Great Britain risks running out of gas in the 2030s despite its growing clean energy sources, unless ministers take \u201cunprecedented\u201d action to guard against a future gas supply shock, according to an official assessment of the country\u2019s gas security.<\/p>\n
The government is considering plans to provide direct financial support to safeguard the country\u2019s ageing gas infrastructure after a consultation found that a \u201chigh stress scenario\u201d could mean homes and businesses run out of gas within the next decade.<\/p>\n
A range of measures to support Britain\u2019s gas sector is now being considered after most respondents said the industry was not likely to prepare for \u201clow probability, high-impact events\u201d, in which gas supplies could run dry as North Sea reserves continue to deplete.<\/p>\n
Three-quarters of respondents agreed with a warning issued last year by the National Energy System Operator that an \u201cemerging risk to gas supply security\u201d could mean that by 2030 homes and businesses would be left without gas during a prolonged period of cold weather.<\/p>\n
Michael Shanks, the energy minister, said: \u201cAny form of government intervention or investment in the gas market would be unprecedented and cannot be a decision we take lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
These could include offering financial support to the owners of gas storage facilities and gas pipeline operators, to make it economic to upgrade and maintain them in the decades ahead.<\/p>\n
Shanks said the UK would continue to cut the UK\u2019s reliance on fossil fuels by growing its clean energy source. \u201cHowever, we recognise that this transition will not happen overnight; the gas system will still play an important role in our energy system for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a responsibility to the millions of households that will be heated by gas for years ahead, the industries that rely on it for essential production, and the power system in which gas continues to play a key role,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The government set out its renewed focus on securing the country\u2019s gas supplies as it prepares to deliver a verdict on the future of two controversial North Sea oil and gasfield proposals at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has said he would take a \u201cpragmatic\u201d approach to oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. He told journalists last month<\/a>: \u201cThere is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can\u2019t ignore that.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK relied on gas for more than a third of its energy consumption last year, according to government figures. While the UK\u2019s gas use is expected to plummet by just over three-quarters by 2050 under the guidance of the Climate Change Committee, its domestic supplies are likely to fall faster.<\/p>\n The government expects the North Sea\u2019s oil and gas production, which has been in decline for 25 years, to fall by about 5% each year, raising concerns over the UK\u2019s future gas security.<\/p>\n The energy system operator\u2019s first official gas supply assessment warned that even as the country turns from gas towards clean energy, there could still be potential supply shortfalls on colder than usual days \u2013 particularly if they occur when Europe\u2019s storage levels are low, or in the event of an unexpected outage at a gas import terminal or pipeline.<\/p>\n