Thermal Constraint Costs
Summary
NESO releases historical outturn costs for thermal constraints across major transmission boundaries, showing actual system costs when power flows exceed circuit capacity between regions. The dataset covers significant constraint boundaries with cost breakdowns. This provides transparency on constraint costs that ultimately feed through to consumer bills via BSUoS charges.
Why it matters
The data reveals the scale of costs from transmission bottlenecks — constraint costs that could be reduced through network investment or reform of connection queues. As such, it highlights the tension between socialising constraint costs through BSUoS versus pricing them at locational level.
Key facts
- •Covers thermal constraints when flows exceed circuit capacity
- •Provides outturn system costs across major boundaries
- •Data released October 2019
Areas affected
Related programmes
Memo
Thermal constraints are taken when the amount of energy that would flow naturally from one region to another exceeds the capacity of the circuits connecting the two regions. This dataset provides outturn system costs for thermal constraints across a number of significant constraint boundaries.