Brits are struggling with unprecedentedly high gas prices: how will heating go this winter?

The United Kingdom is struggling with unprecedentedly high gas prices. The price for gas has more than tripled since the beginning of the year, leaving energy companies in trouble. Six British energy companies have now gone bankrupt, and more are expected to follow.

Chloe Unterhalter from Guildford, England, was a customer of one of the energy companies that went bankrupt. Like one and a half million other Britons, she received a message that her account was automatically transferred to another energy company.

Because there is a maximum price, British energy companies are currently unable to pass on the sharp rise in natural gas prices to their customers. As a result, the smaller energy providers are now failing. “You do your best to compare providers and to find a good deal for the family, but of course nobody saw this coming,” says Chloe.

International demand

The high gas price is palpable in all of Europe. There was an urgent global demand for energy as the economy started to bounce back after the pandemic. Also, international stocks are unusually low for this time of year. And the supply of gas from Russia is more limited, which some say is a deliberate technique by Russia to pressure the European Union to approve the new controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

However, in addition to globally rising gas prices, there are factors that make the gas shortage in the United Kingdom even more acute. A gas platform in the North Sea was in need of maintenance, and a fire broke out in Kent that knocked out a major gas supply pipeline. There was also less wind than expected, as a result of which the yield of wind energy was disappointing and the demand for fossil fuels increased again. In addition, the United Kingdom is highly dependent on gas and will be less likely to rely on the reserves of European neighbors after Brexit.

Too dependent on gas

The UK government is currently holding crisis talks with the energy sector, but says there is no reason for unrest or panic. “There is absolutely no question of families not being able to heat their homes this winter,” said British Economy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng in the House of Commons. Kwarteng indicated that it does not intend to abolish the so-called ‘cap’ for energy prices. However, some larger energy companies are being consulted about loans, so that these companies can absorb the unprofitable customers of failed suppliers.

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