Gas prices ease further amid higher wind output
Gas prices continued to ease on Tuesday amid higher wind output and plentiful storage levels.
Downward momentum continued into the third consecutive session since Friday, with both the front-month and front-season contracts posting downside of circa 0.07p/kWh when compared to their previous close.
Strengthening wind power generation likely added weight to contracts at the front-end. Data from National Grid shows that wind turbine generation increased from 2.9GW to 7.0GW when compared to the previous gas-day, coinciding with a 36% decrease in demand for CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) generation across the same period.
On the storage front, continental facilities have already reached 62% full, this is a reassuring 4 percentage points above the same date last year, which is potentially supporting confidence in long-term supply security (data from Gas Infrastructure Europe).
In other news, Norwegian operator Equinor reported that it’s Hammerfest LNG facility had been shutdown and evacuated due to a gas leak on Tuesday, no injuries were reported but the plant is anticipated to remain offline until Friday.
Prices have opened slightly higher this morning, although many contracts have yet to trade at time of writing.
The UK is currently consuming 34.49 GW’s of electricity (11:30 – 12:00).
Windy conditions persist today with wind turbines currently generating 7.38 GW’s (20.00%) of the UK’s total electricity with gas only slightly higher at 7.82 GW’s (21.19%) of the total.
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