Britain’s electricity grid operator has cancelled its call to the industry to generate more power during Wednesday evening’s solar eclipse.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) had issued the notice in the early hours of Wednesday, saying it was taking the “precautionary measure” to make sure it has a “greater safety cushion” between demand and energy supply.
It indicated it was forecasting a potentially tight period for electricity margins between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday.
However, Neso – the body which is tasked with making sure the supply of electricity matches demand for it – cancelled the notice shortly after 2pm on Wednesday.
It is the latest in a number of so-called electricity margin notices issued by Neso this year, with previous notices coming during the summer’s heatwaves.
Bosses at Neso linked this week’s industry notice to the solar eclipse, which is set to be the fullest for decades and last for around two hours.
Britain and Europe have become more reliant on solar power in recent years as part of a shift towards renewable energy sources.
The last eclipse of its kind in August 1999 only lasted for 20 minutes, but saw a record swing in power demand as Britons rushed outside to watch the event.
We have used our routine tool of issuing an Electricity Margin Notice (EMN) for tomorrow evening’s peak, which simply means we are asking market participants to make any additional generation capacity they may have available.
The notice has been issued as a precautionary…
— National Energy System Operator (@neso_energy) August 11, 2026
It caused demand to drop by the equivalent of all the power consumed in Birmingham and Manchester combined, then returned steeply afterwards, causing the largest sudden increase in demand on record.
While Wednesday’s eclipse is not expected to cause such a dramatic demand swing, Neso is understood to have been preparing for many months to ensure the system is well prepared and balanced, given the duration of the event this time and the UK’s increased reliance on solar power.
The electricity grid operator had called on energy producers to help deliver a contingency of around 676 megawatts.
The notice sent a message to the electricity market that the operator would like a greater cushion, or margin, between power demand and supply for a limited period.
This allows production to increase if necessary to increase capacity in the grid.
Neso said it does not signal that blackouts are imminent or that there is not enough generation to meet demand.
A Neso spokesman said the notice had been issued “as a precautionary measure to the market due to the solar eclipse”.
He added: “Issuing an electricity margin notice gives the market a clear signal that additional capacity may be useful during this evening’s peak and helps us maintain the level of operating margin we expect to carry.
“To be clear, there is no risk to customer electricity supplies.”
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