FX.co ★ UK on verge of energy crisis?

The Financial Times reported that five energy suppliers in the UK terminated their business due to soaring wholesale gas prices. Experts warn that they could declare bankruptcy in the near future.

Nowadays, over 22 million households in the Kingdom consume gas from a variety of domestic gas sources. 38% of natural gas is allocated for home heating and 29% is used for electric power production. According to local energy consultants, two thirds of these households are on fixed price energy tariffs which means they pay in advance. This way, British consumers are shielded from volatile energy prices. Currently, they have not been cut off gas supplies yet because energy companies are providing them with gas reserves which have been stockpiled for a few months.

Since early August, an emergency situation has been brewing up in the UK energy sector. 5 medium-sized energy suppliers serving 570K households have gone out of business being unable to cover the cost of the energy they had committed to supply. There are fears that 40 smaller suppliers might follow suit in a few coming months. Sadly, even big energy companies are facing the same challenge. Their bankruptcy is only a matter of time.

On Monday, September 20, gas futures surged to the all-time high of $950 per 1,000 cubic meters on the ICE Futures Exchange. Later on, gas futures retreated to $800 per 1,000 cubic meters. Buoyant demand for natural gas amid sparse inventories in Europe sets the stage for inflated gas prices, commodity experts account for the current situation.