Gas alert as demand and prices rise

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 03 Dec 2016, 04:29

They can VT. I would guess that only 50% of homes have a gas cooker and those with electric ones would have no way of cooking or heating in an electricity cut. That guessed 50% may be even lower as sales of induction hobs have taken off recently.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 03 Dec 2016, 12:13

kenneal - lagger wrote:They can VT. I would guess that only 50% of homes have a gas cooker and those with electric ones would have no way of cooking or heating in an electricity cut. That guessed 50% may be even lower as sales of induction hobs have taken off recently.

Well you might have to visit your neighbor that has a gas hob as you call them and watch a couple of their largest stock pots simmer on the range. If you make a nice soup in one of them the room will smell nice as well as being nice and warm.

Post by **adam2** » 03 Dec 2016, 13:05

Most gas hobs sold in the UK have electric ignition, most of these can also be lit with a match.
Unfortunately a surprisingly large number of people do not realise this, they try the electric ignition, observe that the gas does not light and conclude that the hob does not work in a power cut.

Gas cooking seems to be in decline, with electricity being favoured for most new installations. Anyone competent can connect a new or replacement electric cooker, whilst a new or replacement gas cooker requires a qualified person at significant expense.

Gas cooking is considered less safe than electricity.

Post by **clv101** » 03 Dec 2016, 19:33

This is a shame, I've yet to come across an electric hob that's anywhere like as nice to cook on as gas.

cubes · Post by **cubes** » 04 Dec 2016, 00:01

adam2 wrote:Anyone competent can connect a new or replacement electric cooker, whilst a new or replacement gas cooker requires a qualified person at significant expense.

Don't electrical fittings in kitchens need to be checked nowdays by a part-p qualified person? Ok, not *need* but legally required.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 04 Dec 2016, 02:27

cubes wrote:
adam2 wrote:Anyone competent can connect a new or replacement electric cooker, whilst a new or replacement gas cooker requires a qualified person at significant expense.
Don't electrical fittings in WEAREDODGY need to be checked nowdays by a part-p qualified person? Ok, not *need* but legally required.

The most I've ever had to do on an electric range Or a clothes dryer was change the cord to match the plug on the wall. A simple matter of red goes to red black to black and green to green. Switching a gas range between natural gas to propane is a little more involved but the parts needed and instructions are usually in a plastic pouch taped to the back. You can have that done by the store if your buying new. After that it is just a matter of screwing on the flex pipe to the gas inlet pipe and checking to see that it doesn't leak using some soapy water. Your insurance company might want to have the installation inspected and you might be required to if your going to rent the place out.
Better safe then sorry.

Post by **adam2** » 04 Dec 2016, 09:46

cubes wrote:
adam2 wrote:Anyone competent can connect a new or replacement electric cooker, whilst a new or replacement gas cooker requires a qualified person at significant expense.
Don't electrical fittings in the cooking area need to be checked nowdays by a part-p qualified person? Ok, not *need* but legally required.

The original installation needs to be done by someone authorised under part pee of the building regulations.
Connecting a new cooker to the existing fixed installation can be done by anyone competent.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 08 Dec 2016, 15:46

mikepepler wrote:http://uk.reuters.com/article/france-po ... KL8N1DG2F5

EDF will not be able to restart seven nuclear reactors undergoing safety checks for at least another 45 days, France's nuclear watchdog ASN said on Tuesday, suggesting a potential setback in EDF's plans to restart the reactors by the year-end.

Bankruptcy for EDF seems inevitable − and if such a vast empire in any other line of business seemed to be in such serious financial trouble, there would be near-panic in the workforce and in governments at the subsequent political fall-out.

But it seems that the nuclear-dominated EDF group is considered too big to be allowed to fail. So, to keep the lights on in western Europe, the company will have to be bailed out by the taxpayers of France and the UK.

Source

The company’s troubles do not stop in France, as EDF also owns the UK nuclear industry. Ironically, it took over 15 reactors in the UK after British Energy went bankrupt in 2002 because the cost of producing the electricity was greater than the wholesale price − exactly the situation being repeated now in France.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 08 Dec 2016, 18:34

Sent to my MP

It looks like the UK taxpayer will be bailing out the nuclear industry again. And not just for decommissioning, production as well!! And we're asking them to build new reactors in places where they will be vulnerable to seven metre sea level rises in their working lifetimes. Crazy!!

http://climatenewsnetwork.net/taxpayers ... ar-crisis/

Post by **adam2** » 11 Dec 2016, 09:53

Unless some exceptional event occurs to restrict imports, the natural gas supply situation now looks a bit more secure.

A few days of mild weather have reduced heating demand, and plenty of wind has reduced gas used for electricity generation.

As a result, rapid withdrawals from MRS have ceased for now, and even a little filling has occurred.
Another cargo of LNG has arrived, and withdrawals of LNG seem to be close to the minimum.

Most significantly, it looks as though the LRS is now available as a minute withdrawal was made a couple of days ago, and a more significant withdrawal yesterday.

We remain vulnerable to any supply interuptions such as might be caused by natural disasters or terrorism, but in the absence of any such, we should muddle through.

Post by **adam2** » 26 Dec 2016, 18:30

The gas price has just plummeted, overnight to prices not seen since the Summer.
Demand does of course fall over the holiday season, and that would tend to reduce prices, but the fall in demand is known about in advance and I would expect that the markets would have priced it in.

The recent mild weather has reduced heating demand, and the high winds have resulted gas burnt for power generation, but the fall in prices still seems a bit overdone.

Post by **adam2** » 28 Dec 2016, 14:10

Gas prices now back to normal, meaning broadly in line with the recently prevailing price.
I wonder what caused the sudden plummet ?

I suppose it might simply have been very little trade in gas on boxing day. Any "sell" order might then have a much greater than normal effect on prices.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 28 Dec 2016, 14:18

Maybe people saw it as really cheap so they bought lots.

Post by **mikepepler** » 16 Jan 2017, 10:09

Getting cold in France and elsewhere, which is increasing imports of electricity from the UK, where coal and gas plants are running flat out today. Of course, it's not especially warm here either, so gas demand is fairly high...
http://www.connexionfrance.com/france-w ... ticle.html

Post by **mikepepler** » 16 Jan 2017, 10:10

Also: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/fre ... expensive/