Falls in temperatures in Britain in recent weeks and the disruption of Russian gas supplies via Ukraine have led to a decline in UK gas supplies, the country's main gas supplier Centrica said, warning that gas supplies were “alarmingly low“.
Centrica said UK gas stocks were 26% lower last week than at the same time in 2024 and storage was only about 50% full. The company added that the country has enough gas to heat homes and businesses for less than a week.
January data is worrying
On Saturday, gas storage facilities in the United Kingdom were only 42% full, according to a summary by „Gas Infrastructure Europe“ (GIE) - this is the European association of gas infrastructure operators, which publishes data for January 2025.
By comparison, gas storage in Germany is 73% full, and in Poland - 80%. GIE data shows that the UK has the smallest amount of gas in reserve among the 20 European countries included in the list.
Why the UK has insufficient reserves
There are several reasons. The UK has much less gas storage capacity than other European countries - around 3.2 billion cubic metres, seven times less than Germany and five times less than the Netherlands. British storage can store enough gas for 12 days, or just over a week in winter, while Germany typically has enough gas for around 90 days.
The UK's largest gas storage hub, located in the North Sea off the east coast of England, is currently operating at limited capacity. The Raf facility once held 70% of the UK's stored gas but was closed in 2017 due to safety concerns and high maintenance costs.
The Conservative government of then-Prime Minister Theresa May refused to subsidise a modernisation plan. After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering an energy crisis across Europe, the government pressured Raf’s owner Centrica to reopen the facility. When it resumed operations, it was operating at around 20% of its previous capacity. Capacity has since doubled but is still far from its original level.
On the brink of an energy crisis
National Gas, which runs the UK’s gas transmission system, insists the country will have enough to heat homes and businesses until the end of winter. “The overall picture across the UK’s eight main gas storage facilities remains good,” a National Gas spokesman said. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed claims that the country is on the brink of an energy crisis, saying they are "not true."
The United Kingdom has taken a different approach to gas supplies than its other European partners. The country prefers so-called "just-in-time" supplies through imports and domestic production rather than stockpiling gas in storage.
The United Kingdom relies on domestic gas, delivered via pipelines from the North Sea, to meet about half of its needs. The rest is bought on the open market in real time and at current prices. Britain’s strategy worked well in an era of cheap energy, but it left it vulnerable to paying much higher prices during periods of peak gas demand – including in the early months of the war in Ukraine, when prices increased twentyfold.
Why was Britain affected?
Although only about 5% of the UK’s gas needs came directly from Russia, the island was just as badly affected as other European countries that were trying to find alternative supplies to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.
The termination of the Ukraine transit agreement also contributed to a rise in UK gas prices by up to 20%. The UK’s largest suppliers of natural gas are Norway and the Netherlands, while Qatar and the United States supply liquefied natural gas.
Will Britain increase its gas storage capacity?
While London has made it a priority to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, recent policy documents have reiterated the need to increase gas storage capacity to ensure a stable supply, as wind and solar power are intermittent sources.
However, the country has not announced plans to introduce minimum levels of gas storage. Centrica has proposed a £2 billion investment to restore full capacity at Raff and has called on the government to help underwrite the investment risk.
The proposed price cap and floor mechanism would allow the country’s energy regulator to effectively subsidise part of the cost of upgrading the Raff facility if it fails to make a profit. In return, the company will be forced to return to the energy regulator any excess profits from gas storage, for example during an energy crisis when prices rise.
Author: Nicholas Martin