Britain’s dependence on natural gas as a source of energy is growing, even as supplies from the North Sea are running out, figures suggest. hey indicate that the UK is relying increasingly on gas as its primary source of fuel for electricity generation, even though the country is being forced to import more and more as domestic reserves grow scarce.

The use of gas to generate power in the UK soared by 21 per cent in the third quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, to 44 terrawatt hours, according to Energy Trends, a quarterly report on UK energy use published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Meanwhile, output from Britain’s ageing fleet of nuclear power stations, which have been beset by maintenance problems this year, fell by 30 per cent during the same period, to 11 terrawatt hours.

The figures emerged as leaders of some of the world’s leading gas-exporting countries met in Moscow yesterday for talks about the formation of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an Opec-style cartel.

The meeting has alarmed gas-consuming countries, raising fears that the group, which includes Russia, Iran, Venezuela and Libya, would try to massage prices higher by setting production quotas.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, who is embroiled in a dispute with Ukraine over gas supplies, told delegates at the meeting: “The time of cheap energy resources, cheap gas, is surely coming to an end. Costs of exploration, gas production and transportation are going up. It means the industry’s development costs will skyrocket.”

The figures contained in the British Government’s latest study reflect the huge challenges facing the country in weaning itself off gas and other fossil fuels.

The report showed that household use of gas in the UK fell by about 6 per cent during the third quarter of the year, mainly as a result of record price rises that prompted consumers to adopt a more frugal approach to energy use. However, the commercial use of gas for power generation is surging, as it displaces other fuels, such as coal and nuclear power.

Overall, UK gas demand in the third quarter was 5.3 per cent higher than during the third quarter of last year.

Although the Government wants energy harnessed from renewable sources, such as wind and waves, to play a much bigger role in electricity production in the long term, it still accounts for only 5 per cent of electricity supplies.

Meanwhile, many coal-fired plants are operating under restricted hours because of tough new European emissions standards, and Britain’s nuclear industry, which produces little carbon dioxide, has also struggled with a string of technical problems at key plants this year. Commercial reactors at Hartlepool, Dungeness, in Kent, and Heysham, in Lancashire, were all out of service for repairs this year.

With the depletion of gas from the UK continental shelf, Britain is becoming dependent on imports, either by pipelines from Norway or elsewhere on the Continent or as liquefied natural gas from places farther afield, such as Algeria and Qatar.

Andrew Horstead, of Utilyx, the energy consultancy, said: “Having an energy system that is so reliant on gas at a time when our own supplies are running out is a concern.”

By 2015, the UK is expected to import up to 80 per cent of its gas supplies compared with about 40 per cent now. The UK was a net exporter of gas as recently as 2004. UK petrol consumption has fallen by 6 per cent over the past year.

Related posts...

• June 22, 2010 -- UK Business Energy Prices: (3)
  A new survey carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit has revealed that over 80% of British firms expect energy and fuel prices to rise sharply and almost 50% have great concern that the UK coul...
• February 21, 2010 -- Identifying a Half Hour Meter: (0)
  How to find out if you have a half hourly meter – So how do you know if you have a half hour meter?  It’s actually quite straight forward, and all you will need to find this out is a recent copy o...
• February 10, 2010 -- UK Business Gas Prices: (0)
  Business Gas Prices can be difficult to understand, as there are many different types of pricing structures available.  You could simply ring around and obtain gas prices direct from suppliers, but it...
• February 7, 2010 -- Oil Prices Back To $70 Range: (0)
  Oil prices plunged in a busy trading session on Friday, triggering big losses across the commodities markets, as investors went back to buying into the US dollar.  Crude oil prices did have a partial ...
• February 5, 2010 -- CRC Business Lights: (1)
  The era of the 'on-all-night' illuminated high street could end, the Environment Agency is predicting. The agency says new rules will force businesses to switch off lights and displays at night to mee...
• February 3, 2010 -- Bglobal Smart Meter Deal: (3)
  Bglobal Plc said it has signed a new agreement to supply and install smart meters for British Gas Business during 2010. The contract value is anticipated at more than £12 million. In addition, the com...

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

You must be logged in to post a comment.