Voltage services contracts to save £318m

The new system operator said the awarding of four voltage services contracts will save energy users £381m.

The Voltage 2026 tender is the third to be carried out under the Network Services Procurement/Pathfinder programme which aims to absorb more reactive power on the transmission network to address high voltage system issues.

The National Energy System Operator said the contracts were needed to help deal with the impact of an increase in low carbon energy generation and a drop in minimum demand and power consumption at the distribution level,

The contracts followed analysis carried out by the system operator to identify reactive power absorption requirements in London and Northern England from 2026 onwards.