Business leaders demand revamp of UK gas storage system
After news that a number of UK companies had their gas supplies cut off over the last few days, business leaders in the UK have today called on the UK government to introduce an obligation on UK gas suppliers to store backup gas supplies in the UK. Despite the fact that we take our gas supply for-granted in the UK, the revelation that just eight days of backup supply are available onshore has shocked many people.
As a consequence, business leaders are now calling for the UK government to lawfully oblige gas supplies in the UK to maintain sufficient backup supplies on UK shores. It is no secret that the UK has become more and more dependent upon overseas gas suppliers despite the fact that North Sea gas continues to be extracted. It is ironic that the UK, a country which in the past has supplied more than enough gas for UK requirements, is now at the beck and call of the international gas market.
Quite how this has happened is a mystery to many people but there is no doubt that privatisation of the UK utility sector was a major step in the wrong direction. A free market is fine when everybody else has a free market, but with countries such as France blocking the takeover of French utilities it is certainly not a level playing field.
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