BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Despite gas storage being 100 percent full, the association of storage operators does not want to rule out a gas emergency in a very cold winter. If temperatures are extremely low, as in the EU weather year 2010, the German storage facilities could be empty at the end of January 2024, the Energy Storage Initiative (Ines) reported on Tuesday in Berlin. In such a scenario, the storage facilities could only be filled again during March.
If the temperature is normal like in 2016, the association assumes that the storage facilities will still be 42 percent full at the beginning of February. A fill level of at least 40 percent is required on February 1st. In a warm winter with temperatures like 2020, according to the model, the storage tanks are 70 percent full at the beginning of February.
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. It should be noted that, parallel to the use of storage, natural gas flows into Germany via pipelines and the new LNG terminals on the German coasts.
After reaching the 100 percent mark last Sunday, Ines managing director Sebastian Heinermann assumes that the so-called withdrawal phase will begin in November due to decreasing temperatures. Assuming a normal temperature curve, according to the model, the filling levels will then fall to 19 percent by the end of March. For comparison: at the end of March 2023, the filling levels in Germany were 64 percent after a mild winter and significant savings.
The association was critical of the planned changes to the Gas Storage Act. The federal government’s proposals do not have the potential to further improve security of supply. Among other things, the association criticized the planned certification requirement for gas storage operators and described the extension of the Gas Storage Act until the end of March 2027 as “premature”. The proposed fine regulations are also “incompatible” with the complexity of the requirements.
The draft law was published in mid-October. With the amendment, the federal government wants to ensure security of supply. The planned LNG terminals on land are scheduled to go into operation in 2027.
/tob/DP/ngu