The gas system has opened undersupplied, according to npower’s daily market report.

Gemma Bruce from npower’s optimisation desk said this is “despite demand being close to average for the time of year with temperatures also nudging above seasonal normal.”

The linepack is currently forecast to close 13mcm short.

Norwegian flows continue to be impacted by the ongoing maintenance at Skarv gas field with the Langeled pipeline currently flowing at just 16mcm which is contributing to the short system.

Exports to the continent are lower this morning which is helping offset some of the Norwegian shortfall. The UK’s Interconnector is currently flowing at 28mcm, which is 15mcm lower than yesterday.

Power margins are tighter today with the peak forecast at just 6.3GW. Wind generation remains healthy at 4.6GW which is 12% of the stack.

Ms Bruce added: “Forecasts indicate wind generation will dip overnight tonight before ramping up to more than 4GW tomorrow morning which should allow some of the less efficient gas to come offline.”

Maintenance work on the French interconnector has now been extended until 28th October restraining capacity to 1,500MW.

Oil is currently trading at $48 a barrel (£31/Bbl).