An energy company is seeking permission to generate more electricity at a Norfolk power plant.

Great Yarmouth Power Station currently has a maximum capacity of about 400 megawatts electric (MWe) - enough to meet the needs of more than 300,000 households.

But now its owner, RWE, is applying for that capacity to be changed to up to 430 MW.  

A spokesman for the company said the application follows "incremental, modest improvements" at the gas-powered plant which mean it can produce "slightly more electricity" than is currently set out in its consent. 

The newly opened gas-fired power station in Great Yarmouth in 2001. The newly opened gas-fired power station in Great Yarmouth in 2001. (Image: Mike Page) READ MORE: Norfolk power station unveils radical plan to introduce carbon capture technology

Generating the additional electricity will not require any additional work to the station.

At present, the site has approval to operate under a Section 36 Consent (S36), which specifies the maximum generation capacity. 

The application is to update the planning consent to allow the full capability to be utilised.

A spokesman for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said that Town Hall was consulted by RWE as part of a variation of consent application to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) under Section 36C of The Electricity Act 1989.

"The application was to authorise the output of the power station of up to 430Mwe. Having considered the proposal, the council has raised no objection," the spokesman said.

READ MORE: Take a look inside this Norfolk coastal power station in the 1950s

Earlier this year, RWE unveiled plans to install a carbon capture plant at Great Yarmouth Power Station to prevent CO₂ being emitted into the atmosphere.

The gas-fired facility, located by the town's South Denes, opened in its current form in 2001.

The town's first power plant opened in 1894 and used steam engines and turbines to power industrial buildings and light public areas.

It was torn down in 1961, with a new oil-fired plant opening on South Denes Road.

That operated until 1984 and was eventually demolished, along with its iconic 360-foot chimney, in 1997.