Guidance

Operating peaking combustion power plant in an emergency in winter 2023: RPS 268

Published 27 October 2023

This guidance was withdrawn on

This regulatory position statement was for winter 2023 and has been withdrawn.

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operating-peaking-combustion-power-plant-in-an-emergency-in-winter-2023-rps-268/operating-peaking-combustion-power-plant-in-an-emergency-in-winter-2023-rps-268

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to comply with your environmental permit.  

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action if you exceed the annual operating hour limits in your permit because you need to operate at times of electricity shortage. This only applies until 31 December 2023 provided that: 

  • your circumstances meet the description set out in this RPS  

  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS 

  • your activity does not cause (and is not likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health 

1. Activity this RPS applies to 

This RPS applies to operating peaking combustion power plant in an emergency in winter 2023. 

2. Circumstances in which this RPS applies 

This RPS applies to combustion plant, commonly known as peaking plant, permitted under Part A(1), Section 1.1 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations that are restricted to either less than 500 hours per year or less than 1,500 hours per year and are regulated either: 

This RPS applies when operating would result in exceeding the annual operating hour limit in your permit.  

3. Conditions you must comply with 

You must: 

  • only operate under this RPS during an imminent electricity shortage (a period of tight electricity margins) as notified by the National Grid electricity system operator through an electricity margin notice

  • the electricity margin notice must have been in place during the 24 hours before the notified periods of tight electricity margins

  • tell the Environment Agency before 31 January 2024 how many hours over your permit hourly limit you have operated 

  • tell the Environment Agency immediately if you have operated more than 50 hours over your hourly limit  

  • keep records for 2 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request 

  • include the extra hours you operated above your 2023 annual limit in the total number of hours operated for 2024

For combustion plants that run under a 3 or 5 year rolling average, you must take these hours from the 6 month period between April 2024 to September 2024. 

You must not be located inside or within 500 metres of an air quality management area for NOx.  

4. When you must check back 

The Environment Agency will withdraw this RPS on 1 January 2024.  

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before it expires if they consider it necessary. This includes where the circumstances that this RPS relates to has not changed.  

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the withdrawal date, to see if this RPS still applies. 

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn. 

5. If you cannot comply with this RPS 

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must stop the activity to which this RPS relates and must tell the Environment Agency immediately using the contact details under the ‘Contact’ heading. 

6. Contact the Environment Agency 

If you have any questions about this RPS email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.

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