Despite the recent snow and ice, and a near grounding halt of the country due to the horrendous weather, the team at the npower owned and operated Tilbury Power Station in Essex have managed to cope with the increased demand for electricity.

Tilbury is a coal-fired power station – not the favourite type of the green lobby of course – and had to bring all three of its units into operation in order to handle the evening peak load.

Station manager Nigel Staves explained:
“When we were informed of the expected snow storms we put our plans into place to ensure that all essential workers were able to get into work. There are no problems with power generation and although we have obviously seen a rise in demand the situation is well under control.

“Tilbury Power Station has good supplies of coal and we have contingency plans in place to ensure that all other vital supplies to the power station are not affected by the poor weather. Weather like this shows the need for a balance of fuel supplies for generating electricity across the UK. Demand is high at the moment but within the levels anticipated during the winter months and Tilbury station is playing a major part in keeping households and businesses warm throughout the region.”

Ironically it’s not the increased demand for power, or coal supplies that cause the true problems for stations like Tilbury, it’s more about staff having to fight their way through snow drifts, battle along icy roads and keep their cars on the road in order to get to work. And the power station has to be manned 24/7, including Christmas.

And it’s a good job they do, bearing in mind that Tilbury produces some 1,063 Mega Watts of electricity, which is enough to power some 80% of Essex, around 1.4 million people.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

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