Inside the gas crisis – and how it ’ ll affect you

An unprecedented upturn in the price of gas is sending shockwaves through the UK energy market, forcing a number of energy suppliers out of business, threatening massive increases to consumer’s bills and even provoking government bailouts of carbon-dioxide producers integral to the food supply chain. UNISON’s national officer for energy Matt Lay explains how we got to this point and what it means for our members. He paints a dark picture of an entire section of the country’s infrastructure which has been balanced on a knife edge for years and warns that, without immediate government action, people will go cold this winter. So Matt, what is happening? “There has been a significant global increase in the wholesale price of gas. It’s down to a lot of reasons but mainly, demand is greater than supply. The UK is a big consumer of gas, not just for home consumption, but also in terms of electricity production, around half of the UK’s electricity supply comes from gas fired electricity plants. “So, this isn’t just about the price of consumer’s gas or central heating, it’s going to affect their electricity as well, we’re talking about hundreds of pounds a year increase.” Why is it coming into focus now? “To put it very simply, energy suppliers buy electricity and gas from the wholesale market and sell it on to consumers. This has been coming for a few weeks now, prices are continuing to rise and it’s likely that they’ll stay high....
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article Energy Source Type: news