{"id":813144,"date":"2026-10-25T05:54:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T05:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/813144\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T05:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T05:54:50","slug":"britain-expected-to-pay-some-of-the-highest-energy-costs-in-europe-this-winter-as-its-reliance-on-imports-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/813144\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enjoy your favourite LBC shows with ad-free Catch Up, weekly competition entries and an exclusive newsletter. Subscribe to LBC Catch Up Plus from \u00a34.99 a month<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Britain<\/p>\n

Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nGetty Images<\/p>\n

Brits are forecasted to be paying some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter. <\/p>\n

Data suggests the nation’s reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply will deepen across the next few months as the temperature drops.<\/p>\n

Energy system operators forecast the UK will have enough gas and electricity to meet demand this winter, partly because it pays higher market prices than neighbouring markets to secure imports.<\/p>\n

It comes despite an increasing dependence on overseas supplies which have been squeezed by the Iran war, analysis has shown.<\/p>\n

Read more: Labour set to reject Rosebank oil field after approving gas drilling in North Sea – after Trump told UK to go ‘full blast’<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: Trump says Musk has restored Ukraine’s Starlink access after Zelenskyy warned restrictions were ‘undermining defences’<\/a><\/p>\n

National Gas, which oversees Britain\u2019s gas networks, set out the forecasts after agreeing a deal with the owner of a major Belgian pipeline to keep gas flowing into the country this winter by reversing a planned capacity cut.<\/p>\n

The deal will add around 10p a month to the average gas bill, The Guardian reports.<\/p>\n

Without the intervention, which was approved by energy regulator Ofgem, there was a danger of gas running out in the event of a worst-case scenario where part of the country\u2019s gas networks failed as temperatures plummeted.<\/p>\n

In addition to gas imports by pipelines, Britain is expected to increase imports of seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes by about 5% from last winter, according to National Gas forecasts.<\/p>\n

National Gas, which is responsible for transporting gas across the country, said domestic gas production from the UK continental shelf is forecast to decline by around 5%, in line with a long-term downward trend.<\/p>\n

This is offset by an expected increase in imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by around 6%, which it said highlights Britain\u2019s growing dependence on global gas supplies.<\/p>\n

The UK has some of the smallest gas stores in Europe after decades of relying on homegrown production from the North Sea.<\/p>\n

It comes days after the Jackdaw gas field, 150 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland, was approved after years of uncertainty and a court case.<\/p>\n

Andy Burnham has pledged the UK will meet its net zero target despite approving it, saying the decision will strengthen energy security.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, ministers announced the gas field had been approved after years of uncertainty and a court case.<\/p>\n

The decision drew criticism from some Labour backbenchers and environmentalists, while Conservatives called on the Government to also approve the Rosebank oil field, west of Shetland in Scotland\u2019s north.<\/p>\n

Writing in The Guardian, Mr Burnham said: “There has been much speculation about what this announcement means for Britain\u2019s commitment to addressing the climate crisis.\u201cI want to be clear that our determination is unwavering.<\/p>\n

“The simple truth is that even as we pursue our ambitious target of net zero by 2050, we will need oil and gas for years to come as a bridge to that clean-energy future.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Enjoy your favourite LBC shows with ad-free Catch Up, weekly competition entries and an exclusive newsletter. Subscribe to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":813145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-813144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}