There were urgent calls for Britain to build more gas storage facilities tonight after the National Grid warned of temporary gas shortages as demand neared record highs during the freezing weather.

There were urgent calls for Britain to build more gas storage facilities tonight after the National Grid warned of temporary gas shortages as demand neared record highs during the freezing weather.

The shadow energy secretary, Greg Clark, accused the government of having its "head in the sand" for failing to ensure that more storage facilities had been put in place over the past decade, and claimed that Britain had just eight days of capacity.

The National Grid issued a "gas balancing alert" on Monday, asking power firms and large industries to cut back on their consumption. It was only the second time the alert has ever been issued. However, a grid spokesman said there was no danger of Britain running short of gas, and blamed the shortage on problems in a particular gas field. Supplies had since risen and the alert had been lifted, he said. "We do have more than adequate supplies for the whole of the UK."

But critics said the alert highlighted a dangerous weakness in the energy supply system. "The chronic lack of storage capacity is impacting on security of supply," said David Hunter, an energy analyst at the consultancy McKinnon & Clarke.

Hunter described the Conservative claim of just eight days' storage as alarmist and suggested that the UK had about three weeks' storage capacity – though this is still relatively little compared with Germany's, which is four months. He said the failure to build other sources of energy generation, such as wind or nuclear, on any scale, would leave Britain more reliant on gas and, as North Sea fields ran dry, more dependent on imports.

"The government is acting [as if] the UK is still a gas exporter. Unfortunately this is no longer the case and the truth is we rely on Norway, Russia and the Middle East to keep the lights on, our homes heated and business operating. A prolonged cold snap has the potential to make things uncomfortably tight."

The demand for gas at the moment is approaching record highs, with the grid forecasting that demand tomorrow would be around 447m therms, similar to that of todayand just short of the 449m record set in January 2003.

Wholesale prices spiked yesterday but dropped back with the boost in supplies. It is too early to know whether the price rise will eventually feed through to household bills; long-term wholesale prices are still about 50-60% lower than they were during the peaks of 2008.

Clark said the UK lacked "essential back-up" plans. "When will the government understand we need more storage capacity and the ability to get gas to consumers so nobody has to face the possibility of going without gas during cold snaps like this one?"

The energy minister, Lord Hunt, described the gas balancing alert as a "routine technical change", adding there was "no risk of consumers being cut off – that's scaremongering".

Hunt added: "Britain has a vast amount of storage – it's called the North Sea. It's been our main source of gas for years and will continue to provide a large chunk of our supply beyond 2020 … We don't put all our eggs in the same basket, so as well as around half of our gas coming from the North Sea, we've got Norwegian and continental European gas flowing into Britain, as well as increasing amounts of liquefied gas being shipped into our ports."

The shadow energy secretary, Greg Clark, accused the government of having its "head in the sand" for failing to ensure that more storage facilities had been put in place over the past decade, and claimed that Britain had just eight days of capacity.

The National Grid issued a "gas balancing alert" on Monday, asking power firms and large industries to cut back on their consumption. It was only the second time the alert has ever been issued. However, a grid spokesman said there was no danger of Britain running short of gas, and blamed the shortage on problems in a particular gas field. Supplies had since risen and the alert had been lifted, he said. "We do have more than adequate supplies for the whole of the UK."

But critics said the alert highlighted a dangerous weakness in the energy supply system. "The chronic lack of storage capacity is impacting on security of supply," said David Hunter, an energy analyst at the consultancy McKinnon & Clarke.

Hunter described the Conservative claim of just eight days' storage as alarmist and suggested that the UK had about three weeks' storage capacity – though this is still relatively little compared with Germany's, which is four months. He said the failure to build other sources of energy generation, such as wind or nuclear, on any scale, would leave Britain more reliant on gas and, as North Sea fields ran dry, more dependent on imports.

"The government is acting [as if] the UK is still a gas exporter. Unfortunately this is no longer the case and the truth is we rely on Norway, Russia and the Middle East to keep the lights on, our homes heated and business operating. A prolonged cold snap has the potential to make things uncomfortably tight."

The demand for gas at the moment is approaching record highs, with the grid forecasting that demand tomorrow would be around 447m therms, similar to that of todayand just short of the 449m record set in January 2003.

Wholesale prices spiked yesterday but dropped back with the boost in supplies. It is too early to know whether the price rise will eventually feed through to household bills; long-term wholesale prices are still about 50-60% lower than they were during the peaks of 2008.

Clark said the UK lacked "essential back-up" plans. "When will the government understand we need more storage capacity and the ability to get gas to consumers so nobody has to face the possibility of going without gas during cold snaps like this one?"

The energy minister, Lord Hunt, described the gas balancing alert as a "routine technical change", adding there was "no risk of consumers being cut off – that's scaremongering".

Hunt added: "Britain has a vast amount of storage – it's called the North Sea. It's been our main source of gas for years and will continue to provide a large chunk of our supply beyond 2020 … We don't put all our eggs in the same basket, so as well as around half of our gas coming from the North Sea, we've got Norwegian and continental European gas flowing into Britain, as well as increasing amounts of liquefied gas being shipped into our ports."

guardian.co.uk

05 December 2010