GB Grid Stability Digest
The week on the grid — 24–30 August 2026
Issue 2026-w35
Frequency spent 2.5 minutes outside 50 ± 0.2 Hz across one separate excursion, the longest 2.5 minutes, ranging 49.803 Hz–50.233 Hz.
The system imbalance price peaked at £264/MWh in settlement period 37 on 2026-08-27.
Wind and solar peaked at 60.6% of GB generation at Tue 15:15.
Vital signs
| This week | vs last week | |
|---|---|---|
| Inertia min / avg / max | 129.1 / 153.1 / 205.9 GVA·s | ▲ +4.6 GVA·s (min) |
| Frequency range | 49.803–50.233 Hz · 35.7 hours beyond ±0.1 Hz | ▼ −0.024 Hz (min) |
| Peak wind + solar share | 60.6% (Tue 15:15) | ▲ +9.6 pp |
| Peak demand | 23.8 GW (Thu 01:15) | ▼ −0.2 GW |
| System price max / min | £264/MWh / £14/MWh | ▼ −£86/MWh (max) |
Event of the week
SPLN-1, a Spalding Energy Company Ltd fossil gas unit, went out unexpectedly at Mon 00:39, taking 950 MW off the system — back after 35.4 hours. REMIT gives the cause as "Forced Outage"; 4 other unplanned losses over 300 MW were reported in the week.
Worth reading
Learn: How wind power affects grid stability
Wind turbines connect through inverters, so they don’t naturally add inertia. High wind output means cheap, clean power — and a lighter, faster-moving grid.
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Data: Elexon BMRS · NESO · Carbon Intensity API · Sheffield Solar · All issues
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).