LONDON, Jan 10 (KUNA) -- Britain's gas storage levels are "concerningly low" with less than a week of demand in store, the operator of Centrica the country's largest gas storage site said on Friday.
Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power stations are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said.
The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.
As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26% lower than last year's inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full, Centrica said. This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.
The firm's Rough gas storage site in the North Sea, off England's east coast, makes up around half of the country's gas storage capacity.
Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter.
Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas.
Centrica said the "situation is echoed across Europe" - where gas storage was at 69% at the start of this week, down from 84% during the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile, the UK has recorded its coldest night of this winter, along with widespread frost, with more bitterly cold weather expected over the weekend, BBC reported.
The lowest recorded overnight temperature as of 09:00 GMT was -14.5C (5.9F) in Altnaharra, northern Scotland.
It is possible temperatures will fall lower on Friday night. The hard frost will not be as widespread, but in the north-east temperatures could reach -15C or -16C, according to BBC Weather.
The cold spell has already brought heavy snowfall to many areas, but the number of flood warnings that had been issued earlier in the week has been decreasing.(end) nbs.rk