Labour is ‘playing fast and loose’ with the country’s ability to keep the lights on, a shadow energy minister warned last night.
Andrew Bowie said the Government’s ‘ideological’ drive to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030 would leave Britain ‘teetering on the brink of blackouts’.
Last week the owner of British Gas warned UK gas stores had fallen to ‘concerningly low’ levels amid freezing cold temperatures.
Just a few days earlier, the UK came close to rolling power cuts on what experts said was the tightest day the GB electricity market had seen since 2011.
Meanwhile Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is pushing forward ‘ambitious’ plans to reach 95per cent clean energy in the UK by 2030.
Mr Bowie accused Labour of ‘rushing headlong’ into a renewable energy system dominated by China, which would leave the country dependent on foreign imports.
Asking an urgent question in the Commons on gas storage levels, the shadow energy minister said: ‘Many will not be aware of just how close this country came to an energy shortage, to blackouts, or demand control. Closer than at any point in the last 15 years.’
He told MPs that gas storage levels last week were 26per cent lower than this time last year, and said the Government’s plans to decarbonise the electricity grid was ‘playing fast and loose with our ability to keep the lights on’.
Shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie warned that the country had come closer to an ‘energy shortage’ and blackouts than any point in the last 15 years
The UK came on the brink of rolling power cuts last week in what was the tightest day the GB electricity market had seen since 2011 (file photo)
‘This Government is rushing headlong into a renewable energy dominated system, a Chinese renewable energy dominated system.
‘But ministers can’t escape the fact that when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine, wind turbines and solar panels will not keep the lights on in Britain.
‘Be in no doubt that this Government’s ideological plans for our energy supply will leave the UK dependent on foreign imports, send bills soaring, and leave us teetering on the brink of blackouts.’
But Energy Minister Michael Shanks accused Tory MPs of ‘extremist scaremongering’ as he denied the UK was close to experiencing blackouts during the cold snap.
He told the Commons ‘at no point’ was the prospect of blackouts a concern for the Government, despite the warnings from the owner of British Gas.
Centrica said on Friday that the UK had less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store.
Gas inventory levels have come under pressure from the cold weather conditions and the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine at the end of last month.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is pushing forward ‘ambitious’ plans to reach 95per cent clean energy in the UK by 2030
Carrington Power Station. On Friday Centrica said that the UK had less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store
But Mr Shanks said energy security was a key priority for the Government, and ‘at no time was there any concern about Britain’s energy system being able to meet demand’.
‘Our systems worked entirely as intended,’ he said.
He added: ‘We have sufficient gas supply and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter, due to our diverse and resilient system.
‘While storage is an important flexibility tool in the gas system, our varied sources of gas supply mean the UK is less reliant than some other European countries with more limited supply options.’