Britain faces winter fuel shortages as British Gas boss warns gas reserves are at a record low

BRITAIN could be heading for a winter fuel crisis after the boss of British Gas warned the nation’s gas reserves have plunged to a record low. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, sounded the alarm in a stark LinkedIn post, saying the UK has “almost no gas in storage” ahead of the coming winter. He warned: “This is totally understandable. For too long we in the UK have relied on other countries to provide our energy security, under investing in gas fired power generation and gas storage.” Mr O’Shea added: “The time is now upon us where we need to fix this.” Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! He revealed Centrica is ready to plough £2billion of shareholders’ cash into redeveloping the ageing Rough gas storage facility – but said “time is rapidly running out”. He said: “We stand ready to invest £2billion of our shareholders’ money to redevelop the Rough gas storage facility with the right regulatory support framework, but time is rapidly running out.” Mr O’Shea stressed: “We have almost no gas in storage in the UK for the coming winter and this is a huge concern as energy security is national security.” Britain’s gas facilities were just 30% full this week, a sharp drop from 46% at the same point last year. Meanwhile, European gas prices have doubled since the start of the Iran war, piling further pressure on already stretched supplies. The warning comes just a day after regulator Ofgem hiked its energy price cap by 4%, pushing average household bills to £1,723 a year from October 1. Most read in Money Mr O’Shea is now urging ministers to clear the way for his firm’s £2billion revamp of the 40-year-old Rough Field offshore gas storage site. Rough accounts for half of Britain’s total gas storage capacity, but Centrica is currently losing £10million a month simply maintaining the ageing facility. Meanwhile, figures released on Thursday showed gas supplied up to half of Britain’s electricity during windless summer spells, fuelling further criticism of Net Zero policies and North Sea drilling delays. Gas networks kept the lights on throughout this summer’s heatwaves, at one point producing as much as 50% of the country’s daily electricity generation. Spells of intense heat but little wind saw electricity demand soar as fans and air conditioning units were switched on across the country. Britain endured four such extended spells lasting three days or more since the start of summer, forcing gas power stations to plug the gap left by falling wind output. Wind generation dropped below 70 gigawatt hours a day on six separate occasions this year, compared with just three days in 2025. Gas generated an average of 36% of the country’s electricity during the four hot spells this year, hitting a peak of 50% on June 30. On that day alone, gas delivered 353 gigawatt hours of power, dwarfing the 79 gigawatt hours produced by wind and just 32 gigawatt hours from interconnector imports. Meanwhile, extreme weather across Europe has made imported electricity increasingly unreliable, with heat and drought forcing nuclear plants in France, Romania and Hungary to cut output. James Earl, chief executive of Future Energy Networks, said Britain’s gas network had “put a real shift in” over the hot summer months. He said: “These striking statistics underscore how our world-class gas network is a true national asset, and why regulation must support continued private investment.” Mr Earl added: “The lesson is clear: a secure and resilient energy future needs gas firmly in the mix.” A Government spokesman insisted Britain’s energy supply remains secure, saying: “We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply.” “The future of Rough storage is a commercial decision for Centrica, but we remain open to discussing proposals on all gas storage sites, as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers.” Comment now