Plaid MP Raises the Alarm Over "Duplicate Pipeline" Proposal

National Grid's "duplicate pipeline" proposal hit the papers this week as the Western Mail revealed that Plaid MP Adam Price is now publicly raising concerns that this is "a first step in the process to get another pipeline built across Wales".

Mr. Price has been a consistent opponent of the whole LNG pipeline project since the original pipe became public knowledge back in 2005. He rightly places the pipeline in a long tradition of exploitative energy projects imposed on Wales, the most famous of which was the drowning of Cwm Celyn in the 60s, to provide water for the Liverpool Corporation.

Needless to say, his allegations have sent the grid scurrying to cover their backsides with the usual combination of spin and misinformation. They claim in response that the document is "a technical industry document on the standard length of time it should take to connect in new sources of gas to the transmission system" and that that the "example" was used "only for illustrative purposes.”

Nice to know National Grid have a hidden artistic side...

In any case, Adam Price counters that British Gas' positive response to the exercise lends weight to the view that National Grid's proposal is a genuine industry consultation document that has been put out to key players in the gas industry.

And of course, it doesn't hurt to point out that British Gas, along with Dutch company Petroplus, is a partner in the Dragon LNG terminal in Milford Haven...

So who's right?

Well, let's ask the Regulator. On the 18th of October 2005, some six months prior to the release of the May 2006 document, a letter circulated by Ofgem to "Gas Transporters...and other interested parties" shows National Grid were putting out feelers about the duplicate pipeline even before Phase 1 of the current project had recieved approval from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Did Ofgem think it was a hypothetical exercise too?

In the last analysis this new pipe may well only be part of an industry consultation exercise. But a detailed review of the figures from each of NG's yearly QSEC (Quarterly Sale of Entry Capacity) Auctions points to a clear trend; with every new Auction, from 2004 through 2006, National Grid are continually ramping up the amounts of gas capacity they are offering to transport through Milford Haven.

Eventually, these amounts will exceed the quantity that can be physically transported by the existing pipeline (assuming it's commissioned). And at that point a second pipeline will become slightly more than "illustrative".

RWE Being Screwed?

Auntie BEEB dutifully regurgitated a little piece of corporate propaganda onto my carpet this evening.

It seems power generation company RWE Npower have decided after all to build a huge gas fired power station at Milford Haven.


The company have made clear on numerous occasions that the primary reason for selecting Milford as the site for this station is LNG.

RWE claim that this station will produce enough power "for three million homes", which is curious, as Wales itself only has around a million homes. So where's all this power going?

The answer is very generously provided by RWE's Chief Honcho, Andrew Duff; "the two developments (Pembroke and Staythorpe) will replace existing coal power stations at Didcot and Tilbury in England."

The fact of the matter is that Wales itself is already a net exporter of electricity. We produce around 33 Terrawatt hours of electricity every year, of which we only consume around 19 Terrawatt hours. The rest is exported over the border.

And while the company has not yet secured consent from the Department of Enterprise Business and Regulatory Reform for construction of this plant, you can rest assured it's already a done deal. A number of sources in the Milford Haven area inform me that construction has already begun on a connecting pipeline from the LNG terminal at Dragon to the proposed power station site at Pennar, on the other side of the Haven.

It's all part of a grand plan, you see, spoon-fed to the welsh public in small doses to make it easier to swallow.