Keeping the lights on is a basic responsibility of Government.
For decades the UK has had the luxury of secure supplies of oil and gas from our domestic fields in the North Sea and the Atlantic Margin.
But those supplies are now dwindling at a time when demand for energy from developing nations such as India and China is growing, and global energy supplies are increasingly controlled by nations that we cannot always rely on to be friends. It is estimated that in barely a decade we may be importing up to 80% of our gas needs.
None of these pressures on our energy supply have cropped up overnight or unexpectedly. Any forward thinking Government would have planned to ensure that our aging power stations can be replaced in a timely manner, that the UK has a secure and diverse energy sector, and that we have sufficient strategic reserves of the basic energy sources our system of power generation relies on.
That’s why I was appalled to discover this week that, after 13 years of a Labour Government, the situation regarding natural gas storage is far worse that we had thought.
In January, there was much press speculation that UK gas reserves had dropped as low as eight days of supply. At the time this caused much concern, and unflattering comparisons with other EU countries such as France and Germany who each have the capacity to store 100 days or more.
But this week the Department for Energy and Climate Change revealed to me in a written answer that the UK may have dropped as low as a single day’s supply of natural gas this winter. This is little short of a scandal.
For thirteen years Labour failed to plan and prepare adequately, and as a result the UK remains more vulnerable to an interruption in our gas supplies than virtually any other European country. I hope the Coalition Government will now grip this situation firmly before the lights really do go out.
( 5 comments ) Tags: China, EU, France, gas supply, Germany, India, Labour, North Sea
Comment by Nish on September 15, 2010 at 4:23 pm
‘Labour – Yet another fine mess you got the country into!’
Had ANYONE in the last labour government heard of the terms ‘management of risk’, ‘risk mitigation’, ‘threats’, opportunities’, ‘SWOT’, PESTLE’ ? If so they obviously didn’t act on recommendations for BEST PRACTICE – given by governmental agencies/departments themselves!
This is clearly another failure of the labour government of past 13 years to add to Sayeeda’s ‘labours legacy’ video. The state of the nation is an absolute embarrassment owing to the last 13 years. Bring back the control from Europe. Bring back those energy businesses that fled to Europe (encouraged by Labour), Invest in green renewable, build contingencies, manage risk effectively with good judgment and common sense not just by reading manuals, endless training or creating mountains of risk registers that gather dust and no one really looks at…all yet more mess the conservatives/coalition will have to sort out. Voters may not like the actions the current government has to take, but take action it must. Let’s just hope voters realise this is down to Labour and continue to vote unanimously blue at the next general, not doing so would be disastrous for the country and for each and every person in it. I fear the typical reaction of the electorate (particularly ill informed voters) will be ‘well conservatives made all these cuts, made all these changes and we are the ones that suffer’….what the electorate must do is punish the government responsible for these mistakes, instead of going back to it. They must NOT blame the newly elected conservatives whom will no doubt need more than a single term in office to sort out the massive mess left by the previous government. Judging by other blogs it appears as though many voters want the last labour government held to account by way of treason itself!
Comment by Ray Turner on September 15, 2010 at 6:06 pm
This news doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, but I note it is qualified by the word “may”. Why can’t we ever be unambiguous and absolutely certain about these things. Were we down to one day’s gas reserve or not…?
The other problem of course, is who wants a gas holder in their back garden. Where is the extra storage capacity going to be sited…?
Comment by Mark on September 17, 2010 at 3:52 pm
I think we better start applying for derogations to the Large Combustion Plant Directive. We’re obviously going to need the flexibility to keep existing stations open to burn coal and oil and uranium and reduce the dependence on gas. Remember, this winter’s power crisis came at a time of zero wind generation: we can’t rely on windmills.
Comment by chris on September 18, 2010 at 10:52 am
a worrying insight and an area that needs urgent action given our reliance on this form of energy. However as Nish comments, not something that is likely to be high in the minds of many voters come the next election.
Having said that – given the complete u-turn the Conservatives have made on certain pre-election commitments re domestic level renewables – exposing the sins of the past and making commitments just isn’t enough. Only delivered action counts.
Comment by Brian Strutton on October 1, 2010 at 3:58 pm
The comments seem to overlook the point that gas storage and all other facets of our country’s energy supply are market led. They are not within the control of government. Perhaps they should be?