Gas and Electricity crisis.

Next week is due to turn much milder.

Hopefully we won’t use as much energy then.

Not just domestic, manufacturing etc all need huge amounts of energy. Manufacturers are first to have energy shutdown. Mild or cold does not make any difference to that energy usage. Hence we are all on the cusp of rolling power cuts

UK gas production from eg the north sea should be increased and definitely not shut down. Ed Miliband needs to get a brain

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we import North Sea Gas from Norway at a high price, when we could be extracting it ourselves…

The issue is our lack of storage facilities. The Tories got rid of a huge amount of storage.

True WhiteWave. Could we increase our storage again? That and paring down Milliband’s net zero targets would make a huge difference. But I think he’s some kind of zealot. Won’t alter unless Starmer forces him to, which isn’t likely.

By reducing our carbon emissions we are increasing other countries.

It is ludicrous to shutdown the U.K.’s oil and gas fields only to import from other nations…

Something needs to be done globally regarding climate change, but Ed Milliband appears to be single minded on reducing the UK’s self sufficiency in energy.

It’s hypocritical to cease our own gas production because of climate change and then buy it in from elsewhere at high rates putting our own population at risk. IMO we should not cease our own production until we have other climate friendly means in place.

Whitewavemark2

The issue is our lack of storage facilities. The Tories got rid of a huge amount of storage.

The Tories did not get rid of the gas storage.
Centrica did in 2017, although they are storing again since Russias invasion of the Ukraine.

It is so easy to blame everything on the Tories - I wonder when it will stop and Labour will start taking responsibility!

Oh I didn’t realise it was Centrica Sago.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Oh I didn’t realise it was Centrica Sago.

Yes we had a tenant from Aberdeen who was working here off the East Yorkshire coast for Centrica.
He could not believe the stupidity behind the decision.

Yes, it was ultimately Centrica’s decision to shut Rough down but the Government could have intervened in 2017 with funding to keep the facility running. Liz Truss was Chief Secretary to the Treasury at the time.

This says it all really:

www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2022/aug/31/the-rough-gas-storage-tale-is-typical-of-tory-ministers-complacency

Extract

But why was a strategic asset, capable of holding 10 days’ worth of UK gas supplies, semi-abandoned in the first place? Well, Centrica at the time cited losses from Rough, including £329m in 2015, and said design and safety factors weighed against funding a £1bn overhaul. So the question is really why the government of the day didn’t negotiate a version of the deal that Kwarteng is [now] rightly pursuing.

For the answer, look at the formal response in February 2019 from Claire Perry, minister responsible for energy security at the time, to questions from the business select committee. It is complacency in policymaking writ large. The government’s rough view on Rough’s closure was that there was nothing to worry about because the market would provide.

…

To be fair, the 2017-20 refrain merely reflected the misguided thinking of the previous decade. In 2010, a report from the energy and climate change select committee had recommended doubling UK gas storage – from levels when Rough was still working at full pelt – but it was simply ignored. The main worry was about adding a few quid to household bills, and never mind the fact that most European countries store more.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

True WhiteWave. Could we increase our storage again? That and paring down Milliband’s net zero targets would make a huge difference. But I think he’s some kind of zealot. Won’t alter unless Starmer forces him to, which isn’t likely.

Milliband is indeed a zealot - and as karmalady says, one who needs to get a brain. I think his brother inherited the family brain ration. Labour’s intransigent net zero policy has no regard for the realities of fossil fuel dependence in large parts of the UK.

People used to judge Michael Gove and Rees-Mogg based on their appearance but I can't believe anything about Net Zero from a guy who looks like the offspring of an unholy union between Nick Park's Wallace and Beaker from the Muppets

dragonfly46

It is so easy to blame everything on the Tories - I wonder when it will stop and Labour will start taking responsibility!

That is because The Tories destroyed the country in their years and years in office! Labour have a huge job ahead clearing the mess that the Tories left!😡

Sago

Whitewavemark2

The issue is our lack of storage facilities. The Tories got rid of a huge amount of storage.

The Tories did not get rid of the gas storage.
Centrica did in 2017, although they are storing again since Russias invasion of the Ukraine.

It was under the watch of the last government, though. Surely they have to take some responsibility?

orly

People used to judge Michael Gove and Rees-Mogg based on their appearance but I can't believe anything about Net Zero from a guy who looks like the offspring of an unholy union between Nick Park's Wallace and Beaker from the Muppets

Good grief…

Good grief indeed, I think a lot of GNs are having a bad day today, the bitchiness on here today is incredible.