In the past, only experts were interested in the filling levels of gas storage tanks. That changed when Russia let its storage facilities in Germany run empty. The situation has now calmed down.
After winter is before winter: The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, assumes that he will be able to start with full natural gas storage facilities in the coming winter of 2023/24. “We are now coming out of the winter with relatively full storage facilities.
That will help to fill the storage facilities over the summer without Russian pipeline gas,” Müller told the German press agency dpa at the end of the so-called storage year on March 31. From April, more gas is usually stored than withdrawn.
The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a buffer system for the market. On the morning of November 14, 2022, a filling level of 100 percent was recorded. In winter, the fill levels usually decrease. Russia stopped supplying natural gas to Germany at the end of August 2022.
Good conditions helped through the winter
“We will also need full storage for next winter. If next winter gets significantly colder, we will also need significantly more gas.” He describes the filling of the storage tank last year as a “great success”. “Full storage tanks, mild temperatures and savings made a significant contribution to the fact that we got through last winter well.”
At the end of the storage year, the gas storage association Ines emphasized the importance of the systems in the energy system. “Gas storage facilities play a crucial role in securing the energy supply and they ensure that price risks on the trading markets remain manageable,” said Sebastian Bleschke, Managing Director of the Energy Storage Initiative (Ines).
Due to their large volume, the German storage facilities assume these functions not only for the Federal Republic, but also beyond. “Far more than a fifth of the gas storage capacities of the EU internal market are in Germany.”
The German gas storage facilities are still almost two-thirds full. On Wednesday morning, the total fill level was 64.2 percent. That was 0.2 percentage points less than the day before. The lowest filling level of the current year so far was recorded on March 17 at 63.67 percent. For comparison: A year earlier on March 17, 2022, the German storage facilities were only 24.56 percent full. Across the EU, the filling level was 55.7 percent on Wednesday morning.
In the past week, gas consumption in Germany was 33.5 percent below the average consumption for the years 2018 to 2021. The average temperature was 5.2 degrees above the comparative value. While industry consumed 30 percent less, the decline in households and businesses was 38 percent. “Warm spring temperatures helped,” Klaus Müller tweeted. Current savings supported storage fill for winter 23/24, he continued.
Source: Stern
