Storms Austen and Boelo: Working Together to Keep Great Britain Powered

Over the weekend, Storms Austen and Boelo brought severe weather across Great Britain, causing power cuts, flooding, travel disruption and damage to homes and infrastructure. Storm Boelo brought particularly challenging conditions, with wind speeds exceeding 80mph in some exposed areas and impacts felt across much of the country.

While our focus is on the resilience of the electricity system, it is important first to recognise the impact these storms have had on individuals, families and communities. For some, the effects have been significant and, in some cases, tragic. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the severe weather, particularly those who have suffered loss, damage or continued disruption as a result of the storms.

Against that backdrop, thousands of people across the energy sector and wider resilience community worked around the clock to support communities, restore essential services and maintain critical infrastructure.

At NESO, our role was to coordinate the operation of Great Britain's electricity system throughout the weekend, working closely with network operators, generators and industry partners as conditions changed rapidly across the country.

The scale of the challenge was significant. Electricity demand exceeded 33GW, while severe weather drove multiple faults and operational issues across the network. Despite these challenges, the national electricity system remained secure, with healthy operating margins maintained throughout the storms.

The weather tested infrastructure across many parts of the country. Transmission circuits experienced repeated storm-related faults, with network operators working in difficult conditions to inspect and repair assets and restore supplies to affected communities. In the Western Isles, restoration efforts were made more difficult by the continuing weather conditions.

The storms also highlighted the increasing complexity of operating a modern electricity system. At times, up to 4.9GW of wind generation needed to be actively managed to maintain system security, while additional generation was brought forward to support resilience and network stability.

A particularly strong example of industry collaboration came in northern Scotland. As adverse weather conditions increased operational risks, NESO identified a potential 70MW flexibility shortfall and issued a Localised Negative Reserve Active Power Margin (NRAPM) notice. This is an operational tool available to us to ask generators in that part of the network to provide more flexibility. Generator owners responded by making additional flexibility available, helping provide the options needed to manage the system safely through some of the most challenging conditions of the weekend. Given the storm impact, we also issued an emergency instruction to one generator for 50MW in order to balance the system.

Managing the system safely through these conditions was only possible because of the combined efforts of organisations and individuals across the energy sector.

We would like to thank electricity transmission owners, distribution network operators, generator owners, interconnector operators, engineers, field staff, control room teams and all those involved in restoration and recovery activities. We would also like to recognise the emergency services, local authorities, transport operators, telecommunications providers and resilience partners who supported affected communities throughout the storms.

While the national electricity system remained secure, we recognise that some communities continue to be affected by storm damage and ongoing restoration work. Network teams remain on the ground assessing assets, carrying out repairs and restoring supplies where needed.

Anyone experiencing a power cut should contact their local Distribution Network Operator or visit Power Cut 105 for information, advice and restoration updates.

The response to Storms Austen and Boelo demonstrates the resilience of Great Britain's electricity system, but more importantly it demonstrates the dedication of the people behind it. Across the weekend, thousands of individuals worked in difficult conditions with a shared purpose: supporting communities, restoring services and helping keep Great Britain powered.

At NESO, we are proud to have worked alongside our partners across the energy sector. Events like these remind us that resilience is built through preparation, expertise and collaboration, and that keeping the country powered is always a collective effort.