Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea has warned that the UK enters winter with very limited gas storage, arguing this creates risks for household energy costs, energy security and national security. He urged the government to support redevelopment of the Rough offshore storage facility, saying time was running out as prices are already elevated amid disruption to global energy markets.

UK gas storage stood at 9,356.6 GWh, compared with 13,635 GWh at the same point a year earlier, while the country can store only about 5 per cent of annual demand. Gas supplies roughly a third of UK energy use, with more than a third of imports coming from Norway and further LNG arriving mainly from the US and Qatar; the government said it remained confident in supply security because of its diverse sources.