- Title:
Ofgem consults on proposals for gas imports - Time:
07:10:32 - Date:
22 Oct 2026 - Category:
Miscellaneous - ID:
9530Z
Ofgem consults on proposals to reinforce gas import capability
· Ofgem consults on proposals to reinforce Great Britain-Belgium gas interconnector import capability.
· Action strengthens the gas system against extremely low-likelihood but high-impact system stress events
· Consultation launched on regulatory arrangements to support this action and protect consumers
Today (Thursday 22 October 2026), Ofgem has approved Interconnector Limited entering into an agreement, under its licence, with National Gas Transmission plc (National Gas) to reinforcegas import capability through the Great Britain-Belgium interconnector.
To support this, Ofgem is also consulting on proposed licence changes and financial instruments that would enable National Gas to recover the costs of arrangements designed to maintain gas import capability between Great Britain and continental Europe.
These proposed arrangements relate to Great Britain's Continental European gas interconnectors, which help maintain flexibility in the gas system. Such interconnectors are undersea pipelines that connect Great Britain to gas markets in Belgium and the Netherlands, allowing gas to flow in either direction depending on where it is needed.
While these pipelines are only used occasionally to import gas into Great Britain, they provide an important option during periods of particularly high demand, such as severe winter weather.
In recent years, the amount of gas import capability available to the British market through Great Britain's continental interconnectors has reduced, due to a combination of reduced commercial incentives for imports from Europe and specific technical reductions in interconnector capacity.
As such, following work across the energy system to assess any risk and available responses, National Gas has now facilitated an agreement with Interconnector to prevent a further planned reduction in import capability and maintain this option for Great Britain over the coming winters. Ofgem has approved the agreement under Interconnector Limited's licence.
Jack Presley Abbott, Director of Energy Systems Management and Security at Ofgem, said:
"Britain's gas system remains secure and continues to deliver the energy that homes and businesses rely on every day. However, we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of gas that can be imported through the pipelines linking Great Britain with Europe.
"Maintaining these important gas links is important as longer-term changes to the energy system continue. We have approved the agreement needed to maintain this important capability, and, as such, are consulting on the proposed regulatory mechanism for recovering its costs.
"We are now seeking views on the proposed funding arrangements before taking a final decision."
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:
"Britain has one of the most secure and resilient energy systems in the world- and gas interconnectors form part of our diverse energy mix.
"We are working with industry to build a gas system fit for the future, ensuring value for money for consumers while giving investors' confidence to back Britain's energy sector."
Director of Energy Systems and Resilience at National Gas, Glenn Bryn-Jacobsen said:
"Britain's energy system is changing, with patterns of gas demand and supply evolving over time. While the gas market continues to provide secure supplies under normal conditions, recent analysis by the UK Government, Ofgem, National Gas and NESO has identified some very unlikely but potentially high-impact stress scenarios where additional resilience measures could be beneficial.
"Maintaining import capability through the continental interconnectors has been identified as an important action to strengthen resilience by enhancing the ability of the gas system to respond to more challenging situations in the very unlikely event that they arise.
"We welcome this consultation as an important step in strengthening Britain's energy resilience and supporting security of supply."
The action will maintain import capability through gas pipelines connecting Great Britain with continental Europe that would otherwise be reduced, providing greater resilience within the gas system to cope with extremely unlikely challenging events.
Under UK legislation, Britain's gas security framework assesses whether sufficient supply capability would remain available in a very rare, unlikely set of challenging scenarios, including the loss of a major source of gas supply coupled with a 1 in 20 chance of extreme cold weather. Maintaining interconnector import capability strengthens Great Britain's resilience under those conditions.
Ofgem is now consulting on the regulatory mechanism needed to fund that arrangement. Approval of the agreement does not prejudge the outcome of that consultation or Ofgem's final decision on the licence modification.
The expected cost of this action is less than 10p per month, per domestic gas customer, over a five-year period. In return, consumers would continue to have access to gas infrastructure that can provide additional gas flows during periods of particularly high demand, helping to maintain the resilience and flexibility of Great Britain's gas system.
Today's action sits alongside wider work by government and the energy sector on the further interventions and longer-term investment needed to support security of supply and wider gas-system resilience. The regulatory mechanism being consulted on would also provide flexibility to support an arrangement with other continental European interconnectors if needed, although any such arrangement would be separately assessed, and would require the relevant contractual and regulatory approvals.
The consultation is now open until Friday 20 November 2026.
ENDS
Notes to editors
· This is the live link to the statutory consultation.
· For consumers, the expected bill impact will be around £1.19 per gas customer per year for a total of five years.
· There is no impact on customers who don't use gas. Charges will be recouped through the gas General Non-Transmission Services charge to gas consumers only.
· Importantly, this is a precautionary measure. Great Britain's gas system continues to operate reliably and is expected to meet demand under normal conditions. The proposal is intended to preserve existing capability and maintain an important source of flexibility for consumers as supply patterns change over time.
· The N-1 infrastructure standard is outlined under UK legislation.
· Maintaining import capability does not procure gas, or guarantee that gas will be available or flow; it preserves an option for market participants where gas is available.
· The way gas is supplied is changing. Domestic gas production is declining and, at the same time in reaction to the wider European energy context, some of the infrastructure that allows gas to flow into Great Britain from Europe has been reducing its import capability.
Links
· Statutory consultation: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consultation/gas-interconnector-import-capability-proposed-modifications-national-gas-transmissions-licence
Ofgem consults on proposals for gas imports07:10:3222 Oct 2026Miscellaneous9530Z