Live Generation Mix
Loading…Right now, this is where Britain's electricity is coming from - updated every five minutes. Watch it on a windy day and a still evening and you'll see two different countries.
What's powering Britain right now?
Britain's electricity mix right now, updated every few minutes. On windy days wind is often the largest source; on still days gas and imports fill the gap. The live figures are shown above.
Generation Trends - Energy Mix
NESO Historic Generation Mix · stacked by fuel typeZoom out and the noise becomes signal: daily weather swings, the seasonal rhythm of wind and solar, and - over the full series - one of the fastest decarbonisations of any major economy's power system.
Last 30 Days
Each bar is one day's electricity mix over the past month. The main day-to-day change is the weather, as wind and gas rise and fall to balance each other.
Last 12 Months
The weekly electricity mix over the past year. Solar peaks in summer, wind in the autumn and winter storms, and gas fills the calmer, colder periods.
Generation Since 2009
Coal supplied about 40% of UK electricity in 2012 and reached zero in September 2024, when the last coal plant closed. Wind is now among the largest sources.
Carbon Intensity - Last 24 Hours
The carbon emitted per unit of electricity, in grams of CO2 per kWh, over the past day. It falls when wind, solar and nuclear dominate and rises when gas fills the gap.
What's Setting the Price?
Gas sets the wholesale electricity price in most hours, because every generator is paid the price of the most expensive one running. This is why bills track global gas prices.
Ofgem Energy Price Cap
Q4 2026 · 1 Oct - 31 Dec 2026The energy price cap is £1,723 a year for October to December 2026 for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit, up 4% on July to September, driven by higher wholesale gas prices. VAT has been taken off electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, so the rise falls almost entirely on gas. The cap limits unit rates and standing charges, not the total bill: use more and you pay more.
Direct debit averages for England, Scotland and Wales, set quarterly by Ofgem. Gas includes 5% VAT; electricity carries no VAT from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The £1,723 headline uses Ofgem's typical-use figures from 1 July 2026 (2,500 kWh electricity and 9,500 kWh gas a year). On the figures used before then, which the chart below keeps so the quarters stay comparable, the same cap is £1,935.
Energy Price Cap History
On the typical-use figures Ofgem used from October 2023 to June 2026, the price cap is £1,935 a year for October to December 2026, up 4% on the quarter before; on its current figures that is £1,723. It peaked at £4,279 in January to March 2023 during the gas crisis. Bars before October 2023 use Ofgem's older, higher typical-use figures, marked by the dashed line, so part of the drop into that quarter is a change of assumptions rather than of prices.
About this data
Live generation data comes from Elexon (metered output, updated every five minutes) combined with the National Energy System Operator's estimates of embedded wind and solar, with carbon intensity from the Carbon Intensity API built by NESO and the University of Oxford. Price cap levels come from Ofgem's published quarterly determinations.
These figures cover Great Britain rather than the whole UK - Northern Ireland is part of the separate all-Ireland Single Electricity Market. Embedded solar and wind are estimates rather than metered values, so the live mix is a best current picture rather than a perfect count.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the energy price cap right now?
From 1 October to 31 December 2026 the Ofgem price cap is £1,723 a year for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit, up 4% on the previous quarter. Electricity is capped at an average 26.32p/kWh with a 54.83p daily standing charge, with no VAT until 31 March 2027, and gas at 7.97p/kWh with a 29.68p daily standing charge.
When did the UK stop using coal for electricity?
Great Britain's last coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, closed in September 2024. Coal supplied around 40% of UK electricity as recently as 2012.
Why is UK electricity so expensive?
The wholesale electricity price is set by the most expensive generator needed to meet demand, which is usually gas. This means UK electricity bills rise and fall with global gas prices, even when most power comes from renewables.
What is the energy price cap?
The price cap is a limit set by Ofgem on the unit rates and standing charges that suppliers can charge households on standard variable tariffs in England, Scotland and Wales. It is reviewed every three months to reflect wholesale energy costs. It peaked at £4,279 a year in early 2023 during the gas crisis.
Does the price cap limit my total energy bill?
No. The cap limits the price per unit of gas and electricity plus the daily standing charge, not the overall bill. The headline annual figure quoted in the news is what a household with typical energy use would pay - using more energy still costs more.
How is electricity generated in the UK?
Great Britain's electricity comes from a shifting mix of gas, wind, nuclear, solar, biomass, hydro and imports through interconnectors. The shares change hour by hour with weather and demand, which is what the live generation mix on this page shows.
What is carbon intensity?
Carbon intensity is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, measured in gCO₂/kWh. Low numbers mean the grid is running mostly on wind, solar and nuclear; higher numbers mean fossil fuels are supplying more of the mix.