German Gas Storage Group urges clarification on summer filling policy

Storage operators' group INES warned on Thursday that if the German government does not decide to fill up gas caverns in time for winter, there may be shortages.

The ongoing discussions over the formation a new government and the fact that the summer prices are higher than the winter prices complicate the task. Some market participants bet that Germany will need to subsidise feed-in.

The INES seasonal update presented by managing director Sebastian Heinermann stated that "we cannot assume the caverns would reach the legal filling level before the winter."

INES 16 members control about 25% of the gas storage in the European Union.

Trading Hub Europe, the state-mandated manager of the gas market, is evaluating the options in conjunction with the energy regulator. Both report to the Economy Ministry. There is no deadline for a decision on how to proceed while coalition talks are ongoing.

As of Tuesday, Germany's gas storage tanks, which are capable of holding 23 billion cubic meters, or one quarter of the annual consumption, were 31,5% full. In the same period last year, this level was 67%.

According to the current national and EU legislation, drafted in response to the energy crisis of 2022, 90% of stores should be full by November 1.

The current high summer prices encourage the removal of volume from storage to be sold. INES data shows that 120 terawatt-hours (TWh), which is half the full capacity, has been flowing from the caverns. Vera Eckert Reporting and Mark Potter Editing

(source: Reuters)