UK Faces Gas Shortage Concerns Ahead of Winter Months

He made the statement during an interview with Sky News, where he acknowledged that there may not be enough gas-fired generation to meet the country's electricity needs in the event of a cold spell.

The news comes as the National Grid Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) confirmed that there will be no coal-fired power as backup this winter.

This is a significant change from last year, when five contingency units were called upon during a cold snap that affected wind generation.

While the UK's gas reserves are in a "far better" position compared to last year, there are still concerns about storage capacity.

Currently, the UK has only enough capacity to store gas for 12 days, which is double the amount from last year.

However, this is still significantly lower than other European countries, such as Germany, which has 90 days' worth of storage, and France, which has 123 days.

The UK's largest gas storage facility, Rough, located in the North Sea, can store up to 21 days' worth of gas.

However, Centrica's efforts to bring it to full capacity have not yet received regulatory approval from the government.

Nearly 100,000 prepayment energy meters were forcibly installed last year, a significant increase from the previous year.

Despite this, British Gas profits are expected to be "significantly higher" in the first half of this year.

However, the company may face a pay revolt from a top City firm, which is unhappy with the company's performance.