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stations and movements in commodity prices has led to an increase in gas-fired generation output
relative to coal and to the same period in 2015/16. This has been reflected in SSE’s own portfolio as
well as the wider market. This trend looks set to continue and it is therefore anticipated that gasfired
power stations will play an increasingly important role in the GB electricity system in the
coming years.
Maintaining and operating a portfolio of gas-fired power stations
SSE has an ownership interest in five gas-fired power stations that participate in the GB electricity
market:
Medway (735MW wholly owned) has capacity obligations for 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Keadby (755MW wholly owned) has capacity obligations for 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Peterhead (1,180MW wholly owned) Up to 400MW can operate in the market. It has a
Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR) contract to provide support services to National Grid for
this winter and a one year voltage control contract until the end of March 2017.
Seabank (1,164MW) and Marchwood (840MW) SSE has a 50% stake in each of these gas-fired
power stations, which have both taken on capacity obligations for 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Maintaining and operating coal-fired power stations
SSE operates one wholly-owned coal-fired power station, at Fiddler’s Ferry (Cheshire, 1,995MW). In
March 2016 Fiddler’s Ferry successfully secured a contract to provide ancillary services to National
Grid. The one-year contract, which ends on 1 April 2017, covers one of the three available units at
the site. It was secured following SSE’s response to an invitation to tender issued by National Grid.
In addition, one unit at the station will provide SBR services to National Grid for the winter of
2016/17.
Developing new gas-fired generation options
SSE supports recent plans from the UK Government to encourage investment in new gas-fired
generation. SSE will continue to develop options for new stations, including Keadby 2 in Lincolnshire,
which has prequalified for the December 2016 Capacity Market auction. Abernedd, in Port Talbot,
was not prequalified but SSE submitted an application to BEIS in August 2016 to vary the planning
consent to allow an OCGT station of up to 299MW.
SSE’s Wholesale business intends to responded to the formal invitation to tender for providing a
new energy solution for Shetland.
Investing for the future through ‘multi-fuel’
SSE’s generation strategy is built upon managing risk through owning a diverse range of assets and
fuels from which to meet the needs of customers. Multifuel is an important part of that strategy.
Multifuel Energy Ltd (MEL) (the SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. 50:50 joint venture)
operates a 68MW multi-fuel generation facility known as Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1) in
Knottingley, West Yorkshire. The station has taken on capacity obligations for 2018/19 and 2019/20
and has pre-qualified for the 2017/18 and 2020/21 Capacity Market auctions.
Construction has commenced at SSE’s Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2) project after the Final
Investment Decision was taken in June 2016. The project is being built next to the FM1 facility. The
completed plant will be able to generate around 70MW of electricity, enough to power around
170,000 homes. It has prequalified for the 2020/21 Capacity Market auction.
Generation – Ireland
Producing electricity for Ireland’s Single Electricity Market (SEM)
SSE is the third largest electricity generator by capacity in the all-island Single Electricity Market
(SEM). It owns and operates 1,836MW of generation capacity, of which 544MW is from renewable
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