UK Grid Live

Real-time electricity data

Methodology

Data Methodology

How the dashboard turns public electricity-system data into readable live cards, trends, and monthly summaries.

How to read UK Grid Live

The dashboard is a live view of public electricity data. It combines source readings into plain-English cards for demand, generation mix, carbon intensity, interconnector flows, prices, weather context, and monthly summaries.

Core sources

Refresh cadence

The live dashboard is designed around frequent refreshes. Core readings usually update every few minutes where source APIs support that cadence. Some secondary datasets update less often because the upstream source publishes them less frequently or because they are cached to reduce unnecessary API traffic.

Demand and generation

Demand and generation cards are built from public grid readings and may combine transmission-level data with embedded-generation estimates where available. The aim is to show a practical public view of the electricity system rather than a settlement-grade operational record.

Carbon intensity

Carbon-intensity values are shown in grams of CO₂ equivalent per kWh. The dashboard uses published source readings and forecasts, then adds labels such as low, moderate, or high to make the live state easier to interpret.

Monthly reports

Monthly report cards summarize completed calendar months using sampled settlement-period data. They show average carbon intensity, renewable share, cleanest and dirtiest periods, and average generation mix. If upstream datasets are revised, refreshed cards may differ from earlier cached values.

Known limitations

Corrections and source questions

If a number looks wrong or a source appears stale, use the contact page and include the URL, timestamp, and value. Corrections are checked against the original source data before page copy or calculations are changed.