President Gas

The consequences of the "dash for gas" plan, to switch from coal to gas for energy production, just as the UK's own gas reserves were running low might not have been the most thought through. But then most energy policy isn't either, as planning for new generating plants means only seeing the benefits over a decade later, so other politician can get the praise for it, Until then, its all your fault for annying smoe NIMBYs.

A few years ago, Centrica, as ked to close the UK's largest gas storage facility so they could pay shareholders a dividend. The UK Government said yes. So, the country has almost no strategic reserves, instead relies of gas shipped from Russia across Europe in pipelines, and with the everpresent threat that the Russians could turn the taps off at any time.

The hardest of soft power.

And yet, all that would have been OK had Brexit not happened and Johnson pulled the UK out of the EU's joint energy procurement program. Gas was cheap, so we didn't need pesky Europe.

But like the small print in those dodgy investment brochures, prices can go up as well as down.

Which is what happeend with gas prices. Russia reduced the flow, but the Eu buying gas on the open market for all 27 nations softened the increase, while the UK bought its own and prices are 4 times that of the EU's.

Small energy suppliers who gambled the same as Johnson that cheap energy would always be with us, are failing now on a daily basis as they can't buy gas cheap enough.

All predicatable.

And predicted by Westminster who in 2016 published a paper which warned of this very scenario. But it has been deleted off the HOM Government website, so you can't look, but some people did download a copy, so we know what it warned, Johnson ignored the warnings. And here we are. Again.

There will not be a repeat of the winter of 1973 we are told.

And indeed they are right, as in 1973 when the lights went out, the gas kept flowing and mum went round to next door's to finish cooking Dad's dinner. If there is no gas, we can't even do that.

But, don't worry, Johnson has promised things will be OK, and as we know, Johnson is a man of his word.

Oh.