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Gas prices have jumped threefold on the back of supply shortages and forced National Grid to issue an unprecedented alert.
The "gas balancing alert", an amber warning to heavy users and suppliers, was published yesterday on National Grid's website, the first time the group has used the warning system since it was first implemented last winter.
The warning came after heavy use by businesses yesterday. This was made worse by increased domestic use after the cold snap and the temporary closure of the UK's largest gas storage site, Centrica's Rough platform.
A National Grid spokesman said that if supply conditions did not improve, the company would implement emergency measures including interrupting the use of heavy gas users, adding: "It was not a request for heavy users to use less gas, but a tool that provides the market with a signal."
That signal indicates heavy users will face restrictions in supply if providers are not able to increase the market's capacity, or industry is not able to curb its use.
Many heavy industrial users have closed plants over the winter and re-sold any surplus gas in an effort to cut costs.
Source:
RedAlert
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