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The UK has “less than a week’s” of gas reserves in storage as falling temperatures restrict supplies, according to energy company owner British Gas.

Inventories of gas storage sites, as of Thursday, were 26 percent lower than at the same point last year, CENTERED said Friday, leaving them about half full and at “worryingly low” levels.

Britain’s winter, where temperatures have fallen to almost minus 20C in places, has led to an increase in heating demand from households, many of which rely on gas.

The drop in temperatures, which is forecast to last until the end of the week, also comes less than two weeks after Russian gas flows to Europe through Ukraine.

“The UK has less than a week’s worth of gas needs in store,” Centrica said in a statement on Friday.

“We are an outlier from the rest of Europe when it comes to the role of storage in our energy system and we are already seeing the implications of that,” added chief executive Chris O’Shea.

Britain has lower storage capacity compared to countries in mainland Europe, leaving it more vulnerable to surges in demand for gas.

European states are also connected by an extensive network of pipelines, allowing flexible supplies between countries.

About half of Britain’s gas needs are met by imports so far, and domestic gas prices have risen by almost 20 percent since the start of winter.

The UK competes with mainland Europe for gas and liquefied natural gas supplies, and its gas prices must be at a significant premium to European prices to encourage traders to ship gas to the UK.

Centrica is lobbying for government support to invest in and upgrade its Rough gas storage site so it can store hydrogen in the long term.

The facility on the Yorkshire coast is the largest in the UK. It closed in 2017 but partially reopened in 2022 at the request of the previous Conservative government at the height of the energy crisis caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The energy supplier has said it is prepared to invest £2bn to upgrade and redevelop the site, but the government wants to introduce a “cap and floor” mechanism to support its revenues.

O’Shea claimed that if Rough had “operated at full capacity in recent years, it would have saved UK households £100 off their gas and electricity bills every winter”.

The current level of the regulator Ofgem’s energy price capwhich runs until March, means a typical household pays £1,738 a year for gas and electricity, compared to £1,717 by the end of 2024.

Natasha Fielding, head of European gas pricing at pricing agency Argus Media, said the UK could import more LNG or pipeline gas from mainland Europe via two major pipelines. But “they all need the UK gas price premium over the EU to grow further”, he warned.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it has “no concerns” and is “confident that we will have sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, given our diverse and robust energy system.” “.

“We are committed to designing a new business model for hydrogen storage infrastructure. Future projects will have the opportunity to apply for support and more information will be provided in due course,” it added. .