A Hard Winter

[MaryN]

Sounds really lovely. Wish we had a well.

[Tarrel]

Seem to have lost the thread on gas supply, so I'll post an update here:

Reuters:

Quote:The first of a trio of tanker loads of super-cooled gas from the world's largest LNG exporter docked at the Isle of Grain terminal near London on Sunday, with a second due in Wales on Monday and a third on Friday, tracking data on Reuters shows.

The Qatari tankers could supply a total of around 430 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Britain over the next week, compared with daily gas demand of around 370 mcm, while another tanker has set sail from Trinidad on Saturday after UK gas prices leapt on Friday when a key supply link from Belgium shut unexpectedly for 8 hours.

LNG gas transports are notoriously fickle. Ships have been known to switch destinations mid-sail if someone is prepared to pay a higher price. Asian markets consistently pay more than we are prepared to for LNG. The fact that these ships are arriving here means we are paying through the nose for the gas. Likely to mean considerably higher prices next season.

For those on gas, my advice over the summer would be to improve insulation and/or consider an upgrade to a more efficient boiler, or, if possible, look at an alternative form of heating/cooking.

Measures that would help, if they are not already in place, are:
- Double glazing (DIY secondary glazing is cheap and simple to do)
- Cavity wall insulation (cheap to have done)
- Extra loft insulation
- Switch to a modern condensing boiler if you don't already have one (in our last house we reduced our gas consumption by around a third by upgrading the boiler)
- Be creative with the use of the cooker. Use a steamer on top of a pan, to cook two things on one ring. Invest in a pressure cooker.