UK Energy Sec in Gas Price Talks
UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has held a series of individual meetings with senior executives from the energy industry to discuss the impact of high gas prices, the UK government has revealed.
During the calls, Kwarteng was reassured that security of supply was not a cause for immediate concern within the industry, according to the government, which said the UK benefits from having a diverse range of gas supply sources, with sufficient capacity to more than meet demand. The government noted that the UK’s gas system continues to operate reliably and said it does not anticipate any increased risk of supply emergencies this winter.
“We are confident that security of supply can be maintained under a wide range of scenarios,” the UK government said in a statement posted on its website. “Great Britain also benefits from a diverse electricity mix, which is one of the reasons why we have one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world,” the government added.
“Whilst our largest single supply source of gas continues to be from domestic production - and the vast majority of imports come from reliable suppliers such as Norway - the UK’s exposure to volatile global gas prices underscores the importance of the government’s plan to build a strong, home-grown renewable energy sector to further reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” the government went on to say.
In an explainer posted on its website on September 18, the UK government highlighted that an uptick in global gas demand was being seen this year as the world comes out of Covid-19 lockdowns and economies reopen. Combined with a cold winter, this has led to a much tighter gas market with less spare capacity, according to the UK government, which noted that high demand in Asia for LNG means less LNG than expected has reached Europe.
Earlier this month, industry body Oil & Gas UK revealed that the UK’s gas imports hit a record high in winter 2021. The organization outlined that this underlines the need to manage the nation’s transition to green energy while minimizing reliance on other countries. OGUK also highlighted that, between now and 2050, half the UK’s energy will still need to come from oil and gas.
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