An energy minister has accused Tory MPs of “extremist scaremongering” as he denied the UK was close to experiencing blackouts during the cold snap.
Michael Shanks said “at no point” was the prospect of blackouts a concern for the government, despite warnings from energy giant Centrica that UK gas supplies fell to “concerningly low” levels with less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store.
Shanks also took aim at the Conservative benches after they claimed the UK was “closer than at any point in the last 15 years” to an energy shortage and suggested he should resign if the lights go out.
Gas inventory levels have come under pressure from the cold weather conditions and the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine at the end of last month.
Shanks, responding to an urgent question, told the House of Commons: “Energy security is a key priority for this government, and at no time was there any concern about Britain’s energy system being able to meet demand. Our systems worked entirely as intended.”
He added: “We have sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient system. While storage is an important flexibility tool in the gas system, our varied sources of gas supply mean the UK is less reliant than some other European countries with more limited supply options.”
Shanks said the UK was able to use the UK continental shelf and import energy from Norway.
He told MPs: “Gas storage is used throughout the year, but typically operates in winter to help meet peaks in demand through colder spells, storage levels are expected to fluctuate across the winter period. This is what happened last week following the severe cold weather.”
Coming close to blackout
For the Tories, shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie said: “Many will not be aware of just how close this country came to an energy shortage, to blackouts, or demand control – closer than at any point in the last 15 years.”
He said gas storage levels last week were 26% lower than this time last year, and said the government’s plans to decarbonise the electricity grid was “playing fast and loose with our ability to keep the lights on”.
Bowie added: “This government is rushing headlong into a renewable energy-dominated system, a Chinese renewable energy-dominated system. But ministers can’t escape the fact that when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine, wind turbines and solar panels will not keep the lights on in Britain.
“Be in no doubt that this government’s ideological plans for our energy supply will leave the UK dependent on foreign imports, send bills soaring, and leave us teetering on the brink of blackouts.”
Shanks said his Conservative opponent was “confused in the facts,” adding the National Energy System Operator (NESO) stated “at no point were electricity supplies less than anticipated demand, and our engineers were able to rebalance the system without the need to consider any emergency measures”.
Shortfall
Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) said: “The National Energy System Operator issued a warning of a 1,700MW shortfall at the evening peak but they revised that down to 1,200MW and they in fact were running at one point with only 580MW of margin.
“So how is the government so complacent about this? It is astonishing.
“And can I just warn (Shanks) that as someone who has followed the energy debate for the last 30 years or so, that this is almost unprecedented and for him to say ‘everything was absolutely fine’ is incredibly irresponsible when his own Government’s policies are contributing to the tightness of the generating margin.
“And can I ask him if the lights go out will he resign?”
Mr Shanks replied: “I have to say this is the kind of extremist scaremongering that we’ve come to expect from the shadow secretary of state (Claire Coutinho) on Twitter but we’re now hearing it in the House as well.
“It is thoroughly irresponsible to use language like that in this debate.”
He added: “The shadow minister and backbench MPs can repeat all they like the phrasing around blackouts, but at no point was that a concern.”
Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) noted Mr Shanks was in “combat mode” while SNP MP Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) told the House: “In parliamentary language, I am unconvinced by the minister’s reassurance that the lights didn’t almost go out last week.”
Speaking in the House of Lords, energy security minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said there “is no energy crisis”.
In a sideswipe at Centrica, he added: “What we had is one company looking for Government subsidies and using the opportunity to make really what were alarmist headlines.”
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