA said. The industry group also revealed that flexibility is projected to deliver over £3 billion in savings over the next three years. This will be driven by lower contributions to infrastructure costs, reduced connection charges and the increased use of low-carbon energy sources, it said. Dr Avinash Aithal, head of open networks at ENA, said: 'It's been tremendous to see the boom in the flexibility market over the past year. 'Flexibility is becoming more mainstream thanks to industry efforts to remove barriers to participation and simplify the market processes overall. The outcome of our efforts are now clear to see, with significant savings for consumers and the wider energy industry. 'Great Britain is now a global leader in energy flexibility,' he added. 'Together, ENA and industry have paved the way for the whole of Great Britain to participate in and benefit from the energy flexibility market.' Last year, a majority (80%) of flexibility came from non-fossil fuel sources – 10 times the capacity of the UK's largest solar farm, ENA said. While the majority of flexibility services came from commercial organisations, householders can also reap the benefits of using electric car chargers and heat pumps, for example, at non-peak times. It comes as Ofgem said the energy market needs more complex time-based tariffs to encourage consumers to use power at different times. The regulator's chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, told MPs that the tariffs would in some cases 'dramatically reduce bills'. The tariffs, also called time-of-use (TOU) tariffs or multi-rate tariffs, offer cheaper electricity at times when there is lower demand on the National Grid.
North Wales Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
British billpayers saved £300m through energy flexibility in 2024, figures show
The data shows households and businesses reduced their bills by changing the time or day they used electricity – such as by cooking or washing earlier or later in the day, or setting electric cars to charge at specific times. In the past when most of the UK's electricity generators were fossil-fuel power plants, supply of electricity adapted to demand. Today as the wind and the sun influence when renewables are being produced, incentivising users to adapt their demand to when there is a lot of supply can help take pressure off the grid. Flexibility can also be a valuable tool to optimise capacity while longer-term infrastructure upgrades are planned and delivered. The Energy Network Association (ENA) on Thursday said electricity networks in Great Britain secured a record high of 9 gigawatts (GW) of flexibility last year. In turn, a total of 22 gigawatt-hours of flexibility was harnessed across the network – enough to power almost 7,000 average UK households for a full year, according to the figures. It represents a three-fold increase since the previous year, which is the biggest jump since data collection began in 2017, ENA said. The industry group also revealed that flexibility is projected to deliver over £3 billion in savings over the next three years. This will be driven by lower contributions to infrastructure costs, reduced connection charges and the increased use of low-carbon energy sources, it said. Dr Avinash Aithal, head of open networks at ENA, said: 'It's been tremendous to see the boom in the flexibility market over the past year. 'Flexibility is becoming more mainstream thanks to industry efforts to remove barriers to participation and simplify the market processes overall. The outcome of our efforts are now clear to see, with significant savings for consumers and the wider energy industry. 'Great Britain is now a global leader in energy flexibility,' he added. 'Together, ENA and industry have paved the way for the whole of Great Britain to participate in and benefit from the energy flexibility market.' Last year, a majority (80%) of flexibility came from non-fossil fuel sources – 10 times the capacity of the UK's largest solar farm, ENA said. While the majority of flexibility services came from commercial organisations, householders can also reap the benefits of using electric car chargers and heat pumps, for example, at non-peak times. It comes as Ofgem said the energy market needs more complex time-based tariffs to encourage consumers to use power at different times. The regulator's chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, told MPs that the tariffs would in some cases 'dramatically reduce bills'. The tariffs, also called time-of-use (TOU) tariffs or multi-rate tariffs, offer cheaper electricity at times when there is lower demand on the National Grid.
