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UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH JANUARY 2016 | 5 The UK's demand for electricity on Christmas Day topped National Grid's forecasts with period drama Downton Abbey causing a demand spike almost 20 per cent higher than expected. National Grid estimated that peak Christmas demand would be lower than previous years because of milder than usual temperatures, at 35.4GW, but in the New Year confirmed that demand reached a peak 5 per cent higher at 37.4GW. A spokeswoman for the company said the demand pick-up following Downton Abbey reached 470MW compared with initial estimates for 400MW for the end of the Christmas special. The Honour's all mine… A host of utilities leaders were recognised in the New Year honours list, with water consumer champion Diane McCrea awarded an MBE; Dr Nina Skorupska, chief execu- tive of the Renewable Energy Associa- tion awarded a CBE; and Murdo Allan, director of Health, Safety, Sustainability and Technical Train- ing at UK Power Networks awarded an OBE. Former energy secretary Ed Davey was also knighted. 3.5% Amount by which Utilita has said it will cut its gas prices in January, the third gas price cut it has announced since the start of last year. £305 Amount extra an average cus- tomer pays every year on a big six standard variable tariff compared with the cheapest tariffs on the market, according to First Utility. BIOMASS Photo couirtesy of ITV McCrea Skorupska Davey Allan GAS SGN on the trail over gas leak SGN said it would carry out a "full investigation" into the cause of a gas leak last Saturday night in Penge, south London, which required 150 people to be evacuated from their homes. The gas distribution com- pany said it was "too early" to say what caused the leak on the pipe, which is the subject of ongoing repair work by the compay in Penge Lane. Work had been suspended over Christmas. The pipe has now been per- manently repaired, SGN said. The leak was reported at around 10:30pm on Saturday evening by a member of the public via the national gas emergency number. Four reception centres housed the evacuees overnight and residents were allowed to return to their homes by 5am the next day. SGN said the site had been "monitored regularly" because complex repair works had been carried out at two separate locations in the area since the summer to ensure the safety of the public. EU scrutiny of Drax The European Commission has launched an investigation to assess whether UK support for the conversion of Drax's third unit to biomass breaches European Union state aid rules. The investigation will assess whether the funds used to support the conversion are limited to what is necessary and do not result in over- compensation. It will also assess whether the benefits of the project in achieving EU energy and environ- mental objectives outweigh potential competi- tion distortions in the market for biomass. £120m Sum Scottish Water is spending on 30 miles of new water mains to connect its system in Ayrshire with the Greater Glasgow area network. £400,000 Fine faced by Anglian Water after three workers were injured in two separate incidents at its water recycling centres in Bedfordshire and Essex.