Member Info for mcadder

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ft.com/content/d3490bc8-1e16-11e8-956a-43db76e69936&ved=0ahUKEwjTjqK_zNPZAhXJBsAKHcilCRAQqQIIYigBMAg&usg=AOvVaw1c7LZKpMQQ5fo8TAMkZiIV Foreign investment needed to modernise Britain’s ageing energy infrastructure is threatened by rising political and regulatory risks, industry leaders have warned. The chief executive of National Grid, which manages the country’s electricity and gas infrastructure, said US investors in particular were concerned about a cocktail of uncertainties including Brexit, government intervention in energy pricing and the Labour party’s renationalisation plans. “US investors are now warning there are too many uncertainties,” John Pettigrew told the Financial Times. “It is important that the UK is seen as a place that is attractive to inward investment. In terms of the energy sector, a lot of infrastructure needs to be built in the UK over the next few years. Post-Brexit, it is important that it is coming in.” His comments were echoed by the Energy Networks Associations, which represents electricity and gas distributors. It said its members were “very concerned about the response they have seen from US investors” to recent developments in the UK. “Ultimately, investor uncertainty risks translating into higher costs of capital and so higher costs to British bill-payers,” said a spokesman for the association. Brexit is another risk because of potential disruption to the UK’s role in the EU internal energy market, which allows for tariff-free trade in gas and electricity. Tens of billions of pounds of investment is needed in UK energy infrastructure over coming years

#EuropeanCommission: “It is important that both #Russia and #Ukraine reaffirm their respective positions of a reliable supplier and transit country of #gas, as was the case over the past years," #securityofsupply #NaturalGas

Prices soar as Sweden right now imports power from Germany, Denmark and Poland to keep lights on. Dirty coal plants replace closed nuclear reactors. #nuclear #coal #securityofsupply .......... https://mobile.twitter.com/Elstatistik/status/969105441987973125/photo/1 ................................

The closure of Rough, the UK’s largest long-term gas storage facility is a major contributing factor, removing a potential 45 mcm of daily supply, and leading to the lowest levels of gas stocks for the time of year since records began in 2006. The UK currently has around 0.7bcm of gas stocks out of a total capacity of 1.3bcm. As those stores decline, the rate at which gas can be withdrawn is reduced, because of changes in pressure. According to Platts, the UK is struggling to attract supplies from Europe as the cold weather is also affecting the Continent, where gas stocks are at the lowest levels since 2003, so the country is having to rely “purely on indigenous flexibility”. Inevitably, the Government is being blamed for this situation.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201803041062206648-gas-deliveries-uk-analysis ........................ Europe's record cold snap, which has led to skyrocketing fuel prices and a reduction in gas reserves to five-year lows, has resulted in some observers underscoring Europe's dependence on Russian energy supplies. Bloomberg wrote that the freezing weather tested Europe's energy network, and demonstrated the continent's "relian[ce] on Russia to feed its energy needs." ....................... "No other country has the capacity to match Russia's supply," the business news outlet stressed. "In Norway, some of its facilities including the Kollsnes gas plant were curtailed by outages during the peak of the crisis on Thursday." On Saturday, Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that it had set a new record on exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union, delivering 713.4 million cubic meters per day. The deliveries were the continuation of recently-established trends. In 2017, the company increased its exports to countries outside the FSU by 8.4% — to 194.4 billion cubic meters.

You are obsessed with fracking naz companies have the option to invest in both - it's fracking & renewables not one or the other!

