Control of The National Grid

Control Of The National Grid

The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network in Great Britain, connecting power stations and major substations, and has a synchronized organization such that electricity generated anywhere in Great Britain can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. There are also undersea connections to northern France (HVDC Cross-Channel), Northern Ireland (HVDC Moyle), the Isle of Man (Isle of Man to England Interconnector), and the Netherlands (BritNed). The National Grid is controlled from the National Grid Control Centre which is located in St Catherine's Lodge, Sindlesham, Wokingham in Berkshire in South East England.

The national grid of the United Kingdom is required to distribute electric power generated in bulk to various grid supply points located across the UK and, in so doing, has to be able to match the supply of generated power to the demand for power which is continuously varying, sometimes gradually and predictably, and sometimes quite sharply. It has to do this and to maintain stability within specified standards of frequency and voltage dealing with both sudden changes in load and sudden changes in the available power output, the latter again being generally quite predictable but suffering random sudden changes as power stations fail from time to time.

Although all such large power grids have their own special historical and geographical peculiarities, they all tend to use methods of control and stabilisation similar to those used by the UK National Grid, to a greater or lesser extent.