UK Electricity Grid Report 2022
In 2022, Great Britain generated 290 TWh of electricity. Gas was the biggest single source at 38.4%. Renewables (wind, solar and hydro) supplied 33%, or 38.2% counting biomass, and each unit generated averaged 181gCO₂ per kWh. That made 2022 cleaner than 2021: carbon intensity fell 2.2 g on the year.
Automated summaryIn 2022, Great Britain's electricity grid generated 289.78 TWh, with gas remaining the single largest source at 38.4%, followed by wind at 21.3% and nuclear at 15.4%. Low carbon sources accounted for 53.6% of generation, while renewables including biomass contributed 38.2%, and coal fell to just 1.5% with 3,632 coal-free hours recorded across the year. The average carbon intensity stood at 181.1 gCO2/kWh, reflecting the continued shift towards cleaner supply. National demand reached 231.2 TWh with a peak half-hour of 46.04 GW, while the average wholesale market index price was £202.13/MWh, alongside 66.5 hours of negative pricing.
Renewables share
33%
38.2% incl. biomass
Low carbon share
53.6%
renewables + nuclear
Carbon intensity
181 g
per kWh · low 37 g, high 322 g
Generation
290 TWh
incl. estimated embedded wind and solar
Coal share
1.5%
3,632 coal-free hours
Peak wind output
16.9 GW
highest half-hour average
The 2022 generation mix, fuel by fuel
share of GB generation- Gas38.4% · 111.25 TWh
- Wind21.3% · 61.7 TWh
- Nuclear15.4% · 44.73 TWh
- Imports5.6% · 16.27 TWh
- Biomass5.2% · 14.97 TWh
- Solar4.6% · 13.27 TWh
- Coal1.5% · 4.27 TWh
- Hydro1.1% · 3.33 TWh
- Other0.9% · 2.55 TWh
- Storage0.7% · 1.92 TWh
Wholesale prices in 2022
market index (MID), volume-weighted across APX and N2EXThe average UK wholesale electricity price in 2022 was £202.13 per MWh on the market index (MID) basis. Prices were negative for 66.5 hours across the year. The most expensive half hour came on 24 January 2022 (settlement period 35) at £1561.59 per MWh; the cheapest, £-65.80, came on 11 January 2022.
Average price
£202.13
per MWh, volume-weighted
Highest half hour
£1562
24 January 2022, period 35
Lowest half hour
£-65.80
11 January 2022
Negative price hours
66.5
price below £0/MWh
Electricity demand in 2022
GB initial national demand outturn (INDO/INDOD), ElexonGreat Britain used 231.2 TWh of electricity in 2022. The hungriest day was 15 December 2022 (899.7 GWh); the quietest, 26 June 2022 (439.1 GWh). Demand peaked at 46.04 GW on 15 December 2022 (settlement period 35).
Total demand
231.2 TWh
national demand outturn
Peak half hour
46.04 GW
15 December 2022
Highest day
899.7 GWh
15 December 2022
Quietest day
439.1 GWh
26 June 2022
Electricity supplied, 2009 to 2026
TWh per year, generation basis incl. estimated embedded wind and solar- 2009329 TWh
- 2010335 TWh
- 2011322 TWh
- 2012324 TWh
- 2013322 TWh
- 2014310 TWh
- 2015305 TWh
- 2016303 TWh
- 2017301 TWh
- 2018298 TWh
- 2019292 TWh
- 2020276 TWh
- 2021285 TWh
- 2022290 TWh
- 2023275 TWh
- 2024281 TWh
- 2025289 TWh
- 2026151 TWh
Britain supplies markedly less electricity than it did in 2009, even as the economy has grown: efficiency, LED lighting and offshored industry all pushed demand down while the mix decarbonised.
How 2022 compares
- Versus 2021: renewables +5.3 points, carbon intensity -2.2 g.
- Versus 2009, the first year on record: renewables up 29.6 points (from 3.4%), and each unit of electricity 59.3% cleaner (445 g to 181 g).
- Explore the neighbouring years: 2021 · 2023 or the full year-by-year table.
Cite this report
You are welcome to reuse the figures on this page with a link back. Suggested citation:
Purely Energy, "UK Electricity Grid Report 2022", purelyenergy.co.uk/grid-report/2022. Derived from NESO historic generation mix data.
2022 grid questions, answered
How green was UK electricity in 2022?
In 2022, wind, solar and hydro supplied 33% of GB generation (38.2% including biomass), low-carbon sources supplied 53.6%, and the average carbon intensity was 181 gCO2 per kWh.
What was the biggest source of UK electricity in 2022?
Gas was the largest single source in 2022, supplying 38.4% of GB generation. The full fuel-by-fuel breakdown is on this page.
How much coal did the UK burn for electricity in 2022?
Coal supplied 1.5% of GB generation in 2022 (4.27 TWh), and the grid ran coal-free for 3,632 hours.
What was the average UK wholesale electricity price in 2022?
The average UK wholesale electricity price in 2022 was £202.13 per MWh on the market index (MID) basis, volume-weighted across the year's half-hourly trading.
How many hours were UK power prices negative in 2022?
UK wholesale power prices (market index basis) were negative for 66.5 hours in 2022.
How much electricity did Great Britain use in 2022?
Great Britain used 231.2 TWh of electricity in 2022, on the national demand outturn basis (Elexon INDOD).
What was GB peak electricity demand in 2022?
GB electricity demand peaked at 46.04 GW in 2022, on 15 December 2022 (settlement period 35), on the national demand outturn basis.
Use the data
Every figure on this page, as a CSV you can drop into a spreadsheet.
Basis: NESO historic generation mix (GB transmission generation plus estimated embedded wind and solar), aggregated by calendar year, energy-weighted. Renewables is NESO's wind + solar + hydro measure; the biomass-inclusive share is shown alongside. See the live version of this data on our real-time grid map and today's prices on wholesale market data.
Data comes from the Elexon Insights Solution (BMRS), the NESO Data Portal and the Carbon Intensity API, a project by the National Energy System Operator and the University of Oxford Department of Computer Science. Contains BMRS data © Elexon Limited copyright and database right 2026.
Energy decisions for the grid of 2026
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