Recent government data spanning January to March 2024 reveals shifts in the UK’s energy sector compared to the same period a year earlier.
Primary energy consumption on a fuel input basis experienced a decline of 1.3%, mainly due to warmer temperatures rather than pricing factors, with a temperature-adjusted decrease of 0.8%.
Indigenous energy production dropped by 6.8%, primarily due to decreases in all fuels except bioenergy and waste, wind, solar and hydro.
Electricity generation by major power producers decreased by 1.5%, marked by declines in coal (0.7%), gas (4.9%) and nuclear (16%), but countered by an increase of 5.8% in renewables.
Renewables contributed 49.5% of electricity generation, surpassing gas (36.0%), while nuclear reached a record low share of 12.2% and coal dropped to 1.6%.
Furthermore, the low carbon share of electricity generation by major power producers rose by 1.4 percentage points to 61.7%, while the fossil fuel share decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 37.7%.
