# Gas power station paid over £1m an hour to keep electricity grid running as wind output plummets

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/gas-power-station-paid-over-1m-an-hour-to-keep-electricity-grid-running-as-wind-output-plummets/
- Published: 2026-11-10T12:34:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-10T13:35:25+00:00
- Original publisher: GB News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.gbnews.com/money/gas-power-station-paid-over-1m-hour-keep-electricity-grid-running-wind-output-plummets
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Wind output fell to two per cent of the energy mix.
- Langage Power Station was paid the equivalent of £1.4m an hour.
- The grid operator said its notice was precautionary, with supply secure.

## Summary

A gas-fired power station in Devon received the equivalent of £1.4 million an hour on Monday evening as the grid operator paid generators to provide extra capacity. The payments followed a sharp fall in wind output and highlight the cost of balancing electricity supply when weather-dependent generation is low.

Wind’s share of the energy mix fell from 28 per cent one Monday to two per cent a week later. At least three power stations were offered £1,500 per megawatt hour between 3.30pm and 5pm, after the National Energy System Operator issued and then withdrew an electricity margin notice, which it described as precautionary and not a warning of power cuts. Energy consultant Kathryn Porter said seven such notices had been issued so far this year, compared with one in 2025, and raised concerns about ageing gas and nuclear plants and reliance on imports.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.