- Rough operational for Winter and increases UK’s storage capacity by 50%

Centrica has announced the reopening of the Rough gas storage facility, having completed significant engineering upgrades over the summer and commissioning over early autumn.

The initial investment programme means the company has made its first injection of gas into the site in over 5 years and is in a position to store up to 30 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas for UK homes and businesses over winter 2022/23, boosting the UK’s energy resilience.

The work done so far means that Rough is operating at around 20% of its previous capacity this winter, immediately making it the UK’s largest gas storage site once again and adding 50% to the UK’s gas storage volume. Rough will help to balance the UK’s gas market, injecting gas into the facility when prices are low and putting that gas back into the UK’s gas network when demand is higher.

Centrica’s long-term aim is to turn the Rough gas field into the largest long duration energy storage facility in Europe, capable of storing both natural gas and hydrogen.

The UK has diverse gas supplies with connections with Norway and other European countries and a number of LNG import terminals. However, it still has some of the lowest levels of gas storage in Europe at 9 days, compared to Germany at 89 days, France at 103 days and the Netherlands at 123 days. The flexibility in Rough allows cheaper gas to be stored ready for winter, helping to reduce or stabilise costs for UK energy consumers.

Centrica Group Chief Executive, Chris O’Shea, said “I’m delighted that we have managed to return Rough to storage operations for this winter following a substantial investment in engineering modifications. Our long-term aim remains to turn the Rough field into the world’s biggest methane and hydrogen storage facility, bolstering the UK’s energy security, delivering a net zero electricity system by 2035, decarbonising the UK’s industrial clusters, such as the Humber region by 2040, and helping the UK economy by returning to being a net exporter of energy.

"In the short term we think 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. Rough is not a silver bullet for energy security, but it is a key part of a range of steps which can be taken to help the UK this winter.”

About Centrica

Centrica is a leading international energy services and solutions provider, founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people. Through our two customer-facing divisions, Centrica Consumer and Centrica Business, we supply energy, services and solutions to over 26 million customer accounts. We serve customers across the UK, Ireland, North America and Continental Europe through strong brands such as British Gas, supported by around 13,000 highly trained engineers and technicians. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future. Our aim is to reduce emissions in line with the Paris climate goals by 2030 and develop a path to net zero by 2050.

Energy Marketing and Trading is the trading and optimisation arm of Centrica plc. We are a leading provider of energy management and optimisation services to businesses, in addition to managing commodity risk and providing wholesale market access for the Centrica Group. We have over 14GW of capacity under contract in Europe, more than half of which is for renewable assets. We also continue to expand our global LNG business, having built a full range of LNG trading, optimisation and operations capability.