Gas Storage Levels ‘Concerningly Low’ With Less Than a Week of Demand Left, Says Centrica

A lit ring on a gas hob at a home in north London, England, on Feb. 28, 2015. Yui Mok/PA Wire

The UK’s winter gas storage levels are “concerningly low,” the owners of British Gas have said.

Centrica said on Friday that gas storage inventory levels are 26 percent lower than at the same period last year, leaving them around half full.

“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store,” Centrica said.

The energy services company said this was due to a “perfect storm” of a combination of colder-than-usual conditions, a high demand for gas-fired power, and the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine.

Downing Street has said it is confident there will be enough energy to get the UK through winter.

Gas Storage

The UK has among the smallest amount of gas storage of any major European country, with capacity to hold enough gas for 12 average days or 7.5 peak winter days.

By comparison, Germany has enough for 89 days, France for 103 days, and the Netherlands for 123 days.

Chris O’Shea, group chief executive of Centrica, said: “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.

“As we work towards Clean Power 2030, long-duration energy storage will be needed more than ever in order to help balance a system that is increasingly reliant on renewables.”

Centrica said that gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December because of the early onset of winter. That, combined with high gas prices, had made it more difficult to shore up supplies over the Christmas period.

Reliance on Imported LNG

The company also warned that the UK’s reliance on imported Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) creates challenges for energy supplies.

Much of the imported LNG comes from the United States, meaning it has to travel over 3,000 nautical miles to reach the UK.

Furthermore, due to geopolitical instability affecting other trade routes, the UK faces competition from European and Asian markets for American LNG, which may be redirected to other ports if those countries outbid the UK.

O’Shea said more domestic energy storage capacity needs to be created.

He said: “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. Like any insurance policy, it may not always be needed, but having more capacity helps protect against worst-case scenarios.”

No Energy Blackouts

A Number 10 spokesman said that reports that the country was on the verge of an energy blackout were “not true.”

The spokesman said, “We are confident we will have a sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient energy system.”

He added that the government speaks regularly with the national energy system operator to monitor energy security “and ensure they have all tools at their disposal if needed to secure our supply.”

Chris O'Shea, group chief executive of Centrica, speaks to the media at the Scottish Gas Academy in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on July 7, 2023. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

“Our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 will replace our dependency on unstable fossil fuel markets with clean, homegrown power controlled in Britain, which is the best way to protect bill payers and boost our energy independence,” the spokesman said.

Last month, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published its plans to transition 95 percent of the UK’s energy supply sources to renewables by 2030, with gas generation only acting as a backup or strategic reserve.

Cold Snap

The Met Office said it recorded its coldest January night in 15 years overnight into Friday.

Altanharra, a hamlet in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, saw temperatures drop to minus 14.5C. Weather warnings for ice were also in places across parts of the UK.

Meteorologists said that Friday will see “the start of a change to our weather” in parts of the country, but Friday night is predicted to bring the lowest temperatures of the cold snap to parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with temperatures between minus 15C and possibly even minus 20C.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said Friday will see “the last of the really low temperatures, with milder weather coming in during the weekend. This will spread from the north down to the south and it could be Monday or Tuesday before the south west starts to feel the milder temperatures.”

PA Media contributed to this report.