Guardian: “E.ON is to shut one gas-fired power station and expects to reduce output at three others despite continued warnings from the National Grid and others that Britain faces a capacity crunch and potential blackouts.”
“The German-owned gas and electricity provider said it planned to end power supplies from Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands and scale back operations at Castleford, Sandbach and Thornhill in the north of the country.
E.ON recently closed the Kingsnorth coal-burning power station in Kent while another big six supplier, RWE, has closed Tilbury on the Thames. The huge Eggborough facility in North Yorkshire, owned by private equity firms, is also under threat of closure while Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and SSE have mothballed gas-fired stations.
….The Stoke plant produces only 56 MW, but its closure and the moves at the three other plants will still shake a government that has been told by energy regulator Ofgem that power companies may have to be paid to keep old power stations on standby to meet power shortages that some have claimed could hit at any time.
But E.ON said the four power stations that are affected by its plans are all around 10 years old, are not built to be easily switched on and off, and are in need of potentially costly maintenance or refits to keep them running in the longer term.”
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