Gas storage operators are calling for network fees to be removed to create incentives
Quick Look
- The Energy Storage Initiative (INES) proposes to abolish the network fees for the transport of gas to the storage facilities in the short term in order to make storage more economically attractive.
- The network operators should compensate for the lost revenue through higher fees for other network users.
- The filling level of gas storage facilities in Germany has been below the average values of previous years for weeks.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The filling level of gas storage facilities in Germany has been below the average values of previous years for weeks, which is causing concern in view of the security of energy supply.
The operators of natural gas storage facilities want to intervene in regulation to ensure that more gas is stored. Time is running out, the Ministry of Economic Affairs remains cautious.
A pressure gauge shows the pressure in the natural gas network of an underground gas storage facility: filling of the gas storage facility is at an all-time low. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Berlin. The filling level of gas storage facilities in Germany has been below the average values of previous years for weeks. Now a change to the existing regulation should create an incentive to store more gas again.
A corresponding proposal is made by the “Initiative for Energy Storage” (INES), in which the gas storage operators have come together, including Sefe, Uniper, RWE, Trianel, EWE and VNG. The central element of the proposal: The network fees for the transport of gas to the storage facilities should be canceled in the short term.
As a result, this would mean that gas traders who purchase gas for storage would have lower costs because the fees for transporting the gas to storage would be eliminated. This would make storing gas more economically lucrative.
The waiver of network fees for the transport of natural gas to the storage facilities would lead to a loss of income for the gas network operators. According to INES' ideas, the network operators should compensate for these outages by charging other network users higher fees.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Ministry of Economy will examine the INES proposal and possibly adopt a modified version.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- How much would the network operators' lost revenues be if network fees were eliminated?
- What exactly would the higher fees for other network users look like?
- Has the Ministry of Economic Affairs already issued a statement on the proposal?