Your welcome :) ......JR thanks for your contribution but your conclusion that it's been a false alarm is based on what exactly? Nearly 10yrs since a deficit warning was issued, UK gas storage stocks according to graphs now at 5.5TWh a level not seen since mid June 2017 - the sort of level you would expect to see during the middle of summer NOT now when withdrawals are needed most! If you also research further, European gas storage levels across the board are at present only 15 bcm compared to 20 bcm this time last year! The only reason JR that we didn't run out of gas on the day is because Industrial consumers like Ineos agreed to reduce their consumption by 20%. The fact they got paid to do this reflected the desperation to save gas! At one point gas prices hit 535p p/therm so hardly a false alarm! What it does show is just how fragile the gas infrastructure is to meet demand when we have any shock to the system. Whether it be cold weather, outages, cracked pipelines, peak demand or low storage levels it doesn't take much to show that we don't have security of supply! Everytime it happens the newspapers have a field day and for good reason because this winter we have had 2 major supply shocks exposing just how vulnerable the UK is. One crucial element here is our pathetic 8-10 days of available storage compared to roughly 60 days available storage in countries like Germany. If Infa had been developed and was withdrawing gas at it's projected daily rate of 22mcm along with Hornsea, Albrough, Holford, Hill Top farm and Stublach sites the National Grid may not have had to issue the deficit warning in the first place! Despite the minister for energy Claire Perry trying to downplay the crisis, they can't say they haven't been warned!

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/we-cant-wait-for-hell-to-freeze-over-before-we-change-energy-policy-kx2h0dxn9 .................................... The National Grid’s warning that Scotland could run out of gas as the so-called Beast from the East wreaked havoc across the county is a case of SNP chickens coming home to roost. Europe has also been hit by severe weather, forcing the UK to compete for imports, and prompting the first “gas deficit warning” in almost a decade. The wholesale gas price in the UK more than doubled last week to its highest level in 10 years. Supplies and prices will remain under pressure this week, especially if current winds subside, reducing output from wind turbines, and resulting in the need to burn more gas for electricity. Notwithstanding failures by Westminster, notably in terms of gas storage, the Scottish government’s dash to renewables, its aversion to nuclear energy and ban on fracking, have put households and businesses at risk of price increases and shortages. As if households and businesses weren’t suffering enough from the SNP’s increased taxes and mishandling of our economy. Last week exposed the fragility of Scotland’s energy supply and the fact that, like the wider UK, we are increasingly dependent on gas imports. “The choice facing Scotland is not one of whether to include gas in our energy mix for the foreseeable future, but where the gas will come from? It’s a failure in our politics that we are increasingly reliant on imported gas,” said Smith

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/03/fears-shale-industry-even-uk-faces-gas-shortage Fresh fears for the nascent shale gas industry have emerged as freezing weather pushed Britain to the brink of running out of gas. The Government has publicly backed the burgeoning industry as a new source of secure domestic gas supplies but last week, on the eve of Britain’s tightest gas supply squeeze in a decade, energy minister Claire Perry poured fresh doubts over its future. Ms Perry said that figures suggesting there may be 155 wells across the UK by around 2025 are “now considered to be out of date”, despite being based on ­industry data that is less than two years old. Ms Perry threw the potential of UK shale into doubt just weeks after Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, put the brakes on Third Energy’s plans to frack a well near Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire. Development was halted to undertake financial checks on the company, which was four months late in publishing its accounts. “The secretary of state has not made any new estimates for the period to 2025,” Ms Perry said in response to a written parliamentary question from Caroline Lucas, a Green Party MP. The meagre 155-well estimate itself falls well below early claims that 4,000 wells would emerge by 2032 to bring a multibillion-pound investment boom to the UK, including 64,000 new jobs. The downgrade emerged in a Sunday Telegraph report last month after ministers had kept the findings under wraps for over a year. The UK Onshore Oil and Gas group said exploration work was taking place at five wells across four sites, with 12 wells in the pipeline.

