National Grid expects record gas usage to ease this week
THE NATIONAL Grid has reassured customers that gas and electricity supplies are more than enough to meet demand, despite record usage yesterday forcing it to issue a supply alert.
The utility issued a gas balancing alert for yesterday and today, which allows its to redirect power from industrial users to help fuel homes and switch electricity generation from gas to other fuels in an effort to keep a constant power supply.
This is the first such alert to be issued as early in the winter as December.
Demand for gas is thought to have passed 468m cubic metres (mcm), slightly above forecasts on Sunday of 465.8mcm and well above the previous record of 465.5mcm seen in January this year.
The National Grid said usage was likely to be slightly less today and for the rest of the week, as companies start to close down for Christmas.
“A gas balancing alert is a routine market tool and should not be a cause for concern,” said
network operations director Chris Train.
Utility firms Centrica and National Grid helped push the FTSE 100 up 0.3 per cent yesterday to 5,891.61.