Ofgem Backs Deal to Keep Gas Flowing Into Britain

Ofgem has approved a deal to maintain the UK’s gas import capacity, a decision reported by Reuters on 22 October and picked up the same morning by TradingView. Inspenet later the same day under the headline that Ofgem had preserved Britain’s gas import capacity.

The three reports describe the same regulatory decision in near-identical terms. None of them puts a figure on the household bill, because the decision is not a tariff announcement, it is a capacity arrangement. That distinction matters. The default tariff cap, set by Ofgem under the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018, is reviewed separately. The import capacity deal is about keeping the pipes and terminals available so the gas can physically arrive when demand spikes.

What Ofgem has actually approved

The decision concerns the commercial framework that keeps UK gas import infrastructure, interconnectors, LNG terminals and associated capacity, available to the market. Reuters reported it as a deal to maintain import capacity; Inspenet framed it as preserving that capacity. Neither outlet published a detailed term sheet, and Ofgem has not issued a household-facing summary at the time of writing. Homeowners should read the decision as a security-of-supply measure, not as a price measure.

That is the honest caveat. The reports confirm the approval and the intent. They do not confirm the cost of the arrangement, how it is recovered, or whether any element lands on consumer bills through network or balancing charges. Until Ofgem publishes the licence modification or the charging methodology, any pound figure attached to this story is an estimate.

Why gas import capacity still sets your electricity bill

Britain’s electricity price is set at the margin by gas-fired generation. When gas is scarce or expensive, the wholesale electricity price rises with it, and the cap follows. Keeping import capacity available reduces the risk of scarcity pricing, the moments when a cold, still week combines with low storage and the price spikes.

For a typical 3-bed semi using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas a year, the cap is the single biggest lever on the bill. Every £100 on the typical dual-fuel cap is roughly £8.33 a month. The import capacity decision does not move that number today. It reduces the probability of the sharp, short spikes that have driven the cap up since 2021.

The catch is that capacity is not the same as cheapness. Britain still imports a large share of its gas, and the price is set in international markets. Maintaining import capacity keeps the lights on and the boiler firing. It does not insulate a household from a global price shock.

What it means for a typical 3-bed semi

Take a semi in the Midlands with a 15-year-old combi boiler, EPC band D, and a standard variable tariff. The import capacity decision changes nothing on the meter reading. What it changes is the risk profile behind the standing charge and the wholesale element of the unit rate.

Households that want to reduce exposure should focus on the demand side. Cavity wall insulation, loft insulation to 270mm and draught-proofing cut gas use directly. A well-insulated semi can drop from 11,500 kWh of gas to around 8,000 kWh, a saving of roughly £400 a year at current capped rates, depending on the tariff and region.

For those replacing a boiler, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £7,500 towards an air-source heat pump. The grant is administered by Ofgem, which is the same regulator now approving the import capacity deal, an odd but useful symmetry for homeowners navigating both. ECO4 funding is available through energy suppliers for households on qualifying benefits, and can cover insulation and heating upgrades at no cost to the resident.

The grants worth checking before winter

Three schemes matter for the coming heating season. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is open in England and Wales for owner-occupiers and private landlords, with the £7,500 grant applied as a discount on the installer’s invoice. The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) targets off-gas-grid homes in bands D to G, and is delivered through local authorities, eligibility varies by council. ECO4 runs until 2026 and is supplier-led, so the fastest route is to call your supplier and ask for a referral.

None of these require the import capacity decision to be finalised. They are open now. The constraint is installer capacity: heat pump installers in some regions are booked three to four months ahead, so an application lodged in November may not see an installation until spring.

What to do this week

Check your EPC first. A valid certificate, lodged within the last ten years, is a prerequisite for most grant applications and for any future MEES compliance if you rent out the property. If your band is D or below, request a retrofit assessment before applying for a heat pump grant; the assessment will tell you whether radiator upgrades or insulation are needed first.

Then call two accredited installers for quotes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme requires an MCS-certified installer, and the quote should show the grant deducted. If you are on a standard variable tariff, ask your supplier about ECO4 eligibility at the same time. Applications for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme can be made through the installer, who lodges the grant claim with Ofgem on your behalf.

The import capacity deal keeps the gas flowing. It does not keep the bill down. The work that does that sits in your loft, your walls and your heating system, and the funding for it is available now, before the cold arrives.