The company’s announcement follows minister Amber Rudd’s recent ‘reset’ of energy policy, in which she outlined the government’s commitment to gas-fired generation.
Centrica will invest £63m in the part-mothballed station in North East Lincolnshire, working with GE to overhaul the gas turbines. The plant will return to full service in 2017, ready for the start of its capacity market contract in October 2018. Centrica won the contract in June this year.
Jorge Pikunic, Managing Director of Centrica’s Distributed Energy and Power business, said: “This upgrade allows us to secure the future of this important power station for at least another decade.
“We were pleased to see the Government’s announcements last week signaling the important role that power stations like South Humber Bank will continue to play for UK security of supply and look forward to hearing more about their plans to support investment in the sector. The market for gas-fired generation continues to be challenging but, with the right policy landscape, we are confident it can improve.”
The 1,285MW gas-fired power station is capable of producing enough electricity to meet the needs of over one million homes – nearly half the homes in Yorkshire and the Humber. Its capacity will increase by a further 14MW as a result of the turbine upgrade.
In its strategic review announcement in July, Centrica said it would invest to maintain and improve its gas-fired generation fleet where economics allow. The Group is also exploring opportunities to invest in small scale gas peaking plants and distributed energy solutions for large business customers as part of its new international Distributed Energy and Power business.