<p>Preparing for winter forms part of the normal cycle of activities which the energy supply industry undertakes each year.</p><p>Each gas and electricity supplier undertakes a number of actions in advance of the onset of winter. These include, for example:</p><p>Ensuring Asset Health and Availability: Checks that key maintenance and construction has been completed are undertaken and that outstanding key defects are monitored and resolved.</p><p>Strategic Spares: Stocks are reviewed and mobile plant such as generators and compressors are maintained. Diesel stocks are reviewed.</p><p>Contingency Plans and Resourcing: Plans are reviewed and updated as are resource deployment/work pattern options.</p><p>Staff Mobility: Availability of four-wheeled drive resources, snow chains etc. are confirmed and located strategically across the networks to ensure adequate geographic cover.</p><p>Electricity margins are tighter for this winter than previous years; that reflects a move from unusually large margins back to levels typical of the last decade. The Government has a range of policies to ensure that margins do not become unacceptably tight in future years.</p><p>National Grid's 2013 winter outlook likewise concludes that the UK gas market should continue to provide secure supplies. The UK market is strengthened by import infrastructure which has increased five fold over the past decade and which allows us to access diverse supply sources (North sea producers, pipelines from Norway and the rest of Europe, and shipments of liquefied natural gas).</p><p>In the downstream oil sector, my officials are working with suppliers to ensure they have robust contingency plans in place, and with other Government Departments to ensure that local contingency plans are ready to keep the roads open and provide help to vulnerable communities.</p><p>This year's Buy Oil Early campaign was launched on 11 September to encourage consumers to stock up early on heating oil and join oil buying groups where cost savings and delivery efficiencies can be found.</p><p>DECC is a member of the cross-HMG Winter Resilience Network, that meets on a weekly basis over the winter months to monitor forecasting and resilience issues across critical sectors. This provides early warning of potential incidents, and is a means of escalating issues between Departments, for example, if access roads to critical energy sites are not being kept clear.</p>