Britain facing gas shortages as freezing weather continuesBritain is braced for the prospect of running short of gas as the country is gripped by one of the coldest winters for a century.
For the second time ever, the National Grid yesterday issued a warning to energy providers that demand for gas is threatening to outstrip supply.
The ultimatum comes after a 30 per cent rise on normal seasonal demand as snow and freezing conditions continued their stranglehold on Britain.
The concerns caused natural gas prices to jump to their highest level in 10 months yesterday, touching 45p a therm.
While it is unlikely that households will find their supplies restricted, a shortage could lead to higher bills.
The National Grid, responsible for meeting the country's energy requirements, issued a gas balancing alert (GBA) yesterday to give warning that any further falls in supply could force big users like power plants to cut their consumption.
Extra gas supplies were rushed out to the liquefied natural gas importation terminal in Kent through pipelines in Belgium and Norway following the alert.
The National Grid said the risk of shortages had been temporarily averted by the influx.
"Supplies of gas to the UK have increased following the issuing of a gas balancing alert today," a spokesman said.
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