Starting from August 2021, high European wholesale natural gas prices started severely impacting the United Kingdom. Due to a combination of unfavourable circumstances, including soaring demand of gas in Asia, diminished gas supply from Russia to the European markets, low gas stockpiles, and a series of breakdowns at various electrical facilities, consumers in the United Kingdom faced steep increases in gas prices.
Consumers, utility companies, and businesses dependent on carbon dioxide were all impacted. The crisis caused some smaller domestic suppliers in the United Kingdom to go out of business, affecting almost two million consumers as of 14 October 2021.