Demand for winter gas set to surge as National Grid prepares for cold weather
BRITAIN’S winter gas demand is expected to rise by 3.8 per cent compared with last winter as more gas is forecast to be used for power generation, National Grid said yesterday.
In the power sector, peak demand levels are expected to be slightly lower than last year’s at 57.7 gigawatts (GW), while available power generation is expected to reach 66.3 GW, the grid operator said in its final winter outlook report.
“Gas and electricity demand is manageable and should be met even in a very cold winter,” National Grid said in a statement.
Gas demand for power generation this winter will be 1bn cubic metres (bcm) higher than the weather-corrected estimate for last year at 17.6 bcm. Even though no clear forecast has been made as to which fuel will be this winter’s baseload resource, gas is expected to be the fuel of choice over the first two winter months.
National Grid also reviewed its seasonal weather assumptions following last year’s cold winter. The grid operator also said that installed power production capacity could rise to 83 GW by the end of the winter.