UK electricity generation: coal
UK electricity generation: coal stood at 0 MW on Oct 18, 2026, according to Elexon (BMRS). It is one of the indicators in the Electricity system, daily table (Value · Daily), with a complete series running from Aug 1, 2025 to Oct 18, 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Electricity system, daily table
| Indicator | 18-10-2026 | 17-10-2026 | 16-10-2026 | 15-10-2026 | 14-10-2026 | 13-10-2026 | 12-10-2026 | 11-10-2026 | 10-10-2026 | 09-10-2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generation by fuel | |||||||||||
| Coal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hydro (non-pumped storage) | 581.39 | 658.19 | 639.33 | 646.85 | 584.94 | 546.31 | 591.33 | 748.75 | 461.42 | 465.19 |
Understanding UK electricity generation: coal
Coal generation measures the electrical power supplied to the Great Britain transmission network by thermal power stations burning hard coal. This series isolates coal-fired electricity from gas, nuclear, wind, biomass, and interconnector imports. The geographic scope is restricted exclusively to Great Britain and excludes any coal-generation assets operating in Northern Ireland.
Reading these figures requires recognising the historical shift of coal from a primary baseload source to a rare backup fuel utilised primarily during periods of tight system margins or high gas prices. Day-to-day figures can remain at zero for extended periods, making percentage growth metrics uninformative. Analysts examining this series should focus on absolute operational status rather than standard cyclical comparisons, keeping in mind the structural phase-out of the technology.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the coal generation series capture?
- It records electrical power delivered to the Great Britain grid by traditional coal-fired power stations.
- Why do coal figures frequently register zero?
- Coal has been largely phased out of the daily generation mix, operating only as a reserve fuel during exceptional system stress.
- How should analysts evaluate trends in this series?
- Focusing on operational days and capacity availability is more useful than standard percentage changes, given the near-zero baseline.