Natural Gas: Storage
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of gas storage capability in the UK in (a) cubic feet (or other appropriate unit of volume) and (b) days of average usage; what steps he is taking to increase storage capacity; and when this will be complete.
Answered by Michael Shanks
According to Ofgem’s annual publication, GB has eight gas storage sites with a combined maximum capacity of 3.2bcm – around 13 days of average (24/25) winter gas demand – and maximum deliverability of ~123mcm/day.
Gas storage is an effective source of system flexibility to supplement GB's supply sources from the UK and Norwegian Continental Shelves, LNG terminals and interconnectors. Storage can be used to respond to short-run changes in supply and demand or during cold winter months to help meet demand peaks. In winter 24/25, gas storage provided ~9% of the total gas used in GB.
The Government continues to work with storage operators and regulators, to explore options around the role storage can play in supporting future system resilience in a changing gas landscape.
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