‘Healthy supply’ forces wholesale gas price drop

THE price of wholesale gas in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than a third in the last year, a new report has shown.

Wholesale prices are 36% lower on average this month compared to September 2015, according to the Business Energy Report by Vayu Energy.

It says the fall is due to “on-going healthy supply and decreased demand year on year”.

And prices are down around 14%, month-on-month.

The report says “significant supply overhang pushed the prompt market to lows not seen since 2009 during the first half of the month”.

Joanne Daly, senior energy analyst at Vayu, said: “Temper- atures are expected to be above normal in the UK and throughout most of Europe during the last week of September.

“Weather forecasts are also signalling strong winds for the same period.

“These point to a period of continued low gas demand for the remainder of the month, which could keep a cap on any potential gains due to supply issues.

“Storage levels across Europe are quickly filling up and are at 86% capacity.

“This trend will continue until we see demand for heating return.

“UK storage levels remain at 52% and are unlikely to grow beyond that prior to winter due to the on-going restrictions on the rough storage facility.”