Britain’s gas storage levels are “concerningly low” with less than a week of demand in store, the operator of the country’s largest gas storage site has warned.
Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power stations are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said, adding that the need to replenish stocks could lead to rising prices ahead.
The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.
National Grid data on Friday showed that natural gas accounted for 53% of power in the UK’s system, with renewables offering just 16% of the country’s needs.
Following the UK’s decision to ditch carbon intensive coal from its energy mix, extra strain is heaped on gas during cold snaps because wind generation tends to be lower due to high pressure.
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As of the 9th of January 2025, UK gas storage sites “were 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full,” Centrica said.
“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”
The firm’s Rough gas storage site in the North Sea, off England’s east coast, makes up around half of the country’s gas storage capacity.
5:30 Why your energy bills look set to riseCentrica has previously said it could invest £2bn to upgrade Rough further, but it would need support from the government through a price cap and floor mechanism to make this viable.
Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter and poor wind generation.
Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas.
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Tap here to followCentrica said the “situation is echoed across Europe” – where gas storage was at 69% at the start of this week, down from 84% during the same period the previous year.
Unlike Europe, Britain does not have a mandatory gas storage target.
“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,” said Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea.
“If Rough had been operating at full capacity in recent years, it would have saved UK households £100 from boththeir gas and their electricity bills each winter,” he added.
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Gas stores are important as they enable countries to not only guarantee supplies during the transition to renewables but also avoid short term price spikes on wholesale markets.
High storage is also an important tool in moderating price swings.
But the UK has been particularly vulnerable in this space since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when sanctions meant key taps to Europe were shut off, forcing nations such as the UK and Germany to scramble for supplies.
It has left Europe reliant on the US for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in particular, with Norway a key exporter of natural gas via pipeline to the UK.
The need for Europe as a whole to replenish depleted stocks at the end of winter is among reasons why wholesale prices have remained elevated.
Analysis by Sky News this week suggested that household bills would reflect those increases in costs from April and possibly beyond.