People think they’ve found the culprit as UK gas storage drops to ‘concerningly low’ levels

People on social media are talking about how the Conservatives decided to shut down the Rough gas storage facility in 2017. This is being brought up now because Centrica, the company that manages gas storage, has warned that the UK has dangerously low levels of gas in storage.

On Friday, Centrica said that because of the unusually cold weather, the UK has less than a week’s worth of gas supply left. They also explained that gas storage is only about half-full because of high demand for gas-powered electricity, freezing temperatures, and the fact that high gas prices are making it harder to refill the storage tanks.

Critics have pointed out that the decision to close the Rough facility, which was the UK’s biggest gas storage site, was made after the Conservatives refused to pay for costly repairs. The facility’s closure left the country with very little storage capacity to handle situations like this.

Labour has also criticized Liz Truss, who was chief secretary to the Treasury at the time the decision was made. They argue that she didn’t take enough action to protect the UK’s energy supply and stop energy bills from rising.

In 2022, Ed Miliband, who was then Labour’s shadow climate change secretary, said the UK’s energy crisis is the result of 12 years of Conservative policies. He blamed them for failing to invest in renewable energy, better home insulation, gas storage, and proper market regulation. Miliband also said the decision to close Rough was careless and showed the government didn’t prioritize protecting the country’s energy supply or keeping bills affordable for households.

Now, with freezing weather and high energy bills, many people are questioning why the government didn’t make better decisions about energy security when they had the chance.