Britain has less than a week of gas reserves after plummeting temperatures sparked a surge in demand.
British Gas owner Centrica PLC (LSE:LON:), the UK’s largest energy supplier, made the claim after temperatures of up to minus 20c were recorded in parts of the country overnight.
It said gas reserves were “concerningly low” with less than a week of demand available.
Britain is solely reliant on gas to meet short-term spikes in demand when exceptionally cold weather hits as last year saw the UK’s last coal-fired generator switched off.
Renewables are dependent on the wind and sun but contributed just 16% of the required power on Friday, said National Grid (LON:) compared to 53% from .
Earlier this week, grid operator NESO issued an EMN notice for power firms to keep running stations due to high weather-related demand.
“As of the 9th of January 2025, UK gas storage sites “were 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full,” Centrica said.
“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”
A government spokesman played down the report stating: “We have no concerns and are confident we will have a sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient energy system.
“We are an outlier from the rest of Europe when it comes to the role of storage in our energy system and we are now seeing the implications of that,” said Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea.
Centrica’s Rough gas storage facility houses around 50% of UK gas stocks, but plans for its expansion were stalled by a row between the company and the previous government over who would pay for the cost.
“If Rough had been operating at full capacity in recent years, it would have saved UK households £100 from both their gas and their electricity bills each winter,” O;Shea added.
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