https://www.ukipdaily.com/gas-supply-low-now-theres-surprise .................................................. Coal output was bending the stops on the meter, but gas (closed cycle gas turbines) were well down. The most efficient power stations, CCGT, were running at less than full capacity while the old coal stations, carbon dioxide belching, expensive, were shouldering the load. What was going on? Well, today we know. We’ve run out of gas again. There’s a ministry in charge of this, loads of civil servants, a Minister for Energy, a Secretary of State for, among other responsibilities, keeping the gas fires burning and everyone’s lights on. The last time we had a prolonged cold spell (aka a proper winter) the Minister was young Matthew Hancock. On his watch we got down to a couple of weeks gas supply. That means we were two weeks away from the lights going out, two weeks before the old and the sick began to die. This time it’s … stand up The Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, one of the Cameron cuties. She’s the one who hasn’t done her job and will not be held accountable for the risks the UK is taking yet again. OK, that’s a bit harsh, she’s only been in charge since June last year but if we don’t hold them to account because they change jobs so frequently (it must be like musical chairs in the Cabinet room) then we’ll never have anyone to blame. The minister is responsible for: Industrial Strategy carbon budgets international climate change, including International Climate Fund climate science and innovation green finance energy efficiency and heat, including fuel poverty low carbon generation energy retail markets smart meters and smart systems oil and gas, including shale gas security of supply electricity and gas wholesale markets and networks international energy energy security, including resilience and emergency planning Oil and gas, security of supply. Remind me, Minister, how much do we pay you?

Utilitywise Insights @UTWinsights 1 Mar "2.2 TWh of medium-range #gas #storage has been withdrawn in the last two days to boost supply. With stocks at 8TWh, should that rate of withdrawal continue than reserves will be empty within seven days" .................................................................. a couple of days following on from this medium range storage stocks are at around only 6 TWh......dangerously low and even lower than the first perfect storm back in December! Lack of flexibility with inadequate storage vastly contributed to the recent huge volatility and the deficit warning being issued for the first time in nearly 10yrs! Even if there are no further shocks to the system this winter recent events prove, that the urgent need to invest in gas storage simply can't be put off any longer if we are to provide flexibility and security of supply for future winters.

Mark Rogers @tlonuqbar · 1 Mar Bizarre, not to say scandalous. Lack of #gasstorage was raised as a critical priority by #Centrica as long ago as 2008. In 2017 they closed their existing storage. What is government *for* if it doesn't address these issues?

Alexandra Moran @alexmoraneua · 1 Mar We warned @beisgovuk of the Uk potentially running of gas month ago, and have a meeting lined up with them to discuss the future of #gasstorage. Here's hoping they will listen and safeguard domestic #gas supply - (link: https://goo.gl/wDfmdh) goo.gl/wDfmdh #nationalgrid ...................................................... "The government is due to hold a workshop in a fortnight with an alliance of energy intensive industry groups and trade unions after they wrote to business secretary Greg Clark last November demanding an inquiry on gas storage and supply."

