54-746: The Humber Gas Tunnel is a natural gas-carrying pipeline that runs underneath the Humber Estuary between Paull in the East Riding of Yorkshire , and Goxhill in Lincolnshire, England. The project was started in April 2018, and the pipeline was used to transport gas for the first time in December 2020. It is designed to carry 20% of the gas used in the United Kingdom, and is a crucial feeder pipeline to carry gas to
108-560: A Brittonic formation containing -[a]mb-ṛ , a variant of the element *amb meaning "moisture", with the prefix *hu- meaning "good, well" (c.f. Welsh hy- , in Hywel , etc). The first element may also be *hū- , with connotations of "seethe, boil, soak", of which a variant forms the name of the adjoining River Hull . The estuary appears in some Latin sources as Abus (A name used by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene ). This
162-503: A Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since ancient Roman times. The feat in August 2005 was attempted to raise cash and awareness for the medical research charity, DebRA . He started his trek on the north bank at Brough ; four hours later, he emerged on the south bank at Whitton . He is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall and took advantage of
216-399: A cap on standard variable tariffs for energy customers, to be designed and implemented by Ofgem. The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 (c. 21) received royal assent on 19 July 2018. It stipulated that the price cap would be in place from the end of 2018 until 2020, when Ofgem would recommend whether the cap should remain on an annual basis up to 2023. Ofgem would also review
270-592: A very low tide. He replicated this achievement on the television programme Top Gear (Series 10 Episode 6) when he beat James May who drove an Alfa Romeo 159 around the inland part of the estuary in a race without using the Humber Bridge. On Saturday 26 August 1911, Alice Maud Boyall became the first recorded woman to swim the Humber. Boyall, then aged 19 and living in Hull, was the Yorkshire swimming champion. She crossed
324-559: A £12 million redress levy on E.ON in May 2014, and a £1 million redress levy on British Gas in July 2014. The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority is governed by the Chairman Martin Cave, executive members as well as non-executive members. Jonathan Brearley was appointed Chief Executive of Ofgem from February 2020. The liberalisation and privatisation of the energy markets in
378-418: Is home both to resident fish and those returning from the sea to their spawning grounds in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire . Salmon , sole , cod , eel , flounder , plaice , sprat , lamprey and sand goby have all been caught within the estuary. It is also used by over-wintering birds, is a good breeding ground for bitterns , marsh harriers , little terns and avocets , and forms part of
432-625: Is possibly a Latinisation of the Celtic form Aber ( Welsh for river mouth or estuary) but is erroneously given as a name for both the Humber and The Ouse as one continuous watercourse. Both Abus and Aber may record an older Indo-European word for water or river, (as in the 'Five Rivers' of the Punjab ). An alternative derivation may be from the Latin verb abdo meaning "to hide, to conceal". The successive name Humbre / Humbri / Umbri may continue
486-505: Is the Competent Authority responsible for approving ADR entities in the energy sector. Ofgem has only ever approved one ADR entity: Ombudsman Services. Ofgem launched an Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme in 2018 to redistribute money paid by energy companies who have breached their operating licence conditions. Recipients of the fund include vulnerable energy consumers and developers of energy products and services that reduce
540-459: Is the fourth-largest estuary in Great Britain, and the third busiest in terms of shipping. The former pipeline, which was constructed in 1984, was trench-laid on the floor of the estuary, and whilst it was still safe, it was listed on National Grid's "Vulnerable Infrastructure Register", as it was prone to tidal erosion and "third-party impact, both of which could result in catastrophic failure of
594-531: Is to protect existing and future consumers' interests in relation to gas conveyed through pipes and electricity conveyed by distribution or transmission systems. Consumers' interests are their interests taken as a whole, including their interests in the reduction of greenhouse gases and in the security of the supply of gas and electricity to them. Since 2010 the Authority has imposed nearly £100 million in fines and redress levies against energy suppliers, including
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#1733084902311648-625: The Energy Act 2004 , the Energy Act 2008 and the Energy Act 2010 ) as well as arising from directly effective European Union legislation. Duties and functions concerning gas are set out in the Gas Act and those relating to electricity are set out in the Electricity Act. Its primary duty is to protect the interests of consumers, where possible by promoting competition. The Authority‘s main objective
702-670: The First World War . Planned in 1914, their construction started in 1915 and they were not completed until 1919. A coastal battery at Easington, Fort Goodwin or Kilnsea Battery , faced the Bull Sands Fort. They were also garrisoned during the Second World War, and were finally abandoned for military use in 1956. Fort Paull is further upstream, a Napoleonic-era emplacement replaced in the early 20th century by Stallingborough Battery opposite Sunk Island . The Humber Bridge
756-516: The Port of Immingham ; there are lesser ports at New Holland and North Killingholme Haven . The estuary is navigable for the largest of deep-sea vessels. Inland connections for smaller craft are extensive but handle only a quarter of the goods traffic handled in the Thames . There are numerous theories for how the hydronym of Humber is derived from Celtic or Pre-Celtic languages. For example, it may be
