Tory hopeful slams plans for gas

Apr 6 2010 by Kelley Price, Evening Gazette

MPs have slammed a Government report that rules out national stockpiling of gas as a slap in the face for the Tees Valley.

The Government says it will leave the development of UK gas storage to the market because of the ‘technical challenges’ commissioning such projects would impose. It says for Government to take the lead would also pose a risk of discouraging further commercial investment and forcing upward pressure on gas prices.

But Conservative candidate for Stockton South, James Wharton, claims chronic gas shortages during the cold winter highlighted the UK’s energy security plight, while storage projects on Teesside could bring a major economic boost to the area.

Mr Wharton has been campaigning for a geographic assessment of old salt mines and cavities beneath the Tees estuary, amid claims the area could accommodate up to 5% of the UK’s total storage needs. Gas storage is widely used on the continent to protect countries from having to pay high prices in times of peak demand.

“Gas supplies are running very low,” said Mr Wharton, “we came within about a day of the gas being turned off because of heavy usage at one stage this winter. Supplies are becoming less, not more, reliable.

“The UK is becoming more reliant on places like Russia, and price fluctuations make us very vulnerable. We need to increase gas storage to smooth out short-term price fluctuations and stabilise our energy security.

“There is a significant investment opportunity for the Tees Valley here to create storage infrastructure, it will create jobs in specialised engineering, construction and cement the Tees Valley’s place as an important part of energy industry for years to come. Nobody is trying to utilise that potential.

“We need a geographic survey of rock formations and underground cavities under non-populated areas of the Tees Valley. It’s not a complete solution, but it would buy us time and help us deal with short-term fluctuations in price.”

The Gas Security of Supply policy statement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) says the UK has a robust and resilient gas market which functions well under stress.

According to DECC’s analysis, the probability of ‘risk events’ that could jeopardise the UK’s supply is very low.

It says gas storage capacity has been increased over the last decade by around 25% and the UK’s infrastructure is now capable of importing around 125% of annual gross demand. Currently, 22 commercial gas storage projects are planned, which could quadruple the UK’s gas storage capacity by around 2020.