Real Time GB Generation Mix (click to expand) 

Real-time data from NESO showing the generation mix and forecasted demand for the GB transmission network. Data is downloaded via the Elexon Insights API. Demand (negative values) are not shown here - these are replaced with 0. Solar BMUs appear within the 'Other' category. 

Time without coal: No coal since 2024-09-30

Show: 24 Hours 1 Week

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About the demand data...

NESO see solar PV generation as a reduction in demand, this means that the metered 'Demand outturn' represents the 'True' electricity demand minus the generation from Solar and small-scale unmetered Wind. Similarly, the forecasted demand is a forecast of the demand outturn i.e. without solar generation.

Here we present both the unaltered 'Demand outturn' and 'Demand Forecast', as well as the 'True Demand' which is calculated as the 'Demand outturn' plus the solar PV generation.

(N.B. We do NOT currently add NESO's estimate of unmetered wind generation in our calculation of 'True Demand', but this is something we're working on including.)

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Download data (click to expand)

Use the form below to download historic results. You can download a maximum of 12 months at a time. The earliest data available at the moment is '2013-01-01'. For a description of the column headers please read the API documentation.

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We update this estimate every 30 minutes during daylight hours. The results on this page will automatically refresh every 300 seconds. You can pause the automatic updates or manually update the data using the "Refresh:" buttons further up.

Solar BMUs: These are PV sites which are directly metered by NESO and are dispatchable (can be turned up or down) to balance the network. Sheffield Solar provides data on non-BMU solar PV deployment and generation. Solar BMU data can however be found at Elexon; in future we hope to include more data on solar BMUs.

(BMUs: The Balancing Mechanism (BM) is NESO’s primary tool to balance supply and demand on GB’s electricity network. In the Electricity National Control Centre (ENCC), NESO uses the BM to procure the right amount of electricity required to balance the system. A Balancing Mechanism Unit (BMU) is a single generator which participates in the BM. BMUs can have different fuel types and technology types, for example gas generators or wind farms. Prior to 2024, no solar PV generators participated in the BM, however, since 2024 some solar BMUs began to emerge. As BMUs, these are dispatchable and must submit metering directly to NESO in real time.)