810-697: The Severn-Trent flyway , a route used by migratory birds to cross Great Britain . In 2019 the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Hull re-introduced the river oyster into the Humber after a sixty-year absence. Ofgem The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets ( Ofgem ), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority ( GEMA, the Ofgem Board ), is the government regulator for
864-530: The Utilities Act 2000 , designed to protect national security, relating to concerns about smart meters and Renewable Heat Incentive projects. Under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes Regulations 2015, if an energy company fails to resolve a complaint through their own customer service efforts they will be required to advise the consumer of an approved ADR body. Ofgem
918-730: The electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain . It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation ( OFFER ) and Office of Gas Supply ( Ofgas ). The authority's powers and duties are largely provided for in statute (such as the Gas Act 1986 , the Electricity Act 1989 , the Utilities Act 2000 , the Competition Act 1998 , the Enterprise Act 2002 and
972-638: The tidal rivers Ouse and Trent . From there to the North Sea , it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and North Lincolnshire on the south bank. Also known as the River Humber , it is tidal its entire length. Below Trent Falls, the Humber passes the junction with the Market Weighton Canal on the north shore, the confluence of the River Ancholme on
1026-466: The 49 crew on board. From 1974 to 1996, the areas now known as the East Riding of Yorkshire , North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire constituted the county of Humberside . The Humber, from 1996, forms a boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire (to the north) and North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, to the south. The Humber Forts were built in the mouth of the estuary for
1080-563: The Above Ground Installations (AGIs) at Paull and Goxhill, no evidence of the pipeline or tunnel will be visible on the surface. The pipeline was commissioned and gas started flowing through for the first time in December 2020. It is designed to carry up to 20% of the United Kingdom's gas supply, during peak winter demand. The pipe is the longest pipeline in a tunnel in Europe and is also the longest hydraulically inserted gas pipeline in
1134-405: The East Riding of Yorkshire, 18 months later. The TBM had a diameter of 4.38 metres (14.4 ft), which allowed for the concrete casing to be inserted on the walls of the new tunnel which consisted of rhomboidal and trapezoidal precast concrete segments 225 millimetres (8.9 in) thick, and 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) in length. The chalk slurry dug from the chalk beds underneath the Humber
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#17330849023111188-655: The German Ocean (the North Sea ) south of Ocelum Promontorium (Spurn Head). Ptolemy also gives the Iron Age tribes of the area as the Coritani south of the Humber and the Parisi to the north. In the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe , Crusoe leaves England on a ship departing from The Humber. On 23 August 1921, the British airship R38 crashed into the estuary near Hull, killing 44 of
1242-425: The Humber Bridge has become an annual event, with a small number of pre-selected swimmers crossing in a 'pod' which remains close together, in aid of Humber Rescue. In 2019, Hull-based competitive open water swimmer Richard Royal became the first person to attempt and complete a two-way swim across the estuary, beginning and finishing at Hessle foreshore, with Barton on the south bank as the mid-way point, fulfilling
1296-512: The Humber from Hull to New Holland Pier swimming the distance in 50 minutes, 6 minutes slower than the existing men's record. Since 2011, Warners Health have organised the 'Warners Health Humber Charity Business Swim'. Twelve swimmers from companies across the Yorkshire region train and swim in an ellipse from the south bank to the north bank of the estuary under the Humber Bridge over a total distance of approximately 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km). Since then, an organised group crossing at
1350-468: The National Grid to charge £111 million of the cost to consumers. Initially, National Grid had asked for £140 million, but Ofgem argued that "...the project could have been delivered more efficiently." Humber Estuary The Humber / ˈ h ʌ m b ər / is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England . It is formed at Trent Falls , Faxfleet , by the confluence of
1404-627: The Thames and the River Severn ) one of the three principal rivers of Britain, and is continually mentioned throughout the Brut y Brenhinedd as a boundary between the southern kingdom ( Lloegyr ) and various northern kingdoms. In Geoffrey of Monmouth 's 12th-century historically unreliable chronicle ( Historia Regum Britanniae ), the Humber is named for " Humber the Hun ", an invader who drowned there during battle in
1458-628: The United Kingdom began with the Margaret Thatcher Government in the 1980s (often called the Thatcher-Lawson agenda, due to the key role of Nigel Lawson in the Thatcher government cabinet). Aspects of the UK's model have been adopted by EU legislation. The privatisation of the gas and electricity supply industries was enacted by the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989 . Section 1 of
1512-404: The abuse of market power, and provide Ofgem with sufficient power to tackle any abuse. Moreover, consumer surveys showed good awareness of the ability to switch, high and rising switching rates away from the former monopoly suppliers, and substantial and continuing falls in their market shares. Two years after the removal of the last price controls, in April 2004, Ofgem published a major review of
