irishspirit
21st December 2010, 14:01
Businesses are having to ration the amount of gas they use, amid fears of shortages and higher prices for residential customers in the wake of the freezing temperatures.
National Grid issued a warning that some companies should begin rationing gas so that supplies could be diverted to households. Various factories had to come "off the grid" and rely on their back-up gnerators. This is the first time such an alert has been issued this winter and came as demand hit a record level in a single day.
National Grid issued its so-called 'gas balancing alert' because demand hit a record 460 million cubic metres on Sunday, as millions of households turned up their thermostats, making it more difficult for the UK’s ageing network to cope.
This, in turn, sent prices shooting up on the wholesale market raising fears that consumers – most of whose energy companies have already announced inflation-busting price rises – could be hit with further price rises early next year.
Prices on the wholesale markets shot up 11 per cent to 75p per therm because the UK is in competition for supplies with other countries around the world.
Although four out of the six big energy companies have already raised their prices for households this winter, the extreme weather makes it more likely that they will have to raise prices even further early next year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8214750/Snow-gas-rationing-amid-fears-of-higher-prices.html
National Grid issued a warning that some companies should begin rationing gas so that supplies could be diverted to households. Various factories had to come "off the grid" and rely on their back-up gnerators. This is the first time such an alert has been issued this winter and came as demand hit a record level in a single day.
National Grid issued its so-called 'gas balancing alert' because demand hit a record 460 million cubic metres on Sunday, as millions of households turned up their thermostats, making it more difficult for the UK’s ageing network to cope.
This, in turn, sent prices shooting up on the wholesale market raising fears that consumers – most of whose energy companies have already announced inflation-busting price rises – could be hit with further price rises early next year.
Prices on the wholesale markets shot up 11 per cent to 75p per therm because the UK is in competition for supplies with other countries around the world.
Although four out of the six big energy companies have already raised their prices for households this winter, the extreme weather makes it more likely that they will have to raise prices even further early next year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8214750/Snow-gas-rationing-amid-fears-of-higher-prices.html