Britain had to pay more than 10 times the usual price to buy electricity from Belgium as the cost soared following last week's heatwave, analysts have said.
Prices on the Nemo link, a 140-kilometre cable under the English Channel, reached a record £9,724.54 ($11,119.01) per megawatt hour at one stage on Wednesday.
A more normal price would be well below £1,000.
Analysts at energy tracker EnAppSys said the price surge was caused by constraints on the British network, possibly linked to the two-day heatwave on Monday and Tuesday.
The heatwave brought record 40ºC temperatures to the UK and led to a spike in electricity demand, as many people turned to air conditioning in a country that rarely uses it.
To add to the pressure, a storm front was moving over Belgium that limited solar power capacity, and the heatwave across Europe may have reduced the output from wind turbines, the analysts said.
“With the stress the Belgian system was under it is probably no coincidence that the cost of purchasing energy from Belgium was high,” they said.
The summer strains come amid concerns over how Europe will cope with potential gas shortages this winter if supplies from Russia completely dry up.
Britain's grid operator sent out two automated warning notices to the market last week signalling that more power needed to be generated, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The UK has interconnectors with France, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway which send power in both directions.
The cables cover Britain's needs when its main workhorses of gas, nuclear and wind are not generating enough power. Imports and exports were broadly equal on Monday.
Britain and Belgium agreed in principle in February to build a second link.
In the north of England, thousands of households suffered power cuts as Britain buckled in last week's heat, with trains and aircraft grinding to a halt and many people choosing to stay at home.
In addition, solar panels are less efficient in extreme heat and the optimum temperature is about 25ºC, an industry group in Britain said, with records set in the spring rather than summer.
Still, it said solar power provided about a quarter of Britain's electricity at the height of last Tuesday's extreme heat.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Switching%20sides
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Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
