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UK coal revival as gas prices surge, reversing gains in clean power drive, and threatening emissions rise

This is a guest post by Jeremy Leggett. Views are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of MyGridGB or Dr Andrew Crossland.

The wholesale price of gas for supply in the winter of 2018-19 is up 50% since June, contributing to an increase in household fuel bills.

The FT reports that “it became cheaper to generate power from coal than gas in late August, according to a report written by Iain Staffell of Imperial College London for the utility company Drax. “It’s not a flash in the pan,” he said. “There could well be a whole season where coal is the baseline fuel [for power generation by utility companies]. We could be looking at the first year-on-year increase in emissions in six years”.”

Image: Belfast Telegraph, modified