Energy warning issued as UK has ‘concerningly low’ levels of gas due to extreme cold
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A warning has been issued as the UK has "concerningly low levels" of gas supplies after the stint of freezing weather. The warning comes from British Gas owner Centrica, who said today that the UK now has less than a week's worth of gas demand in store. On Thursday, stocks at UK gas storage sites were 26% lower than the same period last year, leaving them about half full, the energy giant said.
Cold weather conditions over the last week and the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine on December 31 have put pressure on the UK's gas inventory levels. Centrica boss Chris O'Shea said today, "The UK’s gas storage levels are concerningly low.
"We are an outlier from the rest of Europe when it comes to the role of storage in our energy system and we are now seeing the implications of that. Energy storage is what keeps the lights on and homes warm when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, so investing in our storage capacity makes perfect economic sense. We need to think of storage as a very valuable insurance policy.".
Centrica operates the country's largest gas storage site, Rough, a facility under the North Sea off the east coast of England. The company revealed that gas storage was already lower than usual due to temperatures plummeting quicker than average this December. This comes as the UK recorded its coldest night of this winter so far on Thursday, with more freezing temperatures expected in the coming days.
