Winter energy crisis

The despatch of a Royal Navy frigate to protect the gas pipeline between Norway and the UK is a sensible move after the suspected sabotage last week of the two Nord Stream connectors. Other European countries are also stepping up naval patrols in the North Sea following what was almost certainly an outlandish Russian attack on the West’s critical infrastructure far from the war zone in Ukraine. If it turns out that Moscow is to blame, they must be made to pay.

While the Nord Stream pipelines were not being used, though full of gas, the incident has underlined the vulnerability of supplies as we approach winter. Mercifully, the long-range prediction is for a mild season, but this cannot be guaranteed. The Government has acted to keep down energy bills by capping unit costs. The impression has been given to voters, not least by Liz Truss, that no domestic customer will pay more than £2,500, which is not true since the final tally depends on usage. This needs to be spelt out by ministers to avoid further confusion.

The regulator Ofgem has issued a warning of a “significant risk of shortages” which might necessitate power cuts and has advised of the possibility of a winter emergency. This last happened in the 1970s when homes and businesses went dark for part of the week.

Power cuts today, with so many reliant on electricity for so much of what they do, would be catastrophic to an already weak economy. Since a supply shortage is the issue, and it will take time to increase domestic production, some are already calling for the public to be told to reduce usage – an extraordinary situation for a developed country to be in. Let us hope that it does not come to that.