Hopefully not. The decisions should be based on sound technical/environmental reasoning backing up the financial case; they should not be based on the clout a large company may be able to weigh.
Crawford Murray, West Sussex
An evaluation of how safe it is to frack has to take place. If it is a positive, then we should frack to our hearts’ content.
Roger Dungworth, Sheepy Magna, Leicestershire
I think that, no matter who backs it, Britain will struggle to develop shale gas at scale, as local objections and environmental concerns will hinder development at every turn. Successive governments have failed to provide leadership on energy policy, and I see nothing to suggest this will change in the near term.
Michael Crawford, Weybridge, Surrey
Investment in innovative technology must be a good thing for the industry, opening it up to more entrants to the market. However, it will be 10 years before shale gas is used. By that time I hope the energy industry will have changed anyway from the cartel it has become.
Greg Copestake, London
It may speed up commercialisation. But whatever the cost of production, because of corporate financial regimes and taxes, when it reaches the consumer the cost will be oddly similar to that of gas from other sources. On the plus side, we will not be totally reliant on foreign supplies for a while.
Martin Roberts-Jones, Eastleigh
Any price reductions will no doubt be “absorbed” by the various supply companies. More worryingly, if the market does change, it will be only for the short term, which will make the long-term situation even more difficult to deal with. Markets aren’t good at long-term planning.
David Schaffert, Tewkesbury
UK plc needs low energy costs to kickstart and grow the economy, and career politicians like an easy option. Help with finance, planning and lobbying of relevant authorities from a big player will bring a faster conclusion, albeit controversial.
Sid McFarland, Cheltenham
Fracking has been in use since the 1940s to make deep wells more economically viable, and I detect no transformation of the energy market to date. As for lowering prices: was that a pig that just flew by?
Geoff Miles, Tonbridge, Kent
It doesn’t matter who owns what. The issue is more educating an ignorant public of the benefits, rather than the rumblings about earthquakes, which is all we hear in the press.
Duncan Saunders, Derby
Given North Sea gas production is in decline, and the increased cost of reaching hard-to-access reserves, it seems a no-brainer to invest in relatively low-cost extraction activity.
Andrew Gledhill, Oxfordshire
The speed of commercialising will depend on what cash incentives are made available to the players. It will lower prices in the same way as “renewable energy” – for the suppliers. Centrica can’t go wrong by getting a share of the action.Ayrshire
Gib FitzGibbon, Ayrshire
We will not see 25% knocked off our gas bills, as the process is viable probably only with the current price of gas. And these large corporations will want their profits. On the plus side, less to import over the next few years, and bolsters the reserve.
I Oldfield, Worcestershire
I find it hard to believe fracking will ever catch on. We simply don’t have the vast expanses of easily frackable land that the US does.
Tom Hughes, London
Without doubt – let’s hope, however, that it doesn’t follow the same path as open-cast mining, which is still destroying the UK countryside.
Rom Chambard, Swadlincote, Derbyshire
Surely it will depend on price. If gas prices drop – there is lots of capacity coming online around the world – there may be no hurry for Centrica, and its involvement might even slow the development down.
Jeff Bulled, Lidlington, Bedfordshire
I hope so. If we are to compete with the US, we need our own plentiful supply of cheap gas. Otherwise, the current resurgence of coal looks unstoppable. By the way, we still have a renewables obligation, don’t we?
Gary Lock, Dorking, Surrey
In a word, yes. Although these energy companies have huge profits, they will doubtless hope to see a return on this investment. Centrica’s actions, I believe, are likely to encourage other energy companies to follow suit.
Neil Dinmore, Derby
We need security of energy supply. Hopefully Centrica will bring more than cash to the fracking project. Those of us who live close to the proposed sites want reassurance on safety and the environment. Lowering prices seems a myth; when did it last happen?
Bill Gibson, Fylde Coast, Lancashire
In the words of an Aussie, “Fracking right, mate.”
Colin Sanderson, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire