The owner of British Gas has said on Friday that gas storage levels have fallen to “concerningly low” levels as the UK was hit with the coldest night in 15-years as the mercury fell to minus 14.5C overnight.
January has had the coldest temperatures since 2010 when the mercury fell to -15C on several occasion.
“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”
Centrica has said there is “less than a week of demand in store” for the UK as stocks are 26% lower compared to the same period in 2024.
Centrica boss Chris O’Shea said, “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.”
“If Rough had been operating at full capacity in recent years, it would have saved UK households £100 from both their gas and their electricity bills each winter,” he added.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said, “We have no concerns and 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.
“Our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will maintain the UK’s energy security in the long term – investing in clean homegrown power and protecting billpayers.”
A No 10 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.
“We speak regularly with the national energy system operator to monitor our energy security, and ensure they have all tools at their disposal if needed to secure our supply.
“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.”
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