The UK power grid operator is expecting to be able reimburse consumers for the sale of emergency stockpiles of coal that were not used last winter.
In an online forum, a National Grid Plc spokeswoman said that after accounting for logistics, money is likely to remain from the sale. This will result in a small rebate to consumers whose bills paid for contracts worth $517 million (about £400 million) to keep coal-fired power plants running last winter.
Drax Group Plc, and Electricite de France SA both closed their coal stations. Uniper SE Ratcliffe is now the last coal station on the British market. The Ratcliffe plant is operating on the normal wholesale market. There won’t be any coal plants in reserve for next winter.
Reserve units were only ever used one time, in March. The revenue generated from coal sales will be used to reduce balancing charges, which are added on to bills. The spokesperson stated that the final numbers for the coal sales would be released later this year.