GWPF Newsletter: Freezing Britain Is Running Out Of Gas, National Grid Warns

Factories Prepare To Cut Energy Use

In this newsletter:

1) Britain Is Running Out Of Gas, National Grid Warns
Daily Mail, 1 March 2018 
 
2) UK Gas Crisis: Factories Prepare To Cut Energy Use Amid Big Freeze
The Daily Telegraph, 1 March 2018

 
3) Calls For Shale Action As Beast From East Exposes UK’s Energy Insecurity
Pro Investors, 1 March 2018
 
4) Armed Forces Are Deployed As England And Scotland Are Put On Red Alert For First Time
Daily Mail, 1 March 2018
 
5) Big Freeze Means Global Warming Is Worse Than Ever, Alarmists Warn
Breitbart, 28 February 2018
 
6) British School Bans Pupils From Touching Snow
The Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2018
 
7) European Ministers Sound Like Trump, Demand Big Changes To Paris Agreement
Climate Home, 26 February 2018
 
8) A California Judge May Have Just Sunk All Those Climate Lawsuits Against Energy Companies
Daily Caller, 28 February 2018

Full details:

1) Britain Is Running Out Of Gas, National Grid Warns
Daily Mail, 1 March 2018

Britain could run out of gas as intense demand caused by plunging temperatures outstrips supply.

National Grid, the operator of the gas pipeline network, has issued a 'gas deficit warning' as the nation ramps up the thermostats.

It has been forced to ask suppliers to provide more to stop in running out today as demand for the fuel hit a six year high.

Forecasts suggested the UK is facing 48 million cubic metres shortfall. The country uses around 70billion cubic metres of gas a year - an average of 198 million cubic metres a day.

It means large gas users, such as gas fired power stations, industrial units and large businesses will be asked to use less gas.

It raised fears that factories would be forced to close up and down the country, but National Grid insisted businesses had protocols in place to use less gas if supplies run low.

Households will only be asked to use less as a last resort, if these measures do not work.
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But energy analyst Peter Atherton told the BBC supply loss is 'potentially quite significant'

He said that if suppliers are not able to meet demand, 'they will ask certain people to stop using gas.'

He added: 'The last to get cut off is the domestic consumer.'

National Grid said in a statement: National gas demand today is high and due to the extreme weather conditions, there have been gas supply losses overnight. 

'At 5.45am this morning we issued a 'Gas Deficit Warning' to the market.

'This is an indication to the market that we'd like more gas to be made available to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the national gas network.

'We are in communication with industry partners and are closely monitoring the situation.'  

A graph showing the UK gas price spikes since September
There was a large spike in trading prices for gas bought on the day on Wednesday, but prices for gas bought a month ahead declined slightly.

Full story
 
2) UK Gas Crisis: Factories Prepare To Cut Energy Use Amid Big Freeze
The Daily Telegraph, 1 March 2018
Jillian Ambrose, energy editor 

British factories are preparing to shutter some of their operations to help National Grid avert a national gas supply crisis, as freezing temperatures sweep the country.

For the first time in almost a decade National Grid said gas supplies will not be enough to meet demand, unless energy-intensive industries agree to use less gas in return for hefty compensation payments levied on to consumer bills.

The looming gas supply crisis has sent energy markets soaring, raising fears that bills may be hiked to meet the rising costs and that smaller suppliers may buckle under the pressure.

It has also reignited calls from the UK's largest energy users for an urgent Government review of the country’s gas supplies after freezing temperatures forced the market price to twelve-year highs.

National Grid hopes that by paying factories to cut their gas consumption households will not be hit by the ‘perfect storm’ of freezing weather and multiple supply outages.

The gas grid operator admitted that without issuing a ‘gas deficit alert’ Britain’s supplies would fall short of demand by around 14pc, just hours after the Government insisted that there were no supply concerns.

Full story

 




 
3) Calls For Shale Action As Beast From East Exposes UK’s Energy Insecurity
Pro Investors, 1 March 2018

Dramatic weather hitting the United Kingdom is providing ammunition for the proponents of the embryonic shale gas industry.

After more than 24 hours of snow and freezing conditions, with most of the country’s kids staying home from school, The National Grid PLC has cautioned that it is running low on gas.

It has sparked calls for the UK to seize the shale opportunity which promises to be a significant domestic source of gas which would reduce the country’s dependence upon foreign imports.

“The UK is worryingly dependent on gas imports and this is forecast to increase to 80% by 2035,” said Ken Cronin, chief executive of industry group UK Onshore Oil and Gas.

Cronin added: “Given that nearly 50% of our electricity is produced by gas and 84% of our homes are heated with it, the need to ensure we have our own homegrown source of gas rather than pursuing this continued over-reliance on imports has today become very evident.

“We believe that the right way forward is to produce British natural gas from shale onshore and we are working hard to achieve this goal.”

Firms such as Cuadrilla, IGas Energy and Third Energy are at the forefront of Britain’s shale gas industry and new projects are lined up for 2018 and 2019, but, progress has been slow – at least partially due to local politics and permitting issues.

