National Grid warns of gas shortage, asks suppliers for more

As the nation continued to shiver at the behest of both Storm Emma and the ‘Beast from the East’, National Grid warned the country could run out of natural gas on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 firm, which operates the country’s primary gas distribution network, has asked its suppliers to pump more gas into the network and asked some industrial users to taper their consumption.

“National gas demand today is high and due to the extreme weather conditions, there have been gas supply losses overnight,” a National Grid spokeswoman told media earlier in the day.

“At 0545 GMT this morning we issued a 'Gas Deficit Warning' to the market.

“This is an indication to the market that we'd like more gas to be made available to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the national gas network.”

The company said it remained in communication with industry partners, and was “closely monitoring” the situation.

According to the BBC, chemical firm Ineos was looking to cut gas consumption at its Runcorn facility by 20% in response to National Grid’s request.

Prices were also surging, with day-ahead prices briefly touching 120p per therm during the last 24 hours.

They had spent the last couple of months hovering around the 50p mark.

Month-ahead prices remained relatively stable, peaking at almost 60p per therm before dropping back below 50p.

Most energy suppliers plan their gas requirements one month ahead, but at times of high demand - such as during the current cold snap - are forced to buy extra gas at day-ahead prices.