Didcot power stations cope with winter freeze
Power station workers at Didcot in Oxfordshire braved the snow and hazardous driving conditions today to keep the country’s electricity supplies topped up as freezing temperatures led to higher power demands.
RWE npower stepped up power generation at the coal-fired Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire bringing all four units into operation to cope with the expected rise in demand during the evening peak as the country faced a continuation of winter weather.
The gas-fired Didcot B Power Station was also playing a major part in providing power to heat and light homes as demand for electricity across Britain peaked.
Didcot A station manager John Rainford said: “When we were informed of the expected snow storms we put our plans into place to ensure that all essential workers were able to get into work. There are no problems with power generation and although we have obviously seen a rise in demand the situation is well under control.
“Didcot A Power Station has good supplies of coal and we have contingency plans in place to ensure that all other vital supplies to the power station are not affected by the poor weather. Didcot B is powered by gas and is operating to help meet demand and RWE npower are in a position to make gas that we have earmarked for power generation available to domestic customers if required.
“Weather like this shows the need for a balance of fuel supplies for generating electricity across the UK. Demand is high at the moment but within the levels anticipated during the winter months and the two power stations at Didcot are playing a major part in keeping households and businesses warm throughout the region.”
The biggest problem faced by RWE npower across the country was getting staff into work on snow-clogged roads. Staff braved the snow to work at the company’s power plants and also into its customer service centres with a number making their way in on foot.
- RWE npower’s site at Didcot is host to two power stations – the 2,000 MW dual-fired A station and the 1,360 MW combined cycle gas turbine B station. Together the two power stations are capable of producing enough electricity to meet the needs of over 3 million people – equivalent to the demand of three counties the size of Oxfordshire.
RWE npower is an integrated energy business, generating electricity and supplying gas, electricity and related services to customers across the UK. We operate and manage flexible, low-cost coal, oil and gas-fired power stations – generating over 10.3 GW of electricity. We serve around 6.8 million customer accounts and produce more than 10% of the electricity used in England and Wales.
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