Official forecasts show country will meet energy demand by paying high prices to secure imports

Great Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen.

Energy system operators have said the country will have enough gas and electricity to meet demand over the coldest months – in part because of paying higher market prices than neighbouring markets to secure imports.

The UK still imports 60% of its gas and, even with Jackdaw, its energy supply and resilience problems are not going away

After the overdue approval of the Jackdaw field in the North Sea, here comes a reminder that Britain still imports almost 60% of its gas and the stuff has to come from somewhere. We’re now doing a deal with Belgium to ensure enough supply can flow through a connecting pipeline this winter should a “low-probability but high-impact stress event”, to quote the regulatory mouthful, occur.

To be fair, the arrangement to maintain capacity from Belgium is a belt-and-braces measure. The imagined events do sound genuinely stressful and may never happen. A critical piece of infrastructure, such as the two import terminals in Milford Haven to bring in liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Britain, would have to be out of action during a prolonged cold snap in which demand is very high.