Good news for all glasshouse growers, as natural gas prices have fallen with the news that energy regulator Ofgem is investigating sharp price increases in recent weeks.
Industrial customers have urged Ofgem to look into the sharp inline in prices, which has made British natural gas prices amongst the most expensive in the developed world. The Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG), a lobby group for industrial consumers, said it found it "very odd that prices are so high when there are adequate supplies."
The Ofgem announcement and fall in prices coincided with news that the interconnector pipeline between Belgium and the UK was flowing for the first time since January. "Although we are not suggesting that there is anything untoward happening, we think there could be better information flow about supply condition from the producers in the North Sea, said EIUG director Jeremy Nicholson. He added that it was strange that the interconnector had been supplying gas to the Continent at a time when UK prices were more than a third higher than equivalent prices elsewhere in Europe.
UK natural gas futures for December had dropped 2.7p to 30.4p a therm on Monday, down from a record high of 36p a therm but almost 50 per cent higher than August-end.
No comments yet