There are no changes to provisional results issued on 21 December 2018. The auction performed as expected, delivering capacity to the island’s wholesale electricity market at the least possible cost.

Of the 28 Northern Ireland generators who offered into the auction, 26 were successful. £78 million in capacity payments will be paid to these generators during the period October 2019 to the end of September 2020.

This auction has secured just under 2,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity for Northern Ireland, an increase in approximately 300 MW. This additional capacity was secured at reduced price of £37,864 per MW per year (down from £38,994 per MW last year). The additional capacity is required to ensure Northern Ireland has an amount of additional reserve.

The auction was designed by the electricity regulators in Northern Ireland and Ireland to ensure sufficient capacity is secured to meet demand across the island at all times. 

The auction was run by the Single Electricity Market Operator, a joint venture between SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland) and EirGrid.

For more information:

Final Results: https://www.sem-o.com/documents/general-publications/T-1-2019-2020-Final-Capacity-Auction-Results-Report.pdf

Quick Guide to the Capacity Market and T-1 2019-2020 Final Results: https://www.sem-o.com/documents/general-publications/Quick-Guide-to-Capacity-Market-and-T-1-2019-2020-Auction-Results.pdf