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« BackNews: Centrica Gains Consent For Rough Storage Project

Centrica Gains Consent For Rough Storage Project

With fears rising over the supply of gas this winter as prices soar, the issue of how much storage capacity UK energy firms have has become a major concern. 

However, one of those operators, Centrica, has been granted permission to reopen the Rough Gas Storage Facility, which is located just off the east coast around Holderness in Yorkshire. The facility closed in 2018 and has been empty ever since, but now the Britain’s North Sea Transition Authority has grantedapproval for its reopening. 

Reuters reported that Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea had said the firm would be ready to invest around £2 billion in the project, but the Daily Telegraph has said the company is seeking government support to help fund the scheme.

It is possible that, after five years lying idle, much work will need to be done on overfill prevention systems, gauges, valves and other parts and machinery to ensure the storage site can become fully operational again.

The closure of the Rough storage site, which opened in 1985 and constituted 70 per cent of Britain’s gas storage capacity before it closed, has been predicted for weeks, with many critics arguing that its closure represented a prime example of clumsy thinking and poor planning for Britain’s future energy needs that left the country vulnerable to the sort of crisis now taking place.

At the time, ministers had argued it would save the UK around £750 million over ten years while the UK shifted its energy policy towards cleaner fuels and imported LNG.

According to Mr O’Shea, had the facility been open last winter it would have saved customers £100 a month off their energy bills. If it can be fully operational in time for this coming winter, that figure may be higher in view of the massive inflation in gas prices since then.