Against the background of almost full storage facilities, the Association of German Gas Storage Operators has warned against taking the crisis lightly. “After the precautionary phase, we are now entering the winter phase. The challenges that winter has in store are greater than those of the precautionary phase,” said Sebastian Bleschke, Managing Director of the Energy Saving Initiative (Ines), on Thursday of the German Press Agency. According to the European gas storage association GIE, the German storage facilities are 99.19 percent full.
According to Bleschke, however, the high storage levels alone are not enough to get through the winter: “Two things are necessary: We have to continue to reduce gas consumption, especially when very cold temperatures occur. And the domestic market as a whole has to do a lot again in winter import more LNG than at present.”
25 storage operators in Germany
On the key date of November 1, all but two storage tanks in Germany were at least 95 percent full, as required by law. The largest storage facility in Rehden, Lower Saxony, was 92.5 percent full. A smaller storage facility in Epe in North Rhine-Westphalia reported a value of 91.1 percent. The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and form a buffer system for the market. They are usually well filled when the heating season begins in autumn. The filling levels then decrease until spring. In Germany there are around 25 storage operators with over 40 underground storage facilities.
According to the Federal Network Agency, gas consumption in Germany last week was again well below the average for the years 2018 to 2021. While an average of 2628 gigawatt hours of natural gas were consumed daily in week 43 of these four years, this year it was 1672 gigawatt hours and therefore good 36 percent less. One of the reasons for this was the relatively high temperatures.
IEA warns of bottlenecks in Europe in 2023
The agency stressed the importance of low gas consumption. A national shortage in winter can be avoided if, firstly, the savings target of at least 20 percent is further achieved. Secondly, the LNG terminals would have to feed in at the beginning of the year and thirdly, the decline in imports caused by the winter and the increase in the currently low exports would be more moderate.
Meanwhile, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), there is a risk of significant bottlenecks in the storage of gas for the following winter in Europe in the coming year. If imports of Russian gas via pipeline were stopped completely and China imported liquefied gas again at the usual level, almost half of the gas for a 95 percent filling of the storage facilities could be missing, the IEA announced in Paris on Thursday.
“Given the recent mild weather and lower gas prices, there is a risk that complacency will creep into the discussion about Europe’s gas supply, but we are far from over the hill,” said IEA Director Fatih Birol. Next winter, Europe will face an even greater challenge. Governments would therefore have to push ahead with measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce gas demand.
Gas situation in Germany Levels IEA-PM with link to analysis
