Britain is considering offering state loans to energy companies that take on customers from firms which go bust due to soaring wholesale natural gas prices, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Tuesday.
Wholesale natural gas prices in Europe have soared this year, pushed up by high demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia, nuclear maintenance and lower-than-usual supplies from Russia.
The record prices have strained the British energy sector, destroying the business model of smaller energy traders and sending shockwaves through the chemical and fertiliser markets, leading to a shortage of carbon dioxide.
Britain's biggest energy companies have asked the government for support to help cover the cost of taking on customers from firms that have gone bust.
Kwarteng told Sky News when asked about state-backed loans that, "there are lots of options."
"It costs a company to absorb up to hundreds of thousands of customers from another company that's failed and there may well be a provision for some sort of loan and that's been discussed," he added.
Kwarteng said that in an average year about 5-8 smaller energy companies exited the market in Britain, but that this year the number could be bigger.
Britain could also look at providing some kind of economic support for the U.S. company that provides 60 percent of its carbon dioxide, CF Industries, Kwarteng said.
WINTER HEATING BILLS
European consumers are facing the prospect of soaring winter heating bills due to a confluence of global factors that have raised questions about how vulnerable Europe remains to swings in global energy prices.
Benchmark European gas prices have risen by more than 250 percent since January, with contributory factors also including low storage stocks, high EU carbon prices and low renewable energy output.
Britain privatised British Gas in 1986 and, after a series of deregulating steps since then, the consumer market has seen a plethora of different companies - some essentially just traders - offering gas and electricity to households.
"I don't think we should be throwing taxpayers' money at companies which have been, let's face it, badly run," Kwarteng said. "I don't want there to be a reward for failure," he added.
Kwarteng said he also hoped to have some resolution to a shortage of carbon dioxide, which is used to put the fizz in beer and soft drinks, and also used to stun pigs and poultry in abattoirs as well as to preserve the shelf-life of meat.
"Its pretty imminent but I'm confident, this week I hope we have a very clear plan to get CO2 production going again," he said, adding that he had spoken to finance minister Rishi Sunak about the situation.
CF Industries has halted its operations at two plants in Britain that produce CO2 as a byproduct of its main business, producing fertiliser. Kwarteng met Tony Will, the head of CF, on Sunday.
