Press release

Freezing Russia Impacts UK Consumers

6 Feb 2012

The severe cold weather that Russia is currently experiencing is going to drive electricity bills up in the UK. With temperatures as low as -35 degrees in some places, the demand for Russian gas has hit a record 71 billion cubic feet per day. This forced the state-owned Gazprom to divert supplies away from the rest of Europe to domestic customers.

Fossil fuel power plants are often fuelled by gas so with gas currently at a premium, the energy companies will be forced to pay more for the gas that they need. This will begin the domino effect that will see customers having higher electricity bills due to the fact that the raw materials needed to produce electricity, namely gas, have increased in price. With the extremely low temperatures in Russia predicted to last for the next two weeks, UK consumers are going to suffer the knock on effects when their next set off bills come through the door.

You can find out more at BBC News, Russian Gas.