Britain to turn off gas flowing to Continent in emergency plan

BRITAIN will cut off gas supplies to Europe under an emergency plan that threatens to splinter the West’s response to the escalating energy crisis.

Shutting down the so-called interconnector pipelines to the Netherlands and Belgium would be among the early measures under the plan, which could be triggered by National Grid if supplies fall further in the coming months.

But European gas companies warned such a move would undermine a push for international cooperation in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression and would exacerbate the energy crisis on the Continent.

The supply cut-off would form part of a four-stage emergency plan that could also include rationing gas to large industrial users and urging households to reduce consumption, the Financial Times reported. The scheme is due to be stress-tested in September, and the Grid said the next annual exercise would take into account the Russian threat.

It came as the Government appointed a new winter energy tsar amid fears that households face blackouts in the colder months. “Any responsible government has to plan for extreme possibilities,” Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, told MPS yesterday, adding that “I’m not expecting anything in that line or to that extent.”

Germany and the Netherlands have already triggered their own emergency plans after the Kremlin slashed gas supplies to Europe. Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom cut gas flows by 60pc through the Nord Stream pipeline this month, sparking fears of shortages.

European countries are racing to refill storage sites and prepare for winter. The UK is far less reliant on Russian gas than mainland Europe, but the interconnectors are crucial to balancing gas supplies.

As Britain has little storage capacity, excess supplies – including liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported by ship – are sent to the Continent when demand is low over the summer. In cold spells gas can be sent the other way.

Gas prices across Europe have risen to the highest level in almost two weeks amid fears over supply. Benchmark prices rose as much as 10pc, with the UK equivalent up by 12pc.

A Government spokesman said emergency procedures to protect national gas supplies were standard among countries: “There is absolutely nothing to suggest that these emergency procedures would be needed now. Our priority is to continue working together with our EU partners and allies to end reliance on Russian oil and gas.”