Currently, as of September 20, 2026, about 141 TWh of natural gas has been stored in Germany, which amounts to just over 57 percent of the storage capacity. According to the Network Agency, about 134 terawatt hours were consumed throughout last winter. This may seem reassuring at first, especially because last winter was very cold and thus required “intensive heating.”
However, gas storage levels are currently low compared to previous years. On September 4, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder spoke about this and called for the federal government to intervene. A few days later, the opposition Green Party accused the Economy Minister of negligence: The head of the joint opposition bloc, Britta Hasselmann, said: “The gas tanks are not full. We are threatened by a shortage of supplies.”
Such statements gave rise to the impression that Germany would not have enough gas during the winter - and would suffer from supply shortages. This will harm the German economy and lead to many families being unable to use heating.
But in order to evaluate the current situation, various criteria must be taken into account, including, for example, the fact that gas is also imported during the winter. In addition, import methods and sources have been diversified for several years. Therefore, Germany no longer depends on only one importer as it relied on Russia until 2022.
Should we wear warm clothes?
Market participants and experts polled by DW are very confident about the question whether Germany's gas reserves are enough for the winter. In this regard, Charlie Grunberg, spokesman for the Gas and Hydrogen Industry Association, referred to contracts concluded in the medium term, saying: “Whoever concludes a contract with a reliable supplier to secure his gas needs for the winter will receive the agreed upon quantities.”
Executive Director of the German Gas and Hydrogen Storage Initiative energien-speichern.de, Sebastian Heinermann, seems a little skeptical, noting that it is still technically possible to "raise Germany's gas reserves to a filling level of about 77 percent."
This requires a filling level that "has not been observed even once in the past three weeks. If this trend continues unchanged, the filling level on November 1 will only be about 65 percent," says Heinerman.
This was expressed most clearly by the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railways. She said she saw no reason for concern. The agency's spokeswoman, Nadia Afani, said in response to an inquiry from DW: "Gas supplies in Germany are stable. The security of supplies is currently guaranteed. Based on current information, the Federal Network Agency assesses the risk of gas supply shortages as low."
Likewise, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) does not fear a crisis and gas shortage. "The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is closely monitoring all developments to ensure security of supplies. There are currently no signs of a supply shortage," ministry spokeswoman Susan Ungrad wrote in response to a DW inquiry.
No need to worry
“The quantities of available storage, the continuation of imports via pipelines and liquefied natural gas stations, and the development of demand and the situation in European and international energy markets. We are ready for further developments,” says Susan Ongrad, explaining what are the criteria that determine the price of gas.
Charlie Grunberg of the Gas and Hydrogen Industry Association has a more comprehensive view: “The decisive factor is whether enough gas has been purchased and whether it can be transported to and through Germany: supply contracts, tanks, pipeline imports and LNG are all interconnected. After investments in LNG terminals, new import routes and reverse flow capabilities, the infrastructure today is stronger than it was in 2022.”
High prices
When winter arrives and heating use increases, the price of gas also increases: as demand increases, the price rises. This can be seen now, says Sebastian Heinerman of the Gas Storage Association: “The price of gas in the second quarter of the year across different contracts on the futures market was around 46 euros per megawatt hour. It has recently risen to more than 80 euros.”
Olaf Geyer from the American management consulting firm Arthur D. Little also monitors the German market and also notes the development of prices. He also doesn't see a critical supply problem, but says: "When the winter gets very cold or something decreases on the import side, then the price can go up quickly."
However, Charlie Grunberg does not see any automatic mechanism for prices to rise. “Reliable price forecasts” are difficult, he says. Although low storage levels may lead to higher prices, “additional quantities must be purchased in the market.” But there does not appear to be a shortage in terms of supplies on offer: “However, there are currently no indications that there will be an actual shortage of gas by the end of winter; the futures markets are not currently indicating this.”
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy notes that “the currently announced prices for winter gas futures are only slightly higher than the spot market prices for spot deals. Therefore, there was no usual price disparity between summer and winter, which would have made storing gas during the summer months economically viable.”
The price difference principle depends on buying at a low price in the summer and selling at a higher price in the winter. But this did not work due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - and the price of gas did not decrease in the summer, but rather became more expensive.
Effective market incentives
The question is: What needs to change in reserve gas storage in the future? Olaf Geyer, like the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, focuses on the price difference between the summer and winter seasons. He says that the tanks were not filled because it was not economically feasible: “In the future we need better incentives to fill the tanks, and risk management at energy suppliers that does not focus only on the purchase price, but also takes into account the extent to which actual consumption may differ from planning.”
Sebastian Heinerman also calls for effective economic incentives to fill the reservoirs. He says: “In the medium term, Germany needs a reliable market framework that ensures that the reservoirs are adequately filled in the long term through incentives, commitments, or a combination of both, while at the same time preserving as much economic room for maneuver in the market as possible.”
Prepared by: Raed Al-Bash
