UK ‘could have to compete with Europe in a bid to avoid rationing’ after Russia escalates energy war

Putin accused of ‘psychological’ warfare

Russia’s escalating energy war has led to warnings gas prices could double, leaving the UK competing with Europe in a bid to avoid rationing.

The frontrunner to become the next prime minister Liz Truss has ruled out rationing this winter.

But her former cabinet colleague Michael Gove has called on her to reconsider the idea, saying it could help protect domestic energy use.

Leon Izbicki, a European natural gas analyst, warned that that prices could leap again now Moscow has stepped up its proxy battle against the West.

Russia’s state-controlled natural gas supplier, Gazprom, has announced that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which supplies gas to Europe, will remain closed indefinitely, fuelling fears of blackouts and economic turmoil across the continent.

“Overall we are looking at a situation in which prices are going to be ... much, much higher (in the UK). And we may be in a situation in which the UK needs to more openly compete with Europe for energy cargoes over the course of winter, in order to try to avoid rationing,” Mr Izbicki told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Europe was looking at gas prices “even doubling from current levels,” he added.

The warning came as providers warned care homes could be forced to close because of sky high energy bills, putting further strain on the NHS.

Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG), which represents social care providers in North Yorkshire, said some homes had been told their costs would rise by 600 per cent.

Care homes, which look after elderly residents or vulnerable adults, did not have the option to cut back dramatically on their heating this winter, he said.

“We can’t be any more efficient when we are. There’s nowhere to go. We will pay the costs, but I do fear that some providers will go to the wall and with that happening it affects the NHS,” he said.

Gazprom said its pipeline would remain shut indefinitely after engineers discovered an oil leak.

The underwater 1,200km (745-mile) link, which runs under the sea from near St Petersburg to northeastern Germany, had been due to reopen following maintenance work.

Gazprom also claimed to have received warnings from Russia’s industrial safety watchdog that the leaks "do not allow for safe, trouble-free operation of the gas turbine engine".

In recent weeks, Nord Stream 1 has been running at only 20 per cent of its capacity. The European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Eric Mamer, said that the decision to close the pipeline had been made under "fallacious pretenses" and was further "proof of Russia’s cynicism".

The former chief executive of Energy UK said the crisis offered the opportunity for the UK to reset its energy policy.

For the last 20 to 25 years it has been too dependent on external countries some of whom are “not all that friendly”, Angela Knight told Times Radio.

There had been too much of an “eye closed to the consequences (of that) because the supply was cheap and plentiful and reasonably local, " she said.

She added: "At the same time, there is a huge ability to reset a lot of our strategies and our policies and do that quickly so we get some more back of that sufficiency, and that will be helpful not only in the short-term but actually in the medium and long-term as well."