What's powering Scotland right now?
Scotland's live electricity mix, carbon and the cleanest times to use power, from the grid operator's own figuresScotland's electricity mix
Region by region
Scotland has two network regions. SSEN covers the Highlands, the islands and the north east, and SP Energy Networks covers central and southern Scotland. Here's how each one looks right now, cleanest first. Hover over or tap the map to see any region.
When's the cleanest time to use power in Scotland?
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Here's how much carbon each unit of electricity in Scotland is forecast to carry over the next 24 hours.
How Scotland's grid works
Most of Scotland's electricity comes from wind, onshore and offshore, with hydro in the Highlands and the nuclear station at Torness. On most days that makes Scottish power some of the lowest-carbon in Britain.
Scotland usually generates more than it uses and sends the rest south to England. When it's very windy there isn't always enough cable capacity to move it all, so some wind farms are paid to switch off.
- Coal Longannet, Scotland's last coal power station, closed in 2016.
- Nuclear Hunterston B stopped generating in January 2022, leaving Torness in East Lothian as Scotland's one nuclear station.
- Hydro Scotland is home to most of Britain's hydro power, including Cruachan, the pumped-storage station inside Ben Cruachan.
What it means for your business
Even with a low-carbon grid, your bill still depends on which network region your site's in, because network charges are set region by region. If you've got sites in Scotland and England, it's worth checking you're not paying more than you need to on either side of the border.
Get a quoteReady for half-hourly settlement?
Business electricity is moving to half-hourly settlement (MHHS), so when you use power is about to matter as much as how much. See what it means for your site.
Check your MHHS riskSee another nation
Tap a nation on the map, or pick one below.
See all of Britain live, with imports and supplier fuel mixesNorthern Ireland runs on a separate grid shared with Ireland, so its figures come from SONI, the grid operator there.
Live figures: the mix, carbon intensity and forecast for Scotland, and each network region's, from the NESO Carbon Intensity API (CC BY 4.0). Regional figures are NESO's estimates of the electricity used in each region, including power flowing in from elsewhere, and are updated every half hour.
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For more information
01273 914000To talk about your business electricity, phone us on the number above, or request a quote and one of our energy experts will call you at a time that suits you.