Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas fired power stations have reduced UK winter gas storage to concerningly low levels, according to Centrica.

The UK’s gas storage is under pressure this winter as the UK battles both extreme cold and high gas prices. The ongoing colder-than-usual conditions in the UK combined with the end of Russian gas pipeline supplies through Ukraine on 31 December 2024 has meant that gas inventory levels across the UK are down. As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full. This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store. Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter. Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant that it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas. The situation is echoed across Europe. By 7 January 2025, despite many countries mandating minimum storage levels ahead of winter, European storage was at 69% capacity, down from 84% at the same time the previous year. The UK’s total gas storage capacity is around 10 per cent or less than in France, Germany, or the Netherlands. As energy demand spikes due to the freezing weather, the UK has seen a particular strain on its gas storage. Despite being full ahead of winter, current gas inventory at Rough, the country’s largest gas storage site, which is operated by Centrica, is 20% lower than at the same time last year. Rough has played a crucial role so far this winter by supplying almost 420 million cubic meters of gas since early November, enough to heat three million homes every day. Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive of Centrica, said: “The UK’s gas storage levels are concerningly low. We are an outlier from the rest of Europe when it comes to the role of storage in our energy system and we are now seeing the implications of that. As we work towards Clean Power 2030, long-duration energy storage will be needed more than ever in order to help balance a system that is increasingly reliant on renewables. “Energy storage is what keeps the lights on and homes warm when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, so investing in our storage capacity makes perfect economic sense. We need to think of storage as a very valuable insurance policy. Like any insurance policy, it may not always be needed, but having more capacity helps protect against worst-case scenarios. “If Rough had been operating at full capacity in recent years, it would have saved UK households £100 from both their gas and their electricity bills each winter. We stand ready to invest £2bn of our own money in upgrading and redeveloping the Rough gas storage facility but we urgently need the cap and floor model recently announced for long duration energy storage to be applicable to Rough. With that, we can create thousands of new jobs in construction and safeguard a vital national asset. Without that, UK consumers will continue to have higher energy bills than is necessary.”

It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to Martyn Kendrick, regional director of Yorkshire and the Humber at Lloyds. As we look ahead to 2025, Yorkshire’s diverse and dynamic economy is well-positioned to drive growth across key sectors. The technology sector continues to lead the way, with businesses ramping up investment in digital transformation and automation to tackle longstanding productivity challenges in the North. From AI-driven tools to cloud-based platforms, these innovations are helping firms operate more efficiently and stay competitive in an evolving landscape. Yorkshire’s professional services sector, anchored by Leeds’ position as home to the second-largest legal hub outside London, is also set to thrive. As businesses navigate more complex regulatory challenges, the demand for expert advice is rising, solidifying the region’s reputation as a thriving leader in legal and professional services. Industrial manufacturing remains a cornerstone of Yorkshire’s economy, with a renewed focus on sustainability and innovation. By adopting energy-efficient processes and leveraging advancements in green technologies, manufacturers are staying competitive while contributing to the region’s net-zero ambitions. Yorkshire’s attractiveness lies in its diversity, and by embracing its many sectors’ strengths, businesses across the region are creating opportunities for long-term prosperity in 2025 and beyond.

An outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in a German water buffalo herd has prompted the NFU to call for a ban on personal meat imports into the UK. President Tom Bradshaw said: “The confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany is very worrying news for all livestock keepers across the EU. “We welcome the swift action taken in reporting the disease so that we can minimise the risk to all livestock keepers, and it is now paramount that we make sure our borders are secure so that we don’t risk importing the disease into the UK. “With so much uncertainty about where this disease is and where it came from, and knowing the impact this horrendous disease can have, we’re calling on the government to ban personal imports of meat, milk, and meat and milk products, unless accompanied by official veterinary documentation. “The government must also ensure that those fighting illegal meat imports, including Border Force, have the resources they need to stamp out this practice.” An outbreak of the disease has been confirmed in a herd of water buffalo near Brandenberg to the west of Berlin. It’s the first instance of FMD in Germany since 1988. The cases were confirmed on 10 January and affected three water buffalo out of a herd of 14. The remaining animals in the herd have been culled to prevent further spread. 200 pigs on a nearby farm have also been culled as a precaution. A 3km exclusion zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the IP (infected premises) and the German authorities are slaughtering all susceptible livestock within 1km, including wild boar within 1km of the IP. Additionally, no animals or their products can be taken out of this area.

Dedicated Dan Fell is celebrating ten years as Chief Exec of Doncaster’s Chamber of Commerce, and predicts great things ahead for South Yorkshire. Having been the youngest ever CEO of an accredited UK Chamber, he is now looking forward to what he predicts will be great things in the future. 

The owner of a Lincolnshire hand car wash has been fined £20,000 and banned as a company director for five years after employing illegal workers. Mohamed Hamza, 34, hired the workers from Syria and Egypt at the M&H Car Wash on Enterprise Way in Pinchbeck, who were discovered during an Immigration Enforcement visit in 2022. Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Mohamed Hamza hired two people who did not have the right to work in the UK, contravening the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. This represents a serious breach of legislation and of the standards expected of company directors.

“Hamza’s directorship ban means he cannot now be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company in the UK until January 2030.”

Hamza, of Granville Road, Peterborough, had been the sole director of M&H Car Wash Ltd since it was established in February 2019. Immigration Enforcement officials visited the car wash in January 2022, discovering a Syrian man in his 20s and Egyptian man in his 30s with no right to work in the UK. M&H Car Wash was fined £20,000 for the immigration breach which remained unpaid when the company entered liquidation in August 2022 with liabilities of more than £44,000. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle MP, said: “Anyone who thinks they can profit from illegal working in the UK can think again. This case demonstrates there is no hiding place from law enforcement and I am pleased to see justice has been served. “We know that many people who come to the UK and end up working illegally often do so under extremely poor conditions and are frequently sold a false narrative about their ability to live and work here.

“That’s why we’re ramping up our enforcement work to tackle smuggling gangs and make sure those who abuse our immigration system face the full consequences.”