British Gas has issued a “concerning” warning to energy customers amid the risk of blackouts and power outages. British Gas owner Centrica said today that the UK now has less than a week’s worth of gas demand in store.
Chris O’Shea said today (Friday January 10): “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.”
READ MORE Octopus issues £900 warning to anyone who is a customer with them
Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter. Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant that it has been more difficult to top up storage over the festive period.
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.”
“The ongoing colder-than-usual conditions in the UK combined with the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine on December 31, 2024, has meant that gas inventory levels across the UK are down”, a spokesman for Centrica said.
“As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26 per cent lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full. This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”