Gas axe puts heat on bills
Price rise may follow North Sea closure
BRITAIN’S biggest gas storage site is to close, leaving the country reliant on imports.
Experts warned winter energy bills could rise after the decision by British Gas owner Centrica to shut its Rough facility under the North Sea.
The vast subsea site, measuring 10 kilometres by 3km, and 9,000ft deep, accounts for more than 70% of the UK’s gas storage. It met about 10% of the UK’s gas needs during the peak winter days.
But Centrica said tests had shown the facility, which opened in 1985, was at the end of its design life and uneconomic.
A Centrica spokesman said: “Due to the age and condition of Rough we can no longer safely inject gas into the reservoir and build up the pressure in the well.”
However, the decision raises a number of concerns.
Even with Rough, the UK only had enough sites to store 6% of its annual gas needs.
That compares with 25% in France and 26% in Germany. Losing Rough means the UK will potentially have to import more gas during winter through pipelines linked to Europe, or liquefied natural gas by ship.
Matt Osborne, from energy consultant Inenco, said: “We anticipate that the decision to close Rough will create uncertainty in terms of energy pricing.
“Though we haven’t seen a material impact on prices yet, the pressure could come in the winter months, especially if we experience very cold conditions.”
The effects of the closure could be compounded by potential changes to energy supply terms with EU countries if Britain leaves the internal energy market when it quits the European Union.