......................................................................... BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 3, 2018 / 11:18 AM / UPDATED 11 MINUTES AGO Russia's Gazprom says has started terminating gas contracts with Ukraine Reuters Staff MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) has started a procedure to terminate contracts with Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz in an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm, Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said on Saturday. Gazprom said on Friday it would end the contracts after losing a court case, escalating a dispute which has left Ukraine struggling to stay warm and which the EU said could threaten gas flows to Europe.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ft.com/content/31e076e2-1e28-11e8-956a-43db76e69936&ved=0ahUKEwj6wKDg8s_ZAhULWsAKHTHEBkAQqQIISigBMAQ&usg=AOvVaw2rLQCnxG-PsltQYnR2n12B ............................................ Siberian gas delivery to UK offers relief after cold blast LNG arrival highlights fragile state of British energy security ........................................................ The UK’s cold snap this week may have blown in from Siberia, but now Russia’s far north is set to provide some relief to Britain: a cargo of liquefied natural gas to replenish the country’s stretched energy supplies. However, the LNG cargo coming from Russia’s Yamal energy project in Siberia will not arrive in the UK without controversy, partly because it will highlight the fragile state of British energy security amid declining gas production.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/03/perfect-storm-energy-supplies-uk-runs-empty “Until recently the Government did not seem phased by the closure of Rough, despite industry calls back in November to review the situation, reportedly, they are now thinking again,” he says. The gas supply shock has enlivened calls from almost every corner of the energy spectrum with a flurry of plans to safeguard the UK’s gas future, including the need for more storage. ................ Gas industry supporters blame the Government’s zeal for cutting carbon emissions for distracting officials from the need to support investment in new gas storage projects. Meanwhile, shale proponents believe streams of gas from fracking wells onshore would help ease price shocks too. Matt Osborne, of energy consultancy firm Inenco, says storage is “critical” for a country that uses as much gas as Britain does. “We remain reliant on gas, and it is essential to store as much as possible. The Government will need a strong plan of action to compensate for the loss of Rough,” he says. Government has resisted throwing support behind gas storage facilities, which typically prove to be loss-making in the event of a mild winter. But, like any insurance policy, industry believes it would be worth the price to avoid saddling the UK with risk as it pursues a new industrial strategy.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.argusmedia.com/news/article/%3Fid%3D1636877&ved=0ahUKEwiy-LGymc7ZAhWlKsAKHXDhCmo4ChCpAggjKAAwAA&usg=AOvVaw34_va2EZ2Xy_wkJfvCETVW .......................................................... Home/ News & Insight/ News Article Government storage review urged after NBP spikes again 2 Mar 2018, 3.47 pm GMT London, 2 March (Argus) — UK gas storage operators have stepped up calls for the government to recognise mid-range sites' role as "insurance" against supply and demand shocks, as NBP prompt prices hit record highs yesterday after National Grid warned of a supply deficit. The operators were joined by industry groups, including the British Ceramic Foundation, which said more storage sites should be built as a buffer against sharp price rises in light of the closure of Rough, which represented around 75pc of UK storage capacity. But the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said today that decisions on investment in new sites "are made by the market" and added that it stood by its decision to allow Rough to close. UK utility SSE, which has warned that it might have to shut its Aldbrough and Hornsea sites, urged the government to "assess the critical role of UK storage in relation to security of supply and particularly stability of gas prices" — its second such warning this winter. Germany's Uniper said its Holford site "responded well to a challenging UK gas market situation", and added that flexible storage was key in addressing volatility. Stag Energy, developer of the proposed Gateway site, called for the government to launch a "comprehensive review" into the current demand-supply balance and its future implications, especially with the UK's coal-fired fleet due to be phased out by 2025 — something that could limit the country's ability to turn down gas-fired generation during periods of high demand. The department said it would hold a meeting this month with industry representatives to discuss its assessment of gas security of supply. ...................................SSE confirming that they may have to close Aldbrough and Hornsea?? Well that will certainly make the development of this project even more urgent and critical to the security of supply!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/02/electricity-prices-hit-10-year-high-cheap-wind-power-wanes ........................................................ As freezing winds begin to wane this weekend National Grid will need to use more gas-fired power plants to fill the gap, meaning the cost of generating electricity will surge. Jamie Stewart, an energy expert at ICIS, said the price for base load power this weekend has already soared to around £80 per megawatt hour, almost double what one would expect to see for a weekend in March. National Grid will increase its use of expensive gas-fired power by an extra 7GW to make up for low wind power, which is forecast to drop by two-thirds in the days ahead. By the end of Friday this output will fall by almost half to 7GW and slump to lows of 3GW by Saturday, Mr Stewart said. It was the first time in almost ten years that National Grid was forced to warn the market that supplies would fall short of demand unless factories agree to use less.

Utilitywise Insights @UTWinsights 5h The additional consumption has been met by storage withdrawals. Medium-range gas stocks have fallen 30% in three days and there is now just 7TWh in reserve ................................................. https://mobile.twitter.com/UTWinsights/status/969515648752775169/photo/1

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/02/uk-storing-energy-troubles-future National Grid’s warning yesterday should first focus minds on the storage question An alliance of industry groups is appealing to the Government to take a serious look at energy storage. The Government should therefore consider whether there is a case for intervention to address a market failure. Snow storms like this one are rare but the climate is becoming more prone to extremes. Nobody likes paying for insurance, but in the case of gas storage it could be worthwhile. The Government should therefore consider whether there is a case for intervention to address a market failure. Snow storms like this one are rare but the climate is becoming more prone to extremes. Nobody likes paying for insurance, but in the case of gas storage it could be worthwhile.