Scottish utility SSE now expects most of its gas-fired units to remain
operational into the mid-2030s, a change from earlier guidance that three large
plants would reach end-of-life by the end of this decade, CEO Martin Pibworth
said. Many UK gas plants were built in the late 1990s and operators face rising
maintenance costs. The shift underscores the challenge of keeping supply
reliable as wind and solar expand and the system relies more on intermittent
generation; batteries and demand-side response are scaling but remain slower to
start than gas. "I expect most of our gas plants to continue running into the
mid-2030s because the power system does need that flexibility, but future
utilization will fall sharply," Pibworth said.
