UK's National Grid Doubles Emergency Exercises Amid Fears Over Energy Supplies

On 15 August, the UK Health and Safety Executive greenlighted reopening the country's biggest gas storage facility, the Rough field off the east coast of England near the mouth of the Humber, with pumping planned to begin in September as concerns mount over the disruption to gas supplies in Europe.

Britain's multinational electricity and gas utility National Grid has doubled its emergency planning exercises amid concerns over energy shortages this winter, according to the BBC.

The exercise, which will last four days will take place on 13 and 14 September and then again on 4 and 5 October. Usually such exercises that include various cataclysmic scenarios last for a couple of days.

"The aim of this exercise is to demonstrate that the gas industry is prepared and able to meet its obligations in the event of a Network Gas Supply Emergency (NGSE)," said a briefing document from the National Grid.

The exercise will involve government agencies, regulators, lobby groups and major energy firms and it will model scenarios in which a loss of gas supply leads to an emergency situation for the UK's energy system.

Number 10 has claimed that there is no need to panic over energy supplies and said that households and businesses will not face blackouts in winter after supplies from Australia is expected to arrive for the first time in six years as the UK is seeking alternatives to Russian gas.

According to energy intelligence from Kpler, the LNG tanker Attalos is on its way to the UK. The tanker's cargo originated at Australia’s North West Shelf project.

The UK and continental Europe usually import liquefied natural gas from Qatar, the United States and Peru. Supplies from the Asia-Pacific region are rare because of lengthy journeys and high demand from Asian buyers.

On 22 August, the estimated price of gas futures in Europe hit a record high reaching $2861.6 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to London's Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

Since 2021, energy and electricity prices in Europe have been rising rapidly after a global trend of post-pandemic economic recovery. After Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and Brussels imposed a slew of sanctions against Moscow, the energy situation deteriorated considerably, and led to an increase in prices for energy and food in Europe and the United States.

Recently, Russian energy giant Gazprom said that transportation via the Nord Stream pipeline would be suspended for three days, from 31 August to 2 September because of scheduled maintenance of the only working gas compressor unit at the Portovaya compressor station. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which is the main gas supply route to Europe, has been operating at only 20 percent of its capacity since mid-June.

Since 1 April, the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) raised the allowed maximum annual electricity bill limit from £1,400 to £2,000 ($2195 to $2440), with the next revision scheduled for October 2022.

The hike in energy bills is set to heighten the cost-of-living crisis for many households throughout the UK.