U.K. Gas Profit Hits 7-Year High on Record Power Price: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- The profit margin for burning natural gas for electricity next month, known as a spark spread, rose to the highest since October 2008 on Wednesday as the underlying electricity contract jumped to a record. The U.K. may have trouble securing enough generation to meet demand before network operator National Grid Plc's emergency reserve starts in November with the availability of gas plants set to this month drop to the lowest since April 2009.

--With assistance from Kelly Gilblom To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Morison in London at rmorison@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lars Paulsson at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net, Rob Verdonck