According to Rune Likvern in The Oil Drum web site of 18 December in a post on UK Natural Gas Storage, the UK gas in storage for the winter is likely to be fully depleted by 20th February 2009 meaning we are fully dependent on what is coming in. What exactly are the implications of this?

Tom, Maidstone, UK

It is clear where this is heading.

Within the next year the Govt
will be forced to rush through legislation
to build several massive new coal
fired power stations and create legislation that excepts
them from paying any carbon taxes.

The global warming scam is in its
death throes.

Scott Murray, Dunstable, UK

The public was encouraged to rip out their coal and wood fires and have them replaced with gas fires and gas central heating. Houses have been built without chimneys ever since then. Now we're held over a barrel paying sky high prices for gas - mainly foreign! NO FORWARD PLANNING?

michael j kay, northwich, england

Incompetent nationalised CEGB proposed four Sizewell sisters, in 1984. Privatised, market driven dash for gas brought has left us dependent on electricity crumbs from the French nuclear table, and gas from Russia, while trying to emulate Germany's wind, 54 MW from 23,196 MW installed last week.

Bill Hyde, DFH, C Eng, FIET, Offham, Kent, UK

Microwaves are generated using electricity. There are inefficiencies and therefore power losses involved in the process. You might as well just heat the water with electricity using resistive elements in the first place.

Mark Robinson, Raleigh, North Carolina,, USA

It was madness to ever use gas for electricity generation instead of reserving it for direction combustion. It is like burning the kitchen chairs because we are too lazy to go outside for a shovel full of coal. The CEGB should never have been privatised

Paul , northwich,

Co2 capture was not fitted in the 1980s, because even today it does not exist!

We are already using uranium faster than we can mine it and if everyone builds more nuclear power stations...

The UK has the sea, a wonderful abundant source of energy that we can harvest, but we don't...

Ian, Cardiff,

Politics is always paramount and dominant factor on these type of war.we have to understand that no counrty is self-sufficient in this global world.each ountry is depending on each other.especially 21.century is more diffrent that 20.century.The face of International business/politics changed.

ilyas orhanlı, Manchester, Britain

im one of the few remaining coal miners left in work,and i cant beleive what a state the goverment has got the country in ,the remaining coal mines should go back into state ownership to enable them to survive,and why in the 80s wasn all the coal fired power stations fitted with co2 capture

clarky, mansfield, uk

this green agenda will be the demise of the country, go nuclear, go coal, but do it now. Build power stations, open coal mines, creat jobs and skills whilst building a viable economic base for the future

alan wilson, london, uk

As the most gas would appear to be used for Central Heating, why not use Microwave power to heat the water for CH, and other Household chores ?

B.W.Moore. Mr., Stockton on Tees, UK

?????? How do you generate the microwaves then? Using a perpetual motion engine?

Rob Bain, Derby,

The man responsible, Blair, Brown, too busy, in saving the world.
It was imperative that we had a nuclear program in place, in the last 12 years. Every where we look now , there are tales of woe.
People will soon be in numbers, burning any old rubbish to keep warm and heat food.

A Walton, Leicester, England

I do remember Magaret Thatcher going for gas in the 1980's by building gas fired power stations because they were cheaper to build than by other means of generating electricity. This was also payback time for the coal industry and the miners.

A.Taylor, Coulsdon Surrey, Engalnd

There is no mention of our lack of storage, e.g. we have far less than Germany. A cold winter would cause us grave problems as supply would not keep up with demand. In a cold snap we are NOT going to be able to import gas. No gas = no electricity = no heat. We need a bigger push to insulate NOW.

tonyw, London,

Not only will New Labour be remembered for an explosion in the size of the underclass and wasting billions of pounds on pointless non jobs in the public sector but it will also be remembered for letting the lights go out. What a waste of space this useless Government is turning out to be.

Bertrand, Croydon, uk

Built new nuclear power plants now as we don't have the time for public consolidation, also why don't we invest in the west coast of Scotland for new gas fields, it makes jobs unlike the bank bailouts. It would be better to built new coal power stations than waste our gas for electrical generation.

bill, Liverpool, UK

I regularly go in four and five bedroomed houses in winter with families running around in T-shirts and shorts or lounge suits.Usually people with more money than sense who must think the world has an inexhaustible supply of gas.

Henri, Derby,

Why hasn't one of the world's larger economies had a meaningful energy policy for the past decade. The reduction in North Sea supplies followed by prices ramping up is very predictable as is the run down of aged generating plant. Government and civil servants are asleep at the wheel as usual.

Derek Emery, bedworth, UK

It was a deliberate decision to burn it all off , I remember a friend ( who was a drilling engineer in the North Sea in the 1980's) saying then, that we had 200 years domestic reserves or 20 years commercial reserves.

Ted, , UK

As the most gas would appear to be used for Central Heating, why not use Microwave power to heat the water for CH, and other Household chores ?

B.W.Moore. Mr., Stockton on Tees, UK