Great Britain wants to get the effects of rising gas prices under control

The UK said on Saturday that it would work with the energy industry to curb the impact of rising gas prices after fears emerged that other utilities and food producers would be unable to cope with the high costs. Economy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said he had been reassured that the security of gas supplies was not an immediate concern, but he would work with utilities to "deal with the broader impact of global gas price hikes." On Saturday, Kwarteng held emergency talks with executives from National Grid (LON: NG), Centrica (OTC: CPYYY), EDF (PA: EDF) and the regulatory authority Ofgem and will have further talks with industry representatives on Sunday and Monday. The surge in gas prices has already ruined several domestic energy providers and closed fertilizer factories that also produce carbon dioxide, which is used to stun animals before slaughter and to extend the shelf life of food. Consumer groups and opposition politicians have warned that some customers and businesses will struggle to pay the higher bills. The BBC reported that at least four small UK utility companies are expected to go bankrupt within the next week. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the pressure that companies are facing was discussed during the meeting. Kwarteng said that no customer would be left without gas or electricity as an alternative provider would be found if one went bankrupt. "Protecting customers at a time of increased global gas prices is an absolute priority," he said on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR). The government felt compelled to act after low gas supplies, lower supplies from Russia, demand from Asia, low renewable energy production and maintenance outages in nuclear power combined caused European gas prices to more than triple this year, reaching record highs . The impact was felt immediately in the UK food industry, where the scarcity of CO2, also used in beer, cider and soft drinks, contributed to an acute truck driver shortage attributed to the effects of COVID-19 and Brexit . Nick Allen of the British Meat Processors Association said Saturday the pig sector was two weeks away from reaching the buffers, while the British Poultry Council said its members are on the knife edge "with suppliers only delivering up to 24 hours could guarantee in advance. "Doing nothing is not an option," Allen told Reuters, adding that given the exceptional circumstances, the government must either subsidize energy supplies to keep fertilizer production going or get CO2 from elsewhere. Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods, said a carbon shortage would affect meat products, atmospherically packaged products like cheese and salads, and long-life baked goods. "We have to solve the problem quickly," he said. Dermot Nolan, former head of Ofgem, told the BBC that he expected prices to stay high for up to four months and that it was not clear what the government could do to influence market prices - which means that it will remain a focus in the run-up to the November COP26 climate change conference in Scotland, where governments will seek to agree new rules to curb emissions.