Britain to run out of gas supplies

Wrap up warm, British gas could run dry in less than TWO DAYS as bitter weather continues

AFTER weeks of unusually cold weather, Britain has drained nearly all of its gas supplies – with reserves potentially running out in just 36 hours.

Express,

22 March, 2013

Households have been forced to turn up their heating as the freezing weather continues, pushing the demand for gas to 20 per cent higher than normal in March.

Gas stores were at their lowest levels for three years last night, with stocks at just 10 per cent full, compared to 49 per cent this time last year.

The UK could be left relying on expensive imports from Norway through an under-sea pipeline, sparking fears of a huge spike in energy prices, it has been reported.

Energy prices will soar if Britain is forced to make up the shortfall by importing more liquefied natural gas from elsewhere, energy experts have warned.

Analysts said soaring prices could result in the average family facing a hike of up to £200.

"There is immense pressure on the existing infrastructure," Andrew Horstead of the energy consultancy said, warning Britain would struggle to cope if a technical problem caused a North Sea gas field to shut down.

"We are almost maxed out from imports through pipelines. The big concern is that there is very little flexibility left in the system."

Britain is more vulnerable than other countries to gas shortages because of its small storage capacity, which holds just 15 days worth of energy supplies.

It comes as the head of the energy giant SSE warned of the "very real risk" of the lights going out in Britain.

Freezing conditions across Britain have seen gas supplies dwindle

The UK’s gas stores have less than two days’ supplies remaining

Already Centrica, which owns British Gas, has begun rationing supplies from its own storage facility Rough, off the Yorkshire Coast, which holds around three quarters of the UK’s entire supply.

SSE boss Ian Marchant said the Government was underestimating the problem, as he announced plans to cut back on power generation at five sites because the stations are either uneconomic or coming to the end of their lives.

He said: "It appears the Government is significantly underestimating the scale of the capacity crunch facing the UK in the next three years and there is a very real risk of the lights going out as a result."

He said the energy watchdog Ofgem had recently expressed real concern about the tightening of the UK's generation capacity margin that would follow expected plant closures in the next few years, predicting a 1:12 chance of the lights going out.

"It is unlikely that the majority of the reductions in generation capacity and the delays to new investment we have announced today will have been included in this analysis, which highlights that the situation is likely to be even more critical than even they have predicted."