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Great Britain braced to pay millions for backup electricity during solar eclipse
UK NewsBusiness•August 12, 2026 at 5:21 PMNational

Great Britain braced to pay millions for backup electricity during solar eclipse

By Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent•The Guardian - UK News

Event expected to curtail solar power just as summer’s fifth heatwave increases use of air conditioning and fansGreat Britain is braced to pay millions for backup electricity supplies to prevent a shortfall on Wednesday evening as the near-total solar eclipse is expected to wipe out solar power generation.The government’s electricity grid operator is expected to make multimillion-pound payments to secure electricity at short notice before the moon blocks up to 95% of the sun over parts of the country, the most dramatic solar eclipse visible in Great Britain since 1999. Continue reading...

Event expected to curtail solar power just as summer’s fifth heatwave increases use of air conditioning and fans

Great Britain is braced to pay millions for backup electricity supplies to prevent a shortfall on Wednesday evening as the near-total solar eclipse is expected to wipe out solar power generation.

The government’s electricity grid operator is expected to make multimillion-pound payments to secure electricity at short notice before the moon blocks up to 95% of the sun over parts of the country, the most dramatic solar eclipse visible in Great Britain since 1999.

Continue reading...

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