Chamber and committees

The UK benefits from a diverse supply of gas where the market is able to deliver gas in excess of the maximum demand. Gas storage provides around 10% of this demand over the winter period, October to March. The responsibility for ensuring there is enough gas lies with the gas supply market to meet its customer needs.

The storage of gas in the UK is facilitated through commercially operated storage sites and is monitored by National Grid as part of its responsibility to ensure system balancing of supply and demand.

The following link to National Grid's, Gas Ten Year Statement for 2017 provides information on the availability of gas storage within the UK in Appendix 4.

https://www.nationalgrid.com/sites/default/files/documents/GTYS%202017_3.pdf

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas distribution network operator – to ensure that the supplies of gas to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

The volume of gas required to meet consumers demands is a reserved matter and one which the Scottish Government has no formal functions. The responsibility for ensuring consumers demands are met is carried out by National Grid and the gas distribution network operator in Scotland under their Transportation Licence obligations.

The following link to SGN’s Long Term Development Statement provides information on the forecast annual and peak day demand for Scotland over the next 10 years from 2016-17.

https://sgn.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Marketing/Pages/Publications/Docs-Long-Term-Development-Statements/SGN-LTDS-2017.pdf

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas distribution network operator – to ensure that the supplies of gas to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

The responsibility for gas balancing activities lies with National Grid where it provides relevant parties with information about potential or actual risks to the end-of-day National Transmission System physical system balance. There are a range of tools that National Grid use to ensure system balancing of supply and demand is met.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any industry shutdowns that have occurred recently to ensure that residential homes continue to receive gas supplies, where National Grid has instigated this action.

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas distribution network operator – to ensure that the supplies of gas to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

Security of gas supply is a reserved matter and one in which the Scottish Government has no formal functions. The UK gas system is subject to regular assessments of security of supply through National Grid’s twice-yearly ‘Outlook’ publications, the biennial European gas risk assessment and other ad-hoc assessments.

The following link to a report published in October 2017 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provides a strategic assessment of Great Britain’s gas security of supply.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/651297/gas-security-supply-assessment.pdf

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas distribution network operator – to ensure that the supplies of gas to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

The Scottish Government will endeavour to lay the Annual Reports and Accounts of both Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise before the end of September each year.

The volume of gas required to meet consumers demands is a reserved matter and one which the Scottish Government has no formal functions. The responsibility for ensuring consumers demands are met is carried out by National Grid and the gas distribution network operator in Scotland under their Transportation Licence obligations.

The following link to SGN’s Long Term Development Statement provides information on the forecast annual and peak day demand for Scotland over the next 10 years from 2016-17.

https://sgn.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Marketing/Pages/Publications/Docs-Long-Term-Development-Statements/SGN-LTDS-2017.pdf

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas distribution network operator – to ensure that the supplies of gas to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

With regard to retentions and the answer to S5W-14750, we expect to be provided with the outcome of the UK Government review of retention payments in the construction industry shortly. We will draw our own conclusions from the UK Government analysis and implement any measures we deem necessary.

It is a normal and necessary market reaction for prices to rise in answer to system tightness, driving a receptive and flexible supply response. The expectation is that this short-term increase in wholesale prices would not feed through to household bills at this time – energy suppliers typically buy their energy over several months to help smooth out price fluctuations, thereby insulating consumers from price fluctuations.

The Scottish Government works closely with National Grid – as well as with the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ofgem and Scotland’s gas and electricity network operators – to ensure that the supplies of energy to Scottish consumers remain resilient, and that Scottish circumstances and priorities are taken fully into account.

The stations in question, at Cockenzie and Longannet, were decommissioned in 2013 and 2017 respectively. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the source or quantities of coal used to generate electricity at these stations.