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- Centrica Storage
Our Rough storage facility is the largest in the UK, able to meet approximately 10% of the UK's current peak day demand and representing over 70% of UK storage capacity.
The Rough facility, bought by Centrica in November 2002, stores gas under the North Sea on behalf of a number of companies, including other Centrica businesses, to meet seasonal peak demands.
The acquisition was the subject of a Competition Commission inquiry but was cleared in August 2003 subject to the agreement of certain undertakings. The business is managed by Centrica Storage, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrica, managed at arm's length from Centrica Energy and Centrica's downstream energy businesses.
Centrica Storage's commercial team is separated from those parts of Centrica that deal in gas supply, gas shipping, trading and storage procurement. Beyond Rough, Centrica Storage now incorporates all business development activities relating to gas storage, which could see future investments in new storage facilities within the UK and Europe. Around 300 staff and contractors are employed within the operation, both onshore and offshore.
In October 2006 Centrica Storage began operating an adjacent terminal receiving Norwegian gas from the world’s longest underwater pipeline.
In 2008 Centrica Storage announced two new projects. In March, we announced a 52.8% stake in the proposed conversion of the offshore Bains gas field into a facility around one-fifth the capacity of Rough. In September we announced the acquisition of Caythorpe Gas Storage Limited (CGSL), which runs a severely depleted onshore gas field at Bridlington, East Yorkshire. The site has permission to be converted into a storage facility, and could be operational by 2011/12.
In February 2009, we announced the acquisition of the Baird gas field in the North Sea. This will also be converted into a storage facility with approximately half the capacity of Rough.
www.centrica-sl.co.uk
Further information
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+Management
Simon Wills
Managing Director
Simon Wills – Managing Director
Simon joined Centrica Storage as Managing Director in August 2008, moving across from his previous role as Head of Power Business Development within Centrica Energy.
Simon has been with Centrica since de-merger and before that with British Gas plc. He started his career with us as a research engineer with British Gas at their Midland Research Station in 1990 and since then has held a variety of commercial and technical roles within British Gas and latterly Centrica, both in the UK and Europe. Simon was involved in our initial entry into the UK electricity market in 1998 and his career has been associated with Centrica's activities in power ever since and has covered UK power station acquisitions, retail procurement policy, market development, development of Centrica's initial renewable activities and European business development.
In early 2004 Simon took up the role of Director of the Energy Management Group in Centrica's Belgian gas and power supply JV, Luminus, a role he carried out until returning to the UK in mid 2005 as Head of Electricity Supplies for Centrica Energy and subsequently Head of Business Development, prior to moving to his current role.
