National Transmission System
Encyclopedia
The National Transmission System (NTS) is the network of large-diameter gas pipelines throughout the United Kingdom that supply gas to 40 power stations from natural gas
terminals situated on the coast, and also gas distribution companies which lead indirectly to homes.
: in fact it is looked after by the same company, National Grid plc
, administratively based in Warwick
(formerly in Hinckley). Although National Grid only owns the electrical transmission system in England and Wales, with the Scotland transmission system owned by two Scottish companies, the NTS is wholly owned by National Grid plc in England, Scotland and Wales.
. Prior to this gas came locally from municipal gasworks
. Most of the NTS was built in the 1970s and early 1980s. In February 1997, British Gas de-merged into two units, with the NTS being owned by BG plc
, then in October 2000 by the de-merged Lattice Group
. In October 2002, the Lattice Group merged with National Grid.
in the UK's gas network. It is the starting point for gas distribution before it reaches the pipeline system for houses, which is not part of the NTS, but the two systems form the gas distribution network of the UK.
There are two types of gas pipelines in the UK: large diameter high-pressure (up to 85 bar
and 120cm diameter) pipelines - the type that the NTS uses, and smaller diameter lower pressure pipelines that connect to domestic uses in residential areas. The NTS has over 6,600km of welded steel gas pipeline with twenty six (mostly gas turbine
driven) compressor
stations and fifteen pressure regulators. Gas moves through the system at 25 mph.
Compressor stations include:
(three in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland) stores with one terminal in England using LNG carrier
s connected to LNG pier
s.
, Leicestershire
(former headquarters of the NTS). Financial transactions between the Gas Transporters are managed by Xoserve, based in Solihull
. It was formerly an internal department of National Grid and is now an independent company.
For distribution to houses, National Grid plc (this division is based in Northampton
) owns the network in North West England
, the West Midlands
, the East Midlands
, the East of England
and North London
. In June 2005, National Grid sold some gas distribution networks and now in the North of England, it is owned by Northern Gas Networks; in the Wales and West by Wales and West Utilities; and in Southern England and Scotland by Scotia Gas Networks
.
.
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
terminals situated on the coast, and also gas distribution companies which lead indirectly to homes.
Similarity to the National Grid
It is directly analogous to the UK's National Grid for electricity transmissionElectric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
: in fact it is looked after by the same company, National Grid plc
National Grid plc
National Grid plc is a multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom and northeastern United States and it is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world.National Grid is listed on...
, administratively based in Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
(formerly in Hinckley). Although National Grid only owns the electrical transmission system in England and Wales, with the Scotland transmission system owned by two Scottish companies, the NTS is wholly owned by National Grid plc in England, Scotland and Wales.
History
North Sea Gas was first brought ashore in the UK in 1967, and from thence the NTS was built by British GasBritish Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
. Prior to this gas came locally from municipal gasworks
Gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
. Most of the NTS was built in the 1970s and early 1980s. In February 1997, British Gas de-merged into two units, with the NTS being owned by BG plc
BG Group
BG Group plc is a global oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. It has operations in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and produces around 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has a major Liquefied Natural Gas ...
, then in October 2000 by the de-merged Lattice Group
Lattice Group
Lattice Group plc was a leading British gas transmission business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
. In October 2002, the Lattice Group merged with National Grid.
Operation
The system provides the arteriesArtery
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....
in the UK's gas network. It is the starting point for gas distribution before it reaches the pipeline system for houses, which is not part of the NTS, but the two systems form the gas distribution network of the UK.
There are two types of gas pipelines in the UK: large diameter high-pressure (up to 85 bar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
and 120cm diameter) pipelines - the type that the NTS uses, and smaller diameter lower pressure pipelines that connect to domestic uses in residential areas. The NTS has over 6,600km of welded steel gas pipeline with twenty six (mostly gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
driven) compressor
Gas compressor
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas...
stations and fifteen pressure regulators. Gas moves through the system at 25 mph.
Compressor stations include:
- England - WoolerWoolerWooler is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, by the Cheviot Hills and so is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots"...
, Bishop AucklandBishop AucklandBishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
, CarnforthCarnforth- References :...
