My Lords, I support Amendment 49 of the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh. Throughout the evening and the passage of this Bill we have discussed the need for competition and for keeping downward pressure on price a great deal. It is clear, as the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, has pointed out, that the majority of the increases in consumer and business bills in recent years have been down to the increase in gas prices.
It is regrettable that we heard recently from British Gas that it had decided to withdraw a project to enhance and expand its gas storage capabilities. This is another sign that there is insufficient downward pressure on prices. It probably suits British Gas quite well to have prices rising, because that leads to higher profits. It is probably the wrong body to make any kind of economic assessment on whether it makes sense for them to invest in gas storage. There has to be some form of intervention from government to ensure that there is timely investment in gas capacity.
Gas prices fluctuate between the summer, when demand is low, and winter, when it is high. If we can smooth that out and provide a more stable price throughout the year, it makes sense to have a tool in the armoury, as the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, has said, to facilitate this. I am sure that the Minister will come back with some thoughts on this. It is quite a new element to introduce to the Bill at this late stage and perhaps an amendment of this kind is not the way to deliver it, but I strongly support the sentiment behind it. As the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, has pointed out, we are seeing our North Sea gas reserves diminish and we are moving into a more international situation in which we rely on gas from many different parts of the world. Much of it is being delivered by ship. Ships can change course in the middle of the ocean if they see fit, if offered a better price. Our reliance on gas needs to be underpinned and secured through greater capacity and gas storage.
I hope that the Minister can say something about how the Government intend to bring more of this to ensure that we are not facing a situation where it is in everyone’s interest apart from the consumer to have gas prices rising continually, and that there is some way in which they can intervene to bring investment to this important aspect of energy security and affordability.