1566-596: The earliest days of the chronicle. The Humber remained an important boundary throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, separating Northumbria from the southern kingdoms. The name Northumbria derives from the Anglo-Saxon Norðhymbre (plural) = "the people north of the Humber". The Humber is recorded with the abbreviation Fl. Abi (The Abus river, Ancient Greek : Ἄβος ) in Ptolemy 's Geographia , discharging into
1620-588: The energy market as well as provide the certainty investors have called for," Ofgem CEO Dermot Nolan in announcing the investigation. In August 2016 Ofgem said that it would implement the CMA's recommendation that suppliers should be required to provide the details of customers who have been on expensive tariffs for three years or more to rival suppliers. Ofgem also said that it would impose an interim price cap on customers using pre-payment meters. In October 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her intention to introduce
1674-503: The ferry until the bridge opened in 1981. Railway passenger and car traffic continued to use the pier until the end of ferry operations. The line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from Hessle to Barton upon Humber , which is noted in the Domesday Book and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as still operating in 1856, into the railway era. The Humber was then one mile (1.6 km) across. Graham Boanas,
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1728-604: The finances of supplier companies, and that the government overlooked this lack of supervision because it prioritised competition over market regulation. In response, Ofgem accepted that its previous financial resilience regime was not sufficiently robust, and had contributed to some of the supplier failures since August 2021. In September 2018, the Guardian published a report claiming that two Ofgem experts had been independently threatened with criminal sanctions if they publicly revealed information. Ofgem allegedly invoked section 105 of
1782-538: The industry to set up and fund the Energy Supply Ombudsman in response to concerns over the handling of customer complaints. Ofgem's Energy Supply Probe, published in 2008 after increases in world fuel prices led to the doubling of the energy bill for a typical household, found that the market was still dominated by the " Big Six " suppliers: more than 70% of customers were still with their former monopoly suppliers, and new entrants had captured less than 0.3% of
1836-494: The land-to-land criteria, covering a total of 4,085 m (4,467 yd). Royal holds the record for the fastest one-way swim across the Humber (35 minutes 11 seconds) and the fastest two-way swim (1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds), certified by Guinness World Records and the World Open Water Swimming Association. He raised over £900 for Humber Rescue, who provided safety support during the swim. The Humber
1890-541: The level of the cap at least every six months; from October 2022 reviews were to be conducted every three months, to reflect volatility in wholesale prices. Ofgem refers to this mechanism as the "default tariff" price cap, to distinguish it from the "prepayment" price cap, its other energy price cap. Between July 2021 and May 2022, 29 retail suppliers of gas and electricity collapsed, largely due to unprecedented increases in wholesale gas prices. Ofgem arranged for their customers to be transferred to other companies but this
1944-407: The market. Ofgem implemented a number of measures which improved the information provided to customers and made it easier for them to switch suppliers. The Big Six were obliged to separate their accounting for the supply and generation businesses, and Ofgem noted concerns over market abuses and unfair pricing. In June 2014 Ofgem announced a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into
1998-501: The meaning via the Latin verb umbro also meaning "to cover with shadows". Although it is now an estuary its entire length, the Humber had a much longer freshwater course during the Ice Age , extending across Doggerland , which is now submerged beneath the North Sea . The Humber features regularly in medieval British literature. In the Welsh Triads , the Humber is (together with
2052-515: The pipeline." Although remedial work was undertaken in 2010 and 2012, because the pipeline feeds up to 20% of gas into the National Transmission System (NTS), a replacement project was devised to enable security of supply. The River Humber Gas Pipeline Replacement Order 2016 , was approved in 2016, which gave authority for the National Grid to build a replacement pipe and all ancillary works. The new pipeline would be buried underneath
2106-455: The pipes at a rate of 1 metre per second (3.3 ft/s) into the tunnel, so that the pipe moved into the tunnel, suspended in the water. Rollers were used to move the pipes into the tunnel, and each section end was welded to the start of the new 620-metre (2,030 ft) pipe section. The pipe has been designed to last 40 years, whilst the tunnel has been lifed at 120 years. All works above ground will be returned to agricultural use, and aside from
2160-469: The regulators set price controls which fixed the maximum price that the monopoly suppliers could charge domestic customers. These controls remained in place when markets started to be liberalised, and were removed in stages between 2000 and 2002. Ofgem's decision to remove price controls was based on their assessment that competition was developing well at that time and that the Competition Act 1998 , being effective since March 2000, would deter companies from
2214-496: The regulators were prescribed in Section 4 of the Gas Act 1986 and Section 3 of the Electricity Act 1989. Starting in the 1990s, the supply of electricity and gas to retail consumers in the UK has been unbundled from the rest of the industry. At the time of privatisation, British Gas and the regional public electricity suppliers held a monopoly on supplying all domestic gas and electricity consumers respectively. In 1997, British Gas
