The National Grid has warned of temporary gas shortages, as demand soars amid freezing temperatures across Britain.
The utilities company issued a "gas balancing alert" to ask power firms and industries to cut back on their energy consumption but reassured consumers that there is no danger of Britain running short of gas.
"We do have more than adequate supplies for the whole of the UK," a National Grid spokesman told the Guardian.
However, shadow energy secretary Greg Clark said the government has ignored its responsibilities by failing to install more gas storage facilities over the last ten years.
David Hunter, an energy analyst at the consultancy McKinnon & Clarke agreed that the "chronic" lack of storage capacity is having a negative impact on the security of supply.
Energy minister Lord Hunt said the gas balancing alert is a "routine technical change" and there is not risk of supplies being cut off.
"Britain has a vast amount of storage - it's called the North Sea," he said. "It's been our main source of gas for years.
The gas balancing alert on Monday (January 4th) caused wholesale prices of gas to soar by up to 70 per cent.
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