Gas storage level: Economics Minister Reiche orders additional gas storage

The German gas storage facilities are significantly less full compared to previous years. Economics Minister Reiche resisted government intervention for a long time, but then made a U-turn. It is now clear how much additional gas should be procured.

Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche has instructed the state energy company Sefe to increase the storage of natural gas. "We confirm that Sefe has received instructions from the BMWE (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) as the shareholder's representative to procure and store eight terawatt hours of gas by December 15th," said Sefe. The step was taken late on Tuesday evening in coordination with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to the report, citing ministry circles.

As early as mid-September, the CDU politician had urged the gas importer to purchase gas to fill the storage facilities, but this was not a formal instruction. The background is that storage is currently only worthwhile to a limited extent for traders due to price developments as a result of the Iran war.

However, the gas storage association INES had warned of bottlenecks in the event of a very cold winter. The storage facilities were only around 53 percent full at the beginning of September. This is the lowest level at this point since records began 15 years ago. Extremely cold temperatures could lead to a gas shortage in January.

“The system is significantly more robust”

According to the head of the gas importer VNG, Germany is still going into the winter without any immediate supply risk. “Compared to 2022, the system is significantly more robust overall,” said CEO Ulf Heitmüller. Among other things, he referred to imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “We have more access to LNG and we have expanded our supply sources.”

The Leipzig company VNG, which is majority owned by the utility EnBW, is one of the largest German gas importers alongside the nationalized energy companies Uniper and Sefe. Heitmüller emphasized that his company had set up its portfolio in such a way that it could meet its delivery obligations even in a cold winter.