MPs have warned the government not to count on Britain’s shale gas deposits when making energy policy or predicting gas prices in a report released Friday.
The chairman of Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee, Tim Yeo, warned it was “too soon” to know if shale gas would “provide the silver bullet needed to solve our energy problems.”
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It added: “It would be wrong for the government to base policy decisions at this stage on the assumption that gas prices will fall — it is possible that they will rise — in the future.”
The MPs also warned that unchecked development of gas-fired electricity generation, which the development of shale gas could spur, might be incompatible with meeting the UK’s climate change obligations
However, the study said the government should encourage exploration to establish whether significant recoverable reserves exist.
Yeo said: “If substantial shale resources do turn out to be recoverable in the UK – and community concerns can be addressed — then it could limit future energy price rises, reduce our reliance on imported gas and generate considerable tax revenues.”
Don't count on shale gas, MPs warn