Full post
 
4) Armed Forces Are Deployed As England And Scotland Are Put On Red Alert For First Time
Daily Mail, 1 March 2018

The Armed Forces were today called in to help doctors deliver aid to people in the snow, as sub-zero weather, icy blasts and 'blizzard-like' conditions left drivers stranded for more than 13 hours and airport passengers stuck.



The Met Office has put England under an unprecedented red warning for snow, amid concerns that up to 1ft 8in could fall in the South West. At Glasgow Airport, British Red Cross workers provided blankets for stranded people.

Royal Air Force drivers from No 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron based at RAF Wittering in Peterborough have been helping the emergency services in Lincolnshire deliver aid to vulnerable people in the county.

Storm Emma, rolling in from the Atlantic, is meeting the Beast from the East's chilly Russia air - causing further widespread snowfall and bitter temperatures after the mercury fell as low as -16C (3F) last night.

Full post
 
5) Big Freeze Means Global Warming Is Worse Than Ever, Alarmists Warn
Breitbart, 28 February 2018
James Delingpole

Swathes of Europe and North America have been hit by blizzards. They’re having snowball fights outside the Colosseum in Rome. Scotland is closed. The sheep outside my garden are buried in white stuff…

So how lucky we are at times like these to have the liberal media explain to us dullards what’s really going on.



Yes. How could we ever have doubted it? All this freezing weather we’ve been having is, of course, yet another sign that global warming is real. And anyway, we shouldn’t take any notice of all this white stuff that is shutting down schools, making journeys impossible, and generally freezing our asses off. Rather, we should be focusing our attention on what’s happening way to the north where no one actually lives. Apparently.

Full post
 
6) British School Bans Pupils From Touching Snow
The Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2018

A headmaster who has banned pupils at his school from touching the snow has been branded a “snowflake”.

Ges Smith, from the Jo Richardson Community School in Dagenham, East London, appeared on Good Morning Britain to defend the rule.

While some schools have banned snowball fights, his appears to be the only one which has banned touching snow altogether.

Mr Smith said the ban was a “duty of care issue”, as snow swept the country.

He explained: “It only takes one student, one piece of grit, one stone in a snowball in an eye, with an injury and we change our view”.

Presenter Susanna Reid challenged him, saying: “It’s only a bit of fun, let us throw a snowball.”

He replied: “If it was that simple, I’d let them throw snowballs all day long.”

The headteacher claimed that playing in the snow leaves children wet and “unfit for school”, and said: “The rules are don’t touch the snow. If you don’t touch the snow you’re not going to throw it.”

Piers Morgan said the school would produce children “unprepared for normal life” if they were forced to abide by such rules.

Full story
 
7) European Ministers Sound Like Trump, Demand Big Changes To Paris Agreement
Climate Home, 26 February 2018

EU foreign ministers have set a collision course with China in a statement calling for the same rules to bind all countries under the Paris climate deal.

In a 9-page statement on climate diplomacy objectives, released at the conclusion of a council meeting on Monday, ministers stressed the need for more action. The window to hold global warming to 2C, the upper temperature limit agreed in Paris, was “fast closing”, they warned.

UN talks this year on implementing the Paris Agreement must create “a universal regime with rules applicable to all”, the statement said.

China and allies are calling for a two-tier rulebook, with less stringent reporting requirements for developing countries. It is one of the key issues for negotiators to thrash out by a December 2018 deadline.

Full post
 
8) A California Judge May Have Just Sunk All Those Climate Lawsuits Against Energy Companies
Daily Caller, 28 February 2018

A California district court ruled Wednesday that two lawsuits to hold energy companies responsible for weather affected by climate change are more appropriate for federal court.

Judge William Alsup sent lawsuits from San Fransisco and Oakland into federal court, stating that the issue at hand was outside the state’s prevue. The move, sought by defendant fossil fuel companies, may spell disaster for the plaintiffs who argued the lawsuits should be judged under California common law.

“The scope of the worldwide predicament demands the most comprehensive view available, which in our American court system means our federal courts and our federal common law,” the ruling states, according to a Manufacturers Accountability Project (MAP) press release.

“A patchwork of 50 different answers to the same fundamental global issue would be unworkable.”

The venue of three other lawsuits against energy companies are currently being considered by California District Court Judge Vince Chhabria. No indication of when Chhabria’s ruling should be expected has been given. Defendant companies have indicated they will appeal a decision that places the lawsuits in state court, however, according to Climate Liability News.

MAP, an industry initiative to uncover ties between environmental activists, lawyers and public and political figures against fossil fuels, said Alsup’s ruling “is a significant setback” to the plaintiffs and a sign that the lawsuits are “a legal dead end.”

“Precedent shows that similar cases heard in federal court have been unsuccessful for plaintiffs looking to pin the global challenge of climate change on manufacturers,” MAP Executive Director Lindsey de la Torre said in a statement.

Full story

The London-based Global Warming Policy Forum is a world leading think tank on global warming policy issues. The GWPF newsletter is prepared by Director Dr Benny Peiser - for more information, please visit the website at www.thegwpf.com.