Could Britain's gas stocks run out this winter?

[phantom power]

"If you do the numbers, storage will be empty some time in early February if it stays this cold," said Jason Durden, energy trader at Energy Quote JHA.

Gas for delivery over the first quarter of 2011 has gained 12 percent since the onset of cold weather in the middle of November, according to one broker, and spot prices have nearly doubled in the last two months as temperatures have dived.

"If January and February demand is as high as it is now, storage will not be enough and prices will spike," one British gas market analyst said.

Temperatures fell to a new record low for November over the weekend, Britain's official weather forecaster, the Met Office said, while gas demand is around 25 percent higher than the same time last year, according to National Grid data.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE6AT02820101130?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=stocksNews&rpc=401

[dipsydoodle]

1. They can always think of an excuse

to increase prices. :)

The supply companies are already under investigation for excess profits so I think they may take care on this issue.

[GliderGuider]

2. They've been issuing this warning for the last 3 years.

One of these days someone's going to stop clapping, and Tinkerbell isn't going to come through...

[happyslug]

3. I always have to remind myself, they do NOT speak American English in England

In American English "Gas" can mean two things, Gasoline or Natural Gas. In Britain, Gas only means Natural Gas, Gasoline is called Petrol in British English and thus this article is about Natural Gas Supplies in Britain.

American and British English have been divulging for centuries, through since WWII you have seen a tendency for both to involve to use the same terms (This is sometime imposed by Government, for example "Light Rail Vehicle" or "LRV" was a term invented in the 1960s or 1970s to describe what in Britain is called a "Tram and in the United States a "Streetcar". "LRV" has taken off in both countries.

The switch to the term LRV in both countries has been much more successful then the Safely Engineers attempt to drop "Inflammable" for "Flammable", Inflammable has been around since the 1400s, Flammable since the early 1800s. Both terms are used in both countries. Safety Engineers have noted some people are confused by the term "Inflammable" in that "in", as generally used in front of other word to mean "NOT" (in the case of Inflammable it is derived from latin and means to make it worse i.e. In in Inflammable means "more" not "not"). Thus safety engineers have been advocating the use of Flammable exclusively since WWII in both Britain and the US. It has NOT been as successful as safety engineers have hope, you still see a lot of "Inflammable" signs in both counties, but I mention it to show how hard it is to change a term once it is in common use.

http://www.aristatek.com/Newsletter/03%2002%20February/Technical%20Discussion.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability

[eppur_se_muova]

4. They may have divulged wider than you realize. ;^) nt

[happyslug]

5. I ran it through my Spell Checker...

Ode to a Spell Checker

I have a spelling checker
I disk covered four my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot see.

Eye ran this poem threw it.
Your sure real glad two no.
Its very polished in its weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a blessing.
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.

Each frays comes posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The checker pours o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

Bee fore wee rote with checkers
Hour spelling was inn deck line,
Butt now when wee dew have a laps,
Wee are not maid too wine.

And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
There are know faults in awl this peace,
Of nun eye am a wear.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. a litter airy classic! nt

[AlecBGreen]

7. stoop end us!