Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on the need for additional gas storage in the UK of the statement on 16 May 2014 of the EU Energy Commissioner that the gas security of supply directive should be amended to increase the mimimum quantity of gas that member states are obliged to store.

The Energy Commissioner's statement predates the EU Energy Security Strategy on 28 May 2014which sets out the position on this issue and is available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/security_of_supply_en.htm.

The EU Energy Security Strategy does not call for additional gas storage, nor minimum quantities of gas, to be held in storage by Member Storage. Rather, it proposes ‘stress tests' to security of supply shocks which could include, if necessary, increasing gas stocks in Europe amongst other measures.

We will engage with any stress test process and consider the implications for our approach to gas security arising from the results. It also sets out a wide range of other measures, highlighting that storage is only one aspect of gas security.