"Ian Currie" wrote in message
.uk...
National News bulletins this evening stated that gas and electricity
customers are paying more for their fuel due to an errant forecast paraded
by virtually all newspapers in late autumn of a severe winter. This led
to
overstocking of supplies and a rise of the price. Shame that they did not
use the Frosted Earth long-range forecast. Our heating bills this winter
would have been somewhat lower.

Ian Currie-Coulsdon
www.frostedearth.com

In the days of British Gas supplies were planned in such a way that there
would be sufficient gas available to meet a winter of 1 in 50 severity and
agreat deal of effort was made in purchasing gas, building storage and
ensuring that the transmission system was adequate. As far as I know OFGEM
the industry regulator sill imposes this level of security on all of the
suppliers of gas, until very recently it was the responsibility of National
Grid Transco to make good any perceived shortfall but I think that this has
recently changed.

It therefore follows that errant forecasts of a severe winter should have no
effect on gas supplies since the possibility of a severe winter should be
allowed for in the gas supply availability. The supply of gas to the UK is
met from storage facilities as well as from North Sea gas fields and
supplies from the continent via the interconnector pipeline.

Alan