“must not repeat”
Habeck wants to set filling levels for gas storage
02/28/2022, 6:20 p.m
So far, Germany has no gas reserves. Currently, the storage tanks are still almost 30 percent full. The federal government wants to oblige the operators by law to keep certain stocks ready from the summer.
In response to problems in the winter and the Ukraine war, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is planning to set up a national gas reserve. This is to ensure that the gas storage tanks are always sufficiently filled, as can be seen from the cornerstones of a law. Concrete specifications are planned for the filling levels of the storage tanks.
The Green politician Habeck had already announced the construction of a gas reserve. Such a reserve is also planned for coal. Germany is dependent on Russian imports for both fossil fuels. There is currently no gas and coal reserve in Germany – in contrast to a national oil reserve.
The ministry’s paper states that the gas storage facilities in Germany are essential for a gas supply in the winter months. They could compensate for peaks in demand during cold periods and thus ensure a steady gas supply.
Volume is enough for up to three winter months
Germany has a storage volume of around 24 billion cubic meters. That corresponds to about half of the gas that can be transported from Russia to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline each year. This storage volume alone can supply Germany with gas for 2 to 3 winter months that are cold on average.
So far, however, there are no specifications for the filling levels of the storage tanks. This winter, these were historically low, the paper says. This applies in particular to the storage facilities of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. This is one of the reasons why prices on short-term trading venues have risen sharply. When demand peaks, hardly any additional gas was offered from the storage facilities: “Such a situation in the storage facilities must not be repeated next winter.”
Operators are to fill the storage facility up to 80 percent by October
The German gas storage should therefore be filled “regardless of the operator’s interests” at the beginning of winter. The gas should be available during cold periods or low gas imports. The operators should be obliged to ensure that the storage tanks are filled to 65 percent by August 1st, 80 percent by October 1st, 90 percent by December 1st and February 1st – i.e. at the end of winter and the heating period down – to 40 percent.
According to the gas storage association INES, the current filling level of the gas storage facilities in Germany is almost 30 percent. The federal government had already reacted to the low levels in winter with measures.
According to the paper, the planned law on the gas reserve should be introduced to the Bundestag in a timely manner and passed in April at the latest so that it can come into force on May 1st. This is necessary so that the entire summer half-year is available to fill the storage tanks.