THERE is no danger of any blackouts this winter, bosses at the National Grid say.
They predict the national energy network will have enough electricity to cope with demand during the colder months.
Last winter the Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked fears the lights may go out in Britain and Europe.
Yesterday the Grid’s Electricity System Operator subsidiary said power plants, wind farms and other generation methods are expected to be able to provide more than enough power to meet demand this year.
That is in part thanks to new power generation sites which have come online since last winter, ESO said.
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This means the grid is expected to have an average margin — the difference between supply of electricity and demand — of 4.8 gigawatts this coming winter.
That would give the system a margin of eight per cent, which is higher than it was last year.
The predicted margin should reduce the period when demand may outstrip supply to just 0.1 hours a day, down from 0.2 hours a year earlier.
ESO’s corporate affairs chief Jacob Rigg reckoned: “Within that there will be tight days.
“There will be cold snaps in the winter and therefore we do expect to use our normal operational tools.”
Mr Rigg said the business is still in negotiations with energy company Drax to ensure that its coal-fired power plant in North Yorkshire is on standby in case it is needed.
Meanwhile ESO said it will also keep a blackout prevention scheme — the so-called demand flexibility service — in place.
The scheme, which was activated for the first time in January, sees volunteer households and businesses paid to turn off their appliances during times of peak demand.
ESO is set to publish a more in-depth winter outlook in September including analysing the availability of gas for the network as it is too early to predict at the moment.
Asos back in black
SHARES at fast fashion giant Asos leapt 13 per cent yesterday after it climbed back to profit in the past three months.
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The company said it saved £200million with efficiencies, but sales dropped 14 per cent as shoppers remain under pressure.
Boss Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte said: “We are delivering on our plan to turn the business around.”
Rival H&M said June had started well.
£5bn Odey fund to break up
CRISIS-hit £5.3billion hedge fund Odey Asset Management is set to be broken up in the wake of the sex scandal that has ended the career of its founder Crispin Odey.
It has told investors it is “in advanced discussions” to transfer some of its funds to rival firms and offload some of its activities and staff to other asset managers.
It said: “Any sale or rehousing is subject to regulatory approvals and due diligence.”
Earlier this week it said Mr Odey will “no longer have any economic or personal involvement in the partnership”.
JP Morgan Chase is to end its relationship with the firm, after Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Exane cut ties last week.
The chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriett Baldwin said claims against the hedge fund were “potentially damaging to the reputation of the entire financial sector”.
Mr Odey has denied all allegations against him.
Red tape tax blast
THE British tax system is “overcomplicated and burdensome” MPs say, pointing out there are more than 1,180 separate tax reliefs.
The Treasury Committee has demanded scrutiny of Cabinet attempts to simplify tax and criticised the Chancellor’s decision to disband the Office of Tax Simplification.
Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Committee, said: “Action needs to be taken and public scrutiny of Government efforts are vital.”
Ten week lift for boozers
BRITISH pub group Fuller, Smith & Turner said sales climbed 14 per cent in the past ten weeks as boozers celebrated the string of Bank Holiday weekends.
Company boss Simon Emeny said there had also been a big increase in the amount of people pre-booking pub visits.
However, it said profits shrank by £5million because rail and bus strikes also kept punters away from boozers.
The 400-pub chain made £12.7million in the year to April, up from £7.2million the previous year.
But that is still well below the £43million it made in 2019.
Mr Emeny said: “It has taken a long while for the business to emerge from the ravages of Covid and disruption around the train and Tube strikes.”
But this year’s Rugby World Cup should give the business a boost, he added.
The chain increased prices across its drinks range by about 6 per cent this year.
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NatWest all rosy for now
NATWEST bank customers are becoming more “resilient”, reckons chief executive Dame Alison Rose.
She told an audience of bankers yesterday that UK households and businesses are becoming more confident despite the ongoing pressures of higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis.
She said borrowers were over-paying on their mortgages and paying down more expensive debts as rates jump, with no signs yet of customers across the board struggling with repayments.
But she said there were “challenges in the economy” and added that the jump in mortgage rates will have some impact.
Markets expect base rates to climb to as much as 5.75 per cent, which will hit customer behaviour, she said.
