The heating period 22/23 is slowly coming to an end and the stores are well filled. Mainly because of the mild temperatures, consumption has dropped significantly. Germany’s top gas supervisor is satisfied.
In Germany, around 23 percent less gas was consumed last week than the average for the years 2018 to 2021. Network Agency President Klaus Müller expressed his satisfaction. “Thank you for the valuable savings,” Müller wrote on Twitter on Thursday. This is already helping to fill the gas storage tank for the winter of 2023/24. The Federal Network Agency repeated its daily warning on Thursday that economical consumption remains important.
In detail, the gas consumption of the industry in the 7th calendar week was 22 percent below the average. Households and businesses reduced it by 24 percent compared to the reference period. The network agency pointed out that temperatures in the past week were 2.7 degrees above average. Adjusted for temperature, consumption was 15.3 percent below the reference value.
The comparatively mild temperatures in the past week were also reflected in the filling levels of the gas storage facilities, which mostly fell only slightly. Last weekend there was even a slight plus on Saturday and Sunday. Usually, the storage levels decrease steadily in winter.
Gas storage comparatively well filled
On Wednesday morning, the total fill level was 71.4 percent. That was almost 0.2 percentage points less than the previous day, according to data from the European gas storage association GIE on Thursday. The largest German storage facility in Rehden, Lower Saxony, was 86.6 percent full. Across the EU, the filling level was around 63.4 percent, 0.3 points less than the previous day.
The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a buffer system for the market. On the morning of November 14, a fill level of 100 percent was recorded. On February 1, the storage tanks were 78.6 percent, almost twice as full as required by the Energy Industry Act on this date.
It should be noted that in addition to gas withdrawal from the storage facilities, gas continues to flow to Germany through pipeline imports. According to the Federal Network Agency, Germany received natural gas from Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France on Tuesday. Gas now also flows into the German transmission network via new LNG terminals on the German coast.
Source: Stern
