We have enough gas to heat homes, says No 10 after low supply warning

The UK has enough electricity and gas to meet demand, the government insisted yesterday, after the owner of the country's largest gas stores said levels had become "concerningly low" during the cold snap.

- Jillian Ambrose

Centrica, which owns British Gas, had warned its inventories had halved since early November and were a quarter below the levels at the same time last year when temperatures were milder than usual.

The company said the decline to less than a week's worth of gas - its full storage is the equivalent of 12 days of average use - was caused by the early start to a colder than normal winter across the UK and high prices in the global wholesale market.

A No 10 spokesperson said: "We are confident we will have a sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient energy system."

The UK, which has some of the lowest levels of gas storage in Europe, relies on the remaining reserves in the North Sea together with pipeline imports from Norway for the majority of its supply.

Liquefied natural gas is also imported on tankers from countries including the US and Qatar.