Power blackouts in the UK have been deemed unlikely after the fall of wholesale gas prices across Europe. The National Grid had warned last autumn of a possibility of rolling power cuts if cold weather and shortages hit supply.
Prices for wholesale buyers have fallen sharply after a warm spell across the continent. According to The Guardian, European prices for delivery in February fell by 4.3% to €73.7 a megawatt hour, while UK prices fell by 3.8% to 179p a therm.
The next fortnight is forecast to remain mild, which has helped shore up optimism over gas supplies. The shortages stemmed from Russia reducing gas exports to Europe after its invasion of Ukraine.
Gas storage facilities have been maintained at a high level due to fears of a shortage. It was forecast by traders that a potential global recession would cut energy demand this year.
The concern for blackouts grew in December when a cold snap strained power systems, with record power prices facing already straitened households. Last November, John Pettigrew, the boss of the National Grid - the utilities company which distributes electricity and gas - asked people not to 'panic' amid reports of an energy crisis.
The National Grid's options for dealing with an energy crisis have not come into play. Mr Pettigrew had listed restarting disused coal-fired power stations, paying households and businesses to reduce consumption during peak times and rolling regional outages as possible measures.
The Guardian reports that the risks of power outages has vastly decreased. Tom Marzec-Manser, the head of gas analytics at energy consultancy ICIS, told them that "The risk of another cold snap and gas supplies not meeting demand this winter is now very low".
He added: “We are now that much closer to the end of the winter. The risk of there not being enough gas around this winter has reduced significantly.”
Investec oil and gas analyst Nathan Piper added: “I do not think that we are likely to see power cuts come to pass."
