Gas alert as demand and prices rise

[PS_RalphW]

The guardian put a wonderfully over the top article by Tim Webb about the UK having 6 hours of gas left as the top headline on its web site.

It generated about 100 comments before it was pulled and erased.

[Aurora]

www.financialadvice.co.uk - 11/01/10

UK gas reserves down to just six hours

Extreme cold weather in Norway caused the closure of a Norwegian gas supply processing centre which has impacted on the UK. Yet another National Grid gas alert has been issued and this time the UK government is appealing in desperation for extra gas to be pumped into the UK system from overseas. There is now a real danger that the supply of gas to the UK could be crippled in the days ahead unless alternative arrangements can be made immediately.

Article continues ...

Same item of news on this site.

[Keepz]

The same approach worked very effectively in the US with sulphur emissions

Mr. Crocker sees two modern-day problems in using a cap-and-trade system to address the global greenhouse-gas issue. The first is that carbon emissions are a global problem with myriad sources. Cap-and-trade, he says, is better suited for discrete, local pollution problems. ‘It is not clear to me how you would enforce a permit system internationally,’ he says. ‘There are no institutions right now that have that power.’

That's true, but it is also a problem for all policy approaches to limiting carbon emissions. A carbon tax or a regulatory, technology-prescriptive approach would also be difficult to enforce internationally and useless if it weren't. The beauty of carbon trading is that it would allow a transfer of money from developed, polluting nations to less developed ones and should therefore be more attractive to the latter

The other problem, Mr. Crocker says, is that quantifying the economic damage of climate change -- from floods to failing crops -- is fraught with uncertainty. One estimate puts it at anywhere between 5% and 20% of global gross domestic product. Without knowing how costly climate change is, nobody knows how tight a grip to put on emissions…

Don't really understand this point or how it doesn't equally apply to a proposed carbon tax (how do you determine what is the appropriate level?) or a regulatory approach (how do you determine which technologies to mandate, and how much of them?) - I would have thought that establishing a limit for emissions would be a scientific rather than an economic issue

[Aurora]

Amended Guardian article now back on line:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010 ... ports-fail

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that UK stored gas reserves had fallen to six hours. After further briefings with National Grid, we understand the figure is actually seven days. The discrepancy resulted from a misunderstanding of how the supply data was presented. We apologise for the error.

The UK had about seven days of gas supplies – or just over 3,000m cubic metres – in storage today based on current demand levels, according to the National Grid. National Grid insists that there are plenty of mainly market based measures that can be taken to make sure the country does not run out of gas. The Conservatives, however, say there are not enough safeguards in place if the gas market fails.

[Aurora]

Update: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ro ... s-for-now/

[PS_RalphW]

Gas demand is still high. Predicted today to be 405 MCM.

Gas balancing alert level is 428.

We have 3 days left in Medium Range Storage. After today it will be 2 days.


http://marketinformation.natgrid.co.uk/ ... lorer.aspx

[johnhemming]

The GBA is set too high as well. NSS is not running at 363 mcm.d, but lower.

[Andy Hunt]

Although the weather is clear, temperatures are still sub zero at night in most of the country.

It's not summer yet by a long chalk.

[JohnB]

Although the weather is clear, temperatures are still sub zero at night in most of the country.

It was really cold here last night, but there's no mains gas, so it's not my fault if the rest of you run out .

[emordnilap]

Below freezing here in the west of Ireland too for the best part of three months. Not an Irish winter by any stretch.

Following as it does hard on the heels of once-in-hundred-year floods, I can't help wonder that the weather has broken.

[eatyourveg]

Below freezing here in the west of Ireland too for the best part of three months. Not an Irish winter by any stretch.

Following as it does hard on the heels of once-in-hundred-year floods, I can't help wonder that the weather has broken.

I seem to remember in the past that seasons were more sharply defined. Winter should be cold.
For the past three years it has been almost a monoseason.

[snow hope]

There is a good chance that we are returning to the more traditional seasons...... we shall see...

[kenneal - lagger]

-7.2C here Monday morning. The frogs haven't started spawning yet and the dafs are only just budding. The Japanese onions, planted last autumn, aren't really moving yet either.

I'm going to buy a set of snow chains for my Discovery for next winter. I nearly got stuck in the snow towing a trailer full of hay this year so snow chains will give me peace of mind for next winter, when I think we will have more snow.

We've got some bubble wrap which I'm going to put down in the garden to warm some beds up to get some early seeds in.

[PS_RalphW]

Demand is remaining close to 400mcm (million cubic metres) /day.

We are drawing down remaining medium and long term storage at about
7-10% a day.

The Met office is forecasting March will be average or slightly above average temperatures.

Let's hope they are being cautious.

[Totally_Baffled]

Just got my quarterly bill for gas and leccy.

£515!

Lets hope we do run out of gas I might save some money!