, Nether Kellett, ScunthorpeScunthorpeScunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, WarringtonWarringtonWarrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, HattonHatton, LincolnshireHatton is a small village and civil parish east of the town of Wragby, and about north west of the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. The village lies just north of the A158....
, AlrewasAlrewasAlrewas is a large village and civil parish within Lichfield District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the A38 road, approximately 5 miles north of Lichfield...
, WisbechWisbechWisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
, King's LynnKing's LynnKing's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, PeterboroughPeterboroughPeterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, ChurchoverChurchoverChurchover is a small village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 230.It is located around 4 miles north of Rugby, and is administratively part of the borough of Rugby....
, PeterstowPeterstowPeterstow is a village and Civil parish in Herefordshire, England situated about west of Ross-on-Wye on the A49.-General description of the village:...
, HuntingdonHuntingdonHuntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, DissDissDiss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
, ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, AylesburyAylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, LockerleyLockerleyLockerley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England on the border with Wiltshire. The village lies on the southern bank of the River Dun about two miles upstream from its confluence with the River Test and about east of West Dean which is just over the Wiltshire border. The parish has a...
and Wormington. - Scotland - AberdeenAberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, BathgateBathgateBathgate is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the M8 motorway west of Livingston. Nearby towns are Blackburn, Armadale, Whitburn, Livingston, and Linlithgow. Edinburgh Airport is away...
, KirriemuirKirriemuirKirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland.-History:The history of Kirriemuir extends to the early historical period and it appears to have been a centre of some ecclesiastical importance...
, MoffatMoffatMoffat is a former burgh and spa town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. The most notable building in the town is the Moffat House Hotel, designed by John Adam...
and St Fergus
Entry
Gas enters the system via the seven UK gas terminals (six in England and one in Scotland) and the six LNGLiquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
(three in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland) stores with one terminal in England using LNG carrier
LNG carrier
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...
s connected to LNG pier
LNG pier
A LNG pier is a specialized kind of working pier designed for the loading and offloading of liquefied natural gas from ships to shore based tanks....
s.
Gas distribution network
The gas distribution network (to homes) is not part of the NTS. Companies that own part of this gas network, also known as the Local Transmission System (LTS), are known officially as Gas Transporters. Gas to this network enters via the NTS through a pressure reduction station to the twelve gas distribution zones in England, Scotland and Wales within eight distribution networks. In total, there are 275,000km of gas pipelines within this network. The LTS is managed from HinckleyHinckley
Hinckley is a town in southwest Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43,246 . It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
(former headquarters of the NTS). Financial transactions between the Gas Transporters are managed by Xoserve, based in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
. It was formerly an internal department of National Grid and is now an independent company.
For distribution to houses, National Grid plc (this division is based in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
) owns the network in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
, the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
, the East of England
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
and North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. In June 2005, National Grid sold some gas distribution networks and now in the North of England, it is owned by Northern Gas Networks; in the Wales and West by Wales and West Utilities; and in Southern England and Scotland by Scotia Gas Networks
Scotia Gas Networks
Scotia Gas Networks is a holding company of Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks based in Horley.- History :The company was formed following National Grid plc's decision to sell four of its local gas distribution zones in order to raise funds for expansion...
.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is not part of the NTS per se, but gets its gas via the Scotland to Northern Ireland natural gas transmission pipeline (SNIP) owned by Premier Transmission and built in 1998. The gas network in Northern Ireland is owned by Phoenix Natural GasPhoenix Natural Gas
Phoenix Natural Gas is the largest gas distribution business in Northern Ireland, being the owner and operator of the licence for the distribution network in the Greater Belfast area...
.
See also
- Easington Gas TerminalEasington Gas TerminalThe Easington Gas Terminal is one of three main gas terminals in the UK, and is situated on the North Sea coast at Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire and Dimlington. The other two main gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire and Bacton, Norfolk. The whole site consists of three plants: two...
- St. Fergus Gas PlantSt. Fergus Gas PlantThe St Fergus Gas Plant in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is a set of four gas processing .-History:The plant was initially developed by British Gas and Shell. The three main plants have three main pipelines each coming ashore. The Centrica plant receives gas from the other main three plants...
- Office of Gas and Electricity MarketsOffice of Gas and Electricity MarketsThe Office of Gas and Electricity Markets , supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority , is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain...
(Ofgem)