Gas storage in France: reassuring situation for the winter despite the rise in prices

No shortage in sight. Gas storage in France is at a "relatively reassuring" level for the winter, but prices should be on an upward trend, said, Wednesday September 2, the president of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), Emmanuelle Wargon. “On the supply side this winter, are we going to have gas? We are obviously always vigilant, we are monitoring that very closely, but the latest figures are relatively reassuring,” declared Emmanuelle Wargon on RMC.

“We are 71.3% full of our storage,” she continued, specifying that the objective was to reach 85% as we entered winter. “All the storage facilities have been subscribed to by companies which have committed to filling them and therefore we are quite confident,” she assured. Especially since France, which imports 95% of its gas consumption, does not depend only on storage but also on imports by gas pipeline, particularly from Norway, and liquefied gas via its four LNG terminals, she recalled.

A stable electricity price

On the other hand, the rise in prices on world markets will continue to be felt, she warned. “We are completely dependent on international markets. And it’s true that with everything that’s happening, the war in Iran, inevitably, it’s driving up gas prices,” emphasized Emmanuelle Wargon. “So obviously, we are rather in a trend in which we are seeing gas prices which are higher than in the previous period,” she added, recalling that the reference price of gas for September had increased by 5.6%.

This increase of 5.6% compared to August 1 concerns the approximately 6 million households having subscribed to a supplier offer indexed to this average price, which varies every month, or approximately 60% of residential gas subscribers. Other households who have subscribed to a fixed price offer will not in fact be affected by this increase. The increase in gas prices, on the other hand, should only have a marginal impact on electricity prices given the "good availability" of France's nuclear, hydraulic and renewable electricity production means, estimated Emmanuelle Wargon.