The National Grid has warned that it may not have enough gas to meet UK demands today, and has asked suppliers to provide more. Demand for gas hit a six year high on Wednesday with the cold weather we are experiencing. As a result, large gas users such as industry and large businesses could be asked to use less.

Mike Hughes, Zone president UK and Ireland, at Schneider Electric has commented on this news below…

“Energy consumption will increase by a factor of 1.5 in the next forty years due to urbanisation, industrialisation and digitisation. With the national grid already feeling the pressure due to the cold weather, we desperately need a strategy to ensure businesses have plans in place to minimise these risks. 

We need to be three times more efficient, not only to meet sustainability targets but to ensure we have enough energy for businesses to run, to heat our homes and keep the lights on. Worryingly, only 13 per cent of UK businesses feel extremely well prepared to address this rapid growth in demand. Action must therefore be taken.

Government support for diversifying our energy mix through grants is essential, but the state cannot be expected to pick up all the slack. Businesses and consumers must take a hard look at their energy consumption and make the call on where efficiencies can be made. Investment in the latest technologies can help in this and allow them to supplement what comes from the grid.”

All research comes from Schneider Electrics Secret to Sustainability Success report.

UKOOG responds to the current deficit in UK gas supplies…

Ken Cronin, Chief Executive of UK Onshore Oil and Gas, said: “The onshore oil and gas industry this morning notes the current deficit in the UK’s gas supplies, a result of cold seasonal weather conditions and infrastructure issues in and outside the UK. The UK is worryingly dependent on gas imports and this is forecast to increase to 80% by 2035. Given that nearly 50% of our electricity is produced by gas and 84% of our homes are heated with it, the need to ensure we have our own homegrown source of gas rather than pursuing this continued over-reliance on imports has today become very evident. We believe that the right way forward is to produce British natural gas from shale onshore and we are working hard to achieve this goal.”