Sunday, 19 July 2026
UK power near 30-day highs on Mideast LNG risk & heatwave demand
Prices rising sharply2027 wholesale: £84.48/MWh
Energy prices are noticeably higher than normal right now, mainly because fighting in the Middle East is threatening the ships that bring gas to the UK, and a summer heatwave is pushing up the amount of electricity people are using. Prices are likely to stay elevated over the next couple of weeks unless the fighting eases or the hot weather breaks.
What's affecting prices
- •Middle East conflict threatening gas tanker routes and global LNG supply
- •UK summer heatwave driving up electricity demand for cooling
- •Very low wind generation — one of the driest Julys on record
- •Europe racing to refill gas storage before winter, pushing up competition for supplies
- •Freeport LNG outage risk potentially extending supply tightness further
Wholesale pricing based on ICE forward settlements; non-commodity charges from NESO, LCCC, Ofgem and DNO publications. Indicative only — not financial advice.