Germany is making further progress in storing gas despite the loss of Russian supplies. According to data from Europe’s gas infrastructure operators (GIE) on the Internet late Tuesday evening, the filling level increased by 0.23 percentage points to 94.67 percent within 24 hours.
According to a regulation by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the systems must be 95 percent full by November 1st. This value has now almost been reached, at least overall. The amount of gas stored at this level corresponds approximately to the nationwide consumption in January and February 2022. However, the ordinance stipulates that every storage facility must comply with the 95 percent requirement. This is not the case – some plants are already above this, but others are still below.
The full gas storage tanks are important so that Germany’s economy, authorities and households get enough energy in the upcoming heating season. However, the gas reserves would be far from sufficient to cover the demand. The Federal Network Agency therefore repeatedly emphasizes the urgency of savings, both for companies and consumers.
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 has been covered by domestic storage facilities in recent years.
