The UK needs more North Sea gas; imports from the US are the real enemy | Nils Pratley

Transition to a cleaner future takes time and we need supplies that are the least polluting and have the lowest cost UK households to be urged to use more power this summer as renewables soar Terrific news: despite turmoil in the strait of Hormuz, the UK will have sufficient supplies of gas to meet demand this summer, said National Gas, which operates the gas transmission system, on Monday. But contain your relief. The summer months of lower usage were never likely to be a moment of stress. Gas via pipelines from the UK and Norwegian fields in the North Sea can handle virtually all UK demand when most of the 24m households with a gas connection have their heating turned off. Little liquefied natural gas, or LNG, the stuff that arrives on ships, is needed during the summer. The real supply challenges are for the future – not just this winter, but over the next couple of decades. The appealing notion that the rapid rollout of renewables will soon eliminate the need for gas is, sadly, a delusion. Gas for electricity generation is indeed in long-term decline but represents only a quarter of the UK’s overall demand for gas. The biggest slice, at 37% in 2024, was for domestic consumption