The Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) has called for clarity over the future of gas storage in the UK following Centrica’s decision to permanently shut its Rough gas storage facility in the North Sea.
The trade association has written to the newly appointed chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy committee, Rachel Reeves, to request an inquiry into the impact of the closure.
The letter was sent on behalf of a group of gas storage operators within the EUA’s membership.
‘The closure of Britain’s largest storage site for natural gas gets rid of a vital supply buffer which allowed us to reduce reliance on gas imports,” wrote EUA chief executive Mike Foster. “This almost certainly means greater volatility for gas prices this winter.”
Foster described gas as the “most important component” within the UK’s energy mix and said that “ultimately, there will be a shift to gas as the primary source of fuel for electricity generation as well as heating homes and businesses” due to the closure of coal-fired power stations.
“Suitable gas storage solutions are vital to ensuring energy security, providing a certainty of delivery despite the vagaries of the global gas market and helping to facilitate the efficient operation of the UK energy market,” he added.
The Rough facility consists of a partially depleted gas field located off the coast of Yorkshire along with two repurposed drilling rigs and an onshore gas processing terminal at Easington near Hull. It is the only long-range gas storage site in the UK, accounting for 70 per cent of total storage capacity nationwide.
Centrica Storage announced the closure of Rough in June after concluding that the site had become unsafe and uneconomic to run. The facility had been closed to injections throughout the preceding winter season to enable an extensive programme of testing on the wells used to inject and withdraw gas.
You can read Utility Week’s analysis of the implications of the closure here.