Tuesday, 21 July 2026
UK power stays sharply elevated; Middle East LNG risk and UK nuclear outages dominate
Prices rising sharply2027 wholesale: £84.48/MWh
Energy prices are notably higher than usual right now, mainly because fighting in the Middle East is disrupting the ships that carry gas to Europe, pushing up the cost of gas and therefore electricity across the UK. We expect prices to stay high — and possibly rise further — over the next one to two weeks unless the situation in the Gulf calms down or more wind arrives.
What's affecting prices
- •Fighting near the Strait of Hormuz is slowing gas ships to Europe, pushing up gas prices sharply
- •Several UK nuclear power stations are currently switched off for maintenance or repairs
- •French nuclear plants are running below normal because rivers are too warm to cool the reactors
- •Europe's gas storage tanks are below where they need to be ahead of winter, increasing competition for supplies
- •Gas prices are now more than 75% higher than a year ago, pulling electricity prices up with them
Wholesale pricing based on ICE forward settlements; non-commodity charges from NESO, LCCC, Ofgem and DNO publications. Indicative only — not financial advice.