Centrica PLC on Friday said it has increased its gas storage capacity at the Rough facility in East Yorkshire.
Centrica, a Windsor, England-based energy services and solutions company, said the investment will allow Rough to store up to 54 billion cubic feet of gas, up from 30 billion at the time of its reopening. This would provide the equivalent volume of gas to heat 2.4 million homes, and boost the UK’s energy resilience.
The Rough Facility re-opened for gas storage in October 2022 after stopping storing gas in 2017. Rough now provides half the UK’s total gas storage.
The company said that this new capacity is the maximum pressure that it can operate Rough without a significant new investment, and can be done without financial support from the taxpayer.
‘Rough will help keep prices down for consumers by balancing the UK’s gas market, injecting gas into the facility when there is excess supply and putting that gas back into the UK’s gas network when customers need it most, keeping prices lower at that point of peak demand,’ Centrica said.
Centrica said that its long-term ambition is to turn the Rough gas field into the largest long-duration low-carbon energy storage facility in the world.
Chief Executive Chris O’Shea said: ‘Rough is not a silver bullet for energy security, but it plays a critical role in increasing capacity and supply confidence over the winter months.’
‘Rough can help our energy system by storing natural gas when there is a surplus and producing this gas when the country needs it during cold snaps and peak demand.’
Shares in Centrica were up 1.6% at 122.02 pence in London on Friday morning.
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