Centrica‘s Rough, the UK’s largest gas storage facility, has released stored gas to address the increased demand for energy during the current cold weather.
This marks the first release of gas from Rough this winter.
Having ceased storage operations in 2017, Rough was reopened in October 2022, with its capacity doubled in the summer of 2023.
Located 18 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, Rough now contributes more than 50% to the total gas storage capacity in the UK, providing sufficient energy to heat over three million homes daily throughout the winter.
Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive of Centrica, said: “Customers are struggling with high energy bills which are driven by international energy prices. Gas storage is vital to ensure the UK can manage demand effectively, keeping prices down, and Rough contributes more than 50% of the UK’s total gas storage.
“Gas will continue to be used as a transition fuel for the foreseeable future and we are prepared to invest around £2 billion to quadruple the size of Rough and turn it into the world’s biggest methane and hydrogen storage facility.
“This would improve materially the UK’s energy resilience and support the transition to net zero, but to invest this amount of money we need the right regulatory support framework.”
