TDespite the fact that gas deliveries from Russia stopped at the end of August, German gas storage facilities are now more than 90 percent full. This emerges from data from the European storage operators, which were published on the Internet on Monday evening. According to this, the storage tanks reached a level of 90.07 percent last Sunday – 0.32 percentage points more than the previous day. The level information is always reported with a delay.
A ministerial regulation stipulates that the German storage facilities should be at least 95 percent full by November 1st, i.e. in six weeks. The amount of gas stored at this level roughly corresponds to nationwide consumption in January and February 2022.
Buffer system for the gas market
The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a kind of buffer system for the gas market. They are usually well filled when the heating season begins in autumn. The filling levels then decrease until spring. On cold winter days, up to 60 percent of gas consumption in Germany is covered by German storage facilities.
The federal government wants to use various measures to ensure that the gas storage tanks are as full as possible at the beginning of the heating period. Germany should be able to cope better with the total failure of Russian deliveries in winter.
Germany currently receives natural gas via pipelines from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. At the turn of the year, the first two terminals for landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) are scheduled to go into operation on the German North Sea coast.
According to preliminary information, the gas storage facilities in the EU were on average 85.99 percent full on Sunday. Since the spring, the EU-wide requirement has stipulated that storage tanks must be 80 percent full by November 1st. This goal had already been achieved at the end of August. 18 Member States have underground gas storage facilities.
The filling level of the largest German storage facility in Rehden in Lower Saxony is currently almost 75 percent. Due to planned maintenance of this storage facility, no more storage has been carried out since last Monday. The maintenance should last until next Saturday.
The weather has to cooperate
According to the Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, Germany has a chance of “getting through the winter well” despite the lack of Russian gas. A chance – the Green politician repeated the word to journalists in Lubmin on Monday. Because a lot has to be saved in Germany for this, and you need “a bit of luck with the weather”. But still: According to his own statement, he would not have said it like that a few months ago.