Wholesale Gas and Power Prices Fall Further with Mild Winter

LONDON, January 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The ICIS Power Index 2015 analysis shows UK gas and power price levels losing more value during the Q4 winter months 

Wholesale UK gas and electricity prices have weakened further with a mild winter and lower commodity prices, according to analysis of the energy markets published by ICIS, the independent authority on energy market pricing.

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UK power prices finished the year at five-year lows. The ICIS Power Index (IPI) finished 2015 at £36.764/MWh, down 23% over the year. Gas prices for delivery in the next year lost more value, down by 34% over the same period to finish 2015 at the lowest levels in six years, at 32.15p/th.

Milder winter temperatures have helped to keep prices down, and more gas from around the world in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to come to the UK, as more production capacity comes on-stream in 2016.

'With a deep liquid gas market and plenty of capacity to regasify LNG imports, Britain is anticipated to be a key beneficiary of the global LNG oversupply,' says Ben Wetherall, Head of Gas at ICIS.  

'Power prices have fallen less than gas because there is less spare supply capacity, with thermal generation continuing to struggle with profitability,' says Zoe Double, Head of Power at ICIS.

The ICIS Power Index delivers independent insight into the complex world of wholesale power prices for both households and industrial electricity consumers, based on real market trading.

The ICIS Power Index is updated every working day and is freely available from the ICIS website, along with ICIS' analysis of price trends and volumes during Q4 2015.

About ICIS  

ICIS is an independent price reporting agency focusing on global energy, petrochemical and fertilizer markets, and we have covered the complex UK electricity market for nearly two decades. Every day, we assess electricity contracts for more than 40 different delivery periods in the UK market alone. The analysis and data that we produce is widely used as a reference price in energy contracts.

It is our aim to give companies in global commodities markets a competitive advantage by delivering trusted pricing data, high-value news, analysis and independent consulting, enabling our customers to make better-informed trading and planning decisions.

With a global staff of more than 800, ICIS has employees based in Houston, Washington, New York, London, Montpellier, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yantai, Tokyo and Perth. ICIS is a division of Reed Business Information, part of Reed Elsevier Plc.

About Reed Business Information  

At Reed Business Information we provide information and online data services to business professionals worldwide. Customers have access to our high-value industry data, analytics, information and tools. Our strong global brands hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day. RBI is part of Reed Elsevier, a leading global provider of data, information and solutions for professional customers.

About Reed Elsevier  

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Media contacts 

Tara Sabanandan, Marketing Manager, ICIS
Email: tara.sabanandan@icis.com
Direct: +44 (0) 207 911 1713
Rosie Williams, Aspectus PR
Email: rosie.williams@aspectuspr.com    
Direct: +44 (0) 20 7092 8127