𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

European gas storage levels have plunged to a 13-year low and that spells big trouble for Britain. All we need is the odd cold snap or drop in wind generation and our bills will go through the roof. Britain is in particular trouble. Years of disastrous energy policy have left us more exposed than almost any other European country. As you might expect, former energy secretary Ed Miliband has played a key role. Equally unsurprisingly, new PM Andy Burnham is failing to take the decisive action needed to avert the looming nightmare.

At this time of year, EU gas stocks are typically 80% full. Right now, they’re at 63%. Storage owners normally fill up during summer when prices are lower, but traders held back, hoping the Iran war would end and energy prices fall. Neither is happening. Which is terrible news for us, because we’re one of Europe’s biggest gas consumers. Worse, we import 68% of the gas we use, with domestic North Sea production covering the remainder.

Today, around 25 million British homes have gas boilers. Which means we’re still using an awful lot of gas, and will continue to do so for years to come. It’s common sense to produce as much as we can ourselves, rather than pay foreigners to produce it for us. Unfortunately, Miliband and common sense are strangers. I wouldn’t trust him to run the Tufty Club, but Labour put him in charge of our energy policy for two whole years. And now we are going to pay.

But by refusing to expand supply, we’ve become increasingly dependent on imports. Many of those imports pass through Belgium and the Netherlands, where storage is down to around 50%. We were also shipping liquefied natural gas from the US and Qatar, with increased carbon and methane emissions. The North Sea ban has done nothing to mitigate climate change, but will make us poorer, colder and more stupid.

We are increasing renewables production, just not fast enough. We needed that gas to tie us over while we got there. Miliband blocked it.

Britain has another problem. We have some of the lowest gas storage capacity in Europe. Right now, our stored reserves will cover two days of average winter demand at most. This means we can’t load up on cheap gas in the summer. We have to buy it during the winter, when prices are at their highest. And this year, it could be brutal.

Incredibly, Britain mothballed its largest storage facility, Rough, in 2017. Centrica says it’s ready to invest £2billion of its own money to redevelop Rough, but needs government backing. The Tories did nothing. Miliband did nothing. Now Burnham is doing nothing too.

Miliband has moved on, but his gaslighting energy policy remains. Burnham promised a “pragmatic” approach to North Sea gas but so far, no action. He has yet to settle the fate of Rosebank and Jackdaw.

The result? We’re energy prisoners of every country that supplies us. And when everybody is battling for gas, they won’t sell it to us on the cheap.

This crisis has been building for years now Miliband and Burnham’s sheer uslessness is condemning millions to a costly and fearful winter. If that gas crisis strikes, the only thing keeping the country warm will be our collective fury at Miliband and Burnham.