28 November 2005
Ofgem is seeking an investigation to find out why other EU countries are not selling more gas to Britain, amid growing fears about dwindling supplies and hefty price increases.
The gas line between Britain and the rest of Europe has, according to Ofgem, not been running at full capacity - and the regulator is therefore seeking to find out why, with foreign companies likely to make plenty of money by selling gas to the UK, some supplies would appear to be being held in storage and not exported.
An Ofgem spokesman told the BBC that it wished to discern that Britain is not being maltreated by its neighbours.
He said: "We are looking for answers to the recent inflation in prices. We need to determine that the price movements have been caused by supply and demand factors, rather than any distortion of the market.
"Consumers need to be satisfied there are no signs the UK market is being manipulated from Europe."
Spain, which penalises global suppliers who fail to meet their commitments to the country, has been cited as a nation whose actions are wilfully obstructing the British market.
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