How is our electricity generated in the UK?

As electricity is so important and we rely on a constant supply, it is generated in a number of different ways. Different energy providers will use a mixture of fuel sources to generate their electricity e.g. SSE use a large number of renewable sources, EDF use mostly nuclear energy and a small amount of coal and gas. The combination used is called an energy fuel mix.

Energy fuel mix

The Electricity (Fuel Mix Disclosure) Regulations 2005 means that all suppliers need to publish details about what fuel they use as well as how this impacts the environment. This can normally be found on their websites. Fuels used for that provider are shown in percentages and measured by the amount of carbon dioxide they emit into the atmosphere. Up to date fuel mix reports can also be found: http://electricityinfo.org/fuel-mix-of-uk-domestic-electricity-suppliers/

Electricity fuel mixes mostly include:

• Fossil fuels
• Nuclear fission
• Renewable energy this is the use of natural energy to make electricity. It made up 25% of energy in 2015, with original aims to reach 30% by 2020.
• Imports The UK electricity network is connected to systems in France, the Netherlands and Ireland through cables known as ‘interconnectors’ so that they can import or export electricity when it is most economical. To read an article on possible changes on imports/the energy market due to leaving the European Union.

Average UK fuel mix across providers (2017):

In August 2017, the UK average fuel mix (across all providers) was:

Coal: 13.5%, Natural gas: 41.4%, Nuclear: 11.3%, Renewable energy sources: 29.4%

Other fuels (including oil): 4.4%