Replenishing the gas supply is much slower than in previous years. On June 1, the stock was at 16 percent. A year earlier, on the same date, this was 38 percent. ‘The summer price is almost the same as in the winter, which makes it not interesting to buy now.’
Living Editor
Gasunie is concerned about the difficulty in filling stocks. The Minister of Climate and Green Growth is briefing Members of Parliament today about security of supply and the gas supply.
The filling percentage has never been so low in previous years; In no other European country is the stock as low as in the Netherlands. However, this is not currently a cause for concern for regulator ACM, a spokesperson said. Now that commercial parties are waiting, the government is allowing state-owned company EBN to purchase gas. The minister gave EBN a budget of 993 million euros for this.
Energy expert Lucia van Geuns also expects that the gas supply will be large enough in November. She is a strategic energy advisor at The Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS). “If the industry does not purchase enough gas, EBN will.”
High gas prices, even in summer
The fact that gas is now only purchased at a minimum is because prices are too high due to the war in Iran. It is not worth purchasing and storing gas, which also costs money. Normally gas is cheap in spring and summer and more expensive in winter. “The seasonal market is now in disarray,” Van Geuns notes.
This is also the conclusion of energy expert Hans van Cleef. “The summer price is almost the same as in the winter. That makes it not interesting for commercial parties to purchase gas now.”
Importing LNG is cheaper
Purchasing parties therefore prefer to wait a little longer. It is now financially more attractive to have a ship with LNG, liquefied gas, delivered to the LNG terminals on the Maasvlakte and Eemshaven in the autumn. This gas then does not go to the storage fields, but directly into the gas network.
Van Cleef is convinced that there will be enough gas for the Netherlands in the coming winter. “The supply is under pressure and there is great competition. But the Netherlands is rich and we have always managed to purchase enough. Just look at this spring and the energy crisis of 2022.”
Filling purpose
The Netherlands wants to have a supply of 115 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas by November 1. One TWh is enough to supply 55,000 households with energy for a year, TNO calculated. Last January, an exceptionally cold month with snow, 41.9 TWh of gas was consumed in the Netherlands.
State-owned company EBN will in any case provide 80 TWh of gas in the storage fields. The costs incurred for this are passed on to Dutch gas users.
Rising prices in winter
A new energy contract could be up to 40 euros more expensive per month in the autumn, expect economists from RaboResearch, the economic office of Rabobank. Gas prices could possibly rise to 76 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in the winter, says Rabo economist Wouter Remmen. The price is currently 48 euros per MWh.
To prevent gas prices from rising excessively this summer because European countries are purchasing gas en masse, the European Commission is taking a more flexible look at storage standards. For example, countries may deviate from the November 1 deadline for the filling targets. This year, stocks must be filled no later than December 1.
LISTEN ALSO to our daily news podcast Join the conversation with AD
WATCH ALSO to our economy videos: