UK dependence on unreliable energy supplies

David Lee of the Electric Heating Company agues that electric heating systems provide the complete solution to unreliable gas supply from Eastern Europe.

A recent article in the Financial Times (Ukraine gas billionaire claims fraud over lost unit, May 8 2009) highlights the volatility of gas supply from Eastern Europe and Britain's dependence on intermittently unreliable supplies.

Although problems in Eastern Europe may seem distant, continued political, financial and legal wrangling over ownership and control should be cause for concern.

We rely heavily on gas imports to heat our homes.

If this supply is cut off suddenly, as it was to some Eastern European countries, where will it leave the millions of tenants and homeowners who rely on it? 'When gas is not an option' is usually taken to mean certain properties (apartments, for example) or areas where it is uneconomic to supply gas.

But now, gas may not be an option because of political instability in Eastern Europe.

Britain cannot look forward confidently to a reliable heating system based on gas.

We don't yet know what precise mix of renewable, nuclear and other sources of energy we will use but what we do know is that electric heating will become far more important.

Electric is taking a growing share of the market now.

Twenty years ago, domestic electric heating systems were ugly, difficult to control, inefficient and relatively expensive.

Today, electric heating systems provide the complete solution.

They're reliable, fully controllable, energy efficient and usually produce significant cost savings when installed.

As a leading electric heating solutions provider we've developed systems which meet demand for heating and hot water which are reliable and 100% efficient.

And they don't come with the worry that one day the heating might be cut off from afar.

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