UK ministers saw losing steel production as a security risk. But what about gas storage?

Centrica may portray itself as a UK energy champion - but it can't be forced to fund a loss-making asset indefinitely

- Nils Pratley

The government was not prepared to see British Steel turn off its furnaces, deeming them to be a critical asset for national security. So what is its security view on the UK's capacity to store gas? In a time of trade wars, disrupted supply chains and suspected Russian sabotage in the Baltic Sea, are ministers happy for the country to go into next winter with only half the volume of stored gas of recent years?

The question was raised here a couple of months ago and is becoming urgent because Centrica, the owner of the Rough facility off the coast of Yorkshire that makes up half the UK's gas storage capacity, this week quietly stopped refilling the site. The company cannot see a way to make a profit.

The development may surprise those who remember the fanfare as recently as 2022 when the British Gas owner partly reopened Rough soon after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. The difference is that the volatility in the gas market in 2022 and 2023 suited the economics of storage, which rely on a wide spread between summer and winter prices. In today's lower-volatility climate for gas prices, it is harder to make the numbers work.