Britain still faces gas supply uncertainty next winter because new import facilities do not guarantee delivery and demand could be much higher, UK network operator National Grid said.

Britain sailed through an unusually warm winter very comfortably supplied with gas and without really testing its improved import infrastructure, National Grid said.
But new pipelines and liquefied natural gas import terminals cannot guarantee healthy supply at low prices if next winter is cold, because other countries could offer producers more money for their product, the power and gas network operator said in its preliminary consultation on supplies for Winter 2007/08.
“Whilst developments in importation infrastructure continue, the supply-demand outlook for 2007/8 remains uncertain,” the grid said.
“The range of potential supply availability is wide, reflecting not only the normal risks associated with major infrastructure but also commercial uncertainties associated with the utilisation of the infrastructure.”
Stephen Smith, the managing director of markets at UK energy regulator Ofgem said that, despite a big fall in wholesale prices since new pipelines like Langeled from Norway and BBL from the Netherlands opened last year, there are a “number of risks and challenges” in the outlook for the winter.
“It is unclear to what extent we can rely on the gas import pattern seen this winter being repeated in future years, particularly against different gas demand conditions in Continental Europe,” Smith said.