Germany is entering the new year with abundant natural gas storage facilities. The overall level was 90.8 percent on Thursday morning, according to data from the European gas storage association GIE. Exactly a year earlier it was 88.8 percent.
To put it into perspective: If the storage tanks are full, the amount of gas stored corresponds approximately to the consumption of two to three average cold winter months. A level of 100 percent was recorded on the morning of November 5th.
The largest German storage facility in Rehden, Lower Saxony, was 81.2 percent full on Thursday morning. The storage facilities are still quite full across the EU. According to GIE, the fill level was 87.0 percent.
The gas storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a buffer system for the gas market. The levels usually decrease in winter and increase again after the end of the heating season. In the past few weeks, unlike usual, there have been several days on which more was deposited than withdrawn, meaning the filling levels increased.
Mild temperatures in November and December
According to the Ines storage association, the current filling level is “well above average”. “The mild temperatures in November and December ensured relatively low consumption and thus avoided a greater emptying of the gas storage facilities,” said the managing director of the industry association Initiative Energiespeicher (Ines), Sebastian Heinermann, to the dpa.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, expressed his satisfaction. “People have saved a lot of gas this year. That has given us a good cushion for the winter,” he told the dpa. “The storage facilities are still very well filled. We are well prepared for the second half of winter.” A few cold days didn’t cause any worries. “At the beginning of December we could see how much gas consumption increases as soon as it gets colder.” Stable imports are therefore important to secure gas supplies.
It should be noted that, in addition to the withdrawal from the storage facilities, gas continues to flow to Germany on a permanent basis, primarily through pipeline imports. According to the Federal Network Agency, on Wednesday most of the gas came from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. Gas also flowed into the German gas network via the new LNG terminals on the German coasts. Germany also purchased natural gas from Switzerland and Denmark.
Association: Gas should be sufficient even in extreme cold
The industry association Ines is also confident that the gas supply will be secured this winter. “The gas supply should now be fully guaranteed even at extremely cold temperatures,” said Heinermann. “If no unforeseen risks arise, we will get through the rest of the winter well.”
Müller said he was grateful that many people were using gas more consciously. It is worth thinking carefully about how much consumption can be saved. “Every kilowatt hour saved also protects the household budget,” he emphasized.
Fewer and fewer consumers are planning to save energy
However, saving energy as a New Year’s resolution is much less popular in households this year than in 2022. This emerges from surveys carried out by the opinion research institute Yougov for the energy service provider Ista. While around a year ago, during the energy crisis, around 43 percent of Germans resolved to use less energy in their households, in 2023 the figure will be only 29 percent, as Ista reported on Friday.
According to the information, six percent of Germans are now planning to use much less energy. 23 percent want to reduce their energy consumption somewhat. 36 percent of Germans do not want to change their consumption behavior and believe they are already on the right track. Five percent want to heat more. 26 percent said they would not make any New Year’s resolutions. The rest did not provide any information.
Natural gas wholesale price fell sharply
Meanwhile, the wholesale price of natural gas in Europe fell to its lowest level in three months just before the end of the year. On Friday, the landmark futures contract TTF for delivery in one month on the Amsterdam stock exchange cost 31.99 euros per megawatt hour. European natural gas has not been this cheap since September. At the beginning of 2023, a megawatt hour was still trading at 79 euros.
