UK gas production fell by more than a third during the second quarter to 13.4TWh – the lowest quarterly amount recorded by Montel Analytics in the past two decades.
Concurrently, gas prices followed an upward trajectory, beginning the quarter at £23.24/MWh, dropping to a low of £21.26/MWh in early April, and then rising above £23.00/MWh for most of the month.
Prices peaked at £30.06/MWh on 3rd June and remained above £26.00/MWh for the remainder of the quarter, concluding at £27.35/MWh.
The average demand on the transmission system decreased to 23.5GW, marking the lowest Q2 figure since the initial lockdown in 2020.
This decline was partly attributed to mild weather conditions, particularly in May and late June, as well as increased embedded generation from solar sources and load shifting facilitated by batteries and other technologies.
Renewable sources contributed 47% to the overall power generation mix in Great Britain, with wind output reaching 17.2TWh, biomass contributing 6.8TWh and hydro adding 1.1TWh.
Solar generation achieved its highest level ever recorded for any recent quarter, increasing from 4.90TWh in Q2 last year to 5.1TWh.
Total power generation in Great Britain (excluding imports) decreased by 17% compared to the previous quarter, amounting to 54.6TWh.
This decline was primarily due to reduced demand and increased reliance on imported electricity, resulting in a significant decrease in output from Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plants.
Phil Hewitt, Director at Montel Analytics said: “Solar generation rose by 4% on Q2 last year, which is lower than the previous year-on-year growth in Q2 2023 but this is in the context of some pretty horrible weather.
“The pattern of demand destruction also continued due in part to warmer weather and people and businesses becoming more conscious of limiting their energy costs.
“Higher levels of net imports resulted in very low gas output, while gas prices increased steadily following a decline in the previous quarter.
“This rise was driven by several factors including escalating tensions in the Middle East affecting liquid nitrogen gas (LNG) shipments, an earlier-than-expected stop in Russian gas flows to Austria, and reduced supplies from Norway due to maintenance at production facilities.”
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