COST OF SWITCHING OFF WIND FARMS TOPS £1.5BN THIS YEAR

The cost of switching off Britain's wind farms because the electricity grid cannot carry their power has reached £1.51bn this year, Octopus Energy's Wasted Wind tracker shows. That already exceeds the £1.47bn spent across the whole of 2025, with three months still to go. September was the costliest month on record, at £404.3m, including seven of the most expensive days logged. The single most expensive day came on 30 September, when £30m was paid out to wind and gas generators in 24 hours.

The National Energy System Operator makes the payments to balance electricity supply and demand in real time, passing the cost onto energy bills. Of this year's total, £1.28bn has gone on paying gas-fired power stations near urban areas to switch on, replacing wind turbines switched off for lack of grid capacity. Rising gas prices, linked to the US war on Iran, pushed up running costs at gas plants, while upgrade works cut transmission capacity on some lines, including in Scotland, reports said. The problem has been worsened by large new wind farms connecting to the grid in remote areas without the upgrades needed to transmit their power.

The National Audit Office warned on 11 September that the constraints bill could reach £7.8bn by the end of the decade, equal to about £100 a year on bills. A £70bn network upgrade programme is under way, though many projects are reported to be running late. Household energy bills have risen to a three-year high and are expected to rise further in January, with business energy costs also increasing. Critics said the costs reflect problems with the government's approach to net zero, while others blamed delays in upgrading the grid.