SSE's Peterhead gas plant to supply voltage support to UK grid

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) has chosen SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) 's Peterhead gas plant to provide voltage support services to Britain's electricity system between April 2016 and September 2017, the grid operator said on Monday.

Voltage control is the method National Grid uses to ensure that the electricity system stays within set daily limits, and the 15 million pound ($22.3 million) contract allows it to call on 385 megawatts (MW) of Peterhead's 1.18 gigawatt capacity if required.

"We recognised a need for voltage support in Scotland due to a gap between the potential closure of thermal plant and the completion of upgrades to the high-voltage transmission network," Mike Calviou, director of transmission network services at National Grid, said in a statement.

The Peterhead gas plant in Aberdeenshire was chosen after a competitive tendering process. ($1 = 0.6714 pounds) (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by David Goodman)