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2268-604: The respective Acts created the roles of Director General of Gas Supply and the Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas), and the Director General of Electricity Supply and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER). These were economic regulators independent of government, but accountable to Parliament. This arrangement separated their regulatory decisions from political control in order to provide greater long term regulatory certainty and to encourage market entry and investment. The duties of
2322-470: The river in a specially constructed tunnel, and would run parallel to the old pipeline from Paull in the north east to Goxhill in the south west. This would then connect to the existing pipeline to Hatton compressor station in Lincolnshire, which in turn supplies gas to the south of England. A 160-metre (520 ft) tunnel boring machine (TBM), christened Mary , started running north eastwards from Goxhill in Lincolnshire in April 2018. The TBM reached Paull in
2376-464: The south of England. It is the longest pipe in a tunnel in Europe, and due to being inserted into the tunnel that was deliberately flooded with water, it is the longest hydraulically inserted gas pipeline in the world. In 2009, underwater surveys revealed that the pipeline carrying natural gas between Easington and the south side of the Humber Estuary was at risk of being damaged. The Humber Estuary
2430-531: The south shore; between North Ferriby and South Ferriby and under the Humber Bridge ; between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Kingston upon Hull on the north bank (where the River Hull joins), then meets the North Sea between Cleethorpes on the Lincolnshire side and the long and thin headland of Spurn Head to the north. Ports on the Humber include the Port of Hull , the Port of Grimsby and
2484-441: The state of competition in the domestic energy supply markets, concluding that supply competition had delivered substantial benefits for all consumers and that the markets were competitive, though not yet mature. Between 2005 and 2007, Ofgem carried out a Supply Licence Review, resulting in simplification of supply licences, with the aim of reducing barriers to entry to the supply market, and enabling innovation. In 2006, Ofgem required
2538-446: The trading practices and competitiveness of the country's "Big Six" energy companies: Centrica , SSE plc , RWE npower , E.ON , Scottish Power and EDF Energy . The investigation, which took two years, followed a referral by Ofgem to the competition regulator. "There is near-unanimous support for a referral and the CMA investigation offers an important opportunity to clear the air. This will help rebuild consumer trust and confidence in
2592-519: The world, for which it was awarded a Guinness World Record in November 2020. The project was costed at around the £100 million mark in 2016, but on opening, full works, remediation and the installation of the AGIs (above ground installations), meant the cost was £150 million. Initially, Ofgem refused National Grid the authority to pass the cost of the project onto consumers, with Ofgem citing that there
2646-503: Was no need to carry out the work, "despite National Grid’s claim that the 3km-long pipeline was at risk of catastrophic failure." By this point in August 2018, National Grid had already spent £90 million on the then estimated £140 million project. Ofgem responded by saying that "National Grid has not demonstrated that the benefits of replacing the pipe outweigh the costs". However, in September 2018, Ofgem changed their view and allowed
2700-404: Was not possible for the 1.7 million customers of the largest company to enter administration , Bulb Energy , which instead entered a special administration regime underwritten by the UK government. A July 2022 report "Energy pricing and the future of the energy market" by Parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee found that Ofgem had been incompetent in its supervision of
2754-406: Was split (demerged) into Centrica and BG plc , in order to separate gas supply from its production and distribution. Between 1996 and 1999, domestic energy consumers were gradually able to choose their supplier. Finally, in May 1998 the domestic gas market was fully opened to competition, followed by the domestic electricity market in May 1999. Before there was competition in domestic markets,
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#17330849023112808-685: Was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world from its construction in 1981 until 1998. It is now the twelfth longest . Before the bridge was built, a series of paddle steamers operated from the Corporation Pier railway station at the Victoria Pier in Hull to the railway pier in New Holland . Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway . They, and their successors, ran
2862-405: Was then fitted out and flushed with 50 × 10 cubic metres (1.8 × 10 cu ft) of pure water to make it ready to receive the new pipeline. On 23 June 2020, the first section was pushed into the tunnel and this continued until 9 July 2020. The pipes were delivered in shorter sections, and then welded out of the tunnel into 600-metre (2,000 ft)+ sections. Two hydraulic thrust machines inserted
2916-524: Was treated and used to remediate a former chalk quarry at Goxhill. The material excavated as part of the tunnelling process was mostly chalk, having dug through the Burnham Chalk and Flamborough Chalk Formations, but with glacial deposits at the north bank near Paull. The pipe is horizontal below the estuary, but the down gradients at each portal are at an incline of 4% for 450 metres (1,480 ft) at Paull, and 650 metres (2,130 ft) at Goxhill. The pipe
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