Letter from London: UK thermal generation economics in a spin
The country’s move away from market-based to subsidy-driven mechanisms is undermining both existing and new conventional generation
The June appointment of administrators for the UK’s Severn Power and Sutton Bridge combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants owned by independent power producer Calon Energy was, unfortunately, no great surprise. Even when Calon bought Sutton Bridge from France’s EdF seven years ago, its commercial assumptions were optimistic. Calon plants may well have been negatively impacted by 2020’s UK power demand reduction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It certainly would not have helped. Odds against But the brutal truth is that the power market of the UK (or, more accurately, that of GB, as Northern Ireland sits within the All-Island Energy Market) has never justified optimism for conventional g
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
