The levels of German gas storage are constantly increasing – Germany has been storing gas again for five days. And well-filled gas storage means security of supply for 2023, emphasizes the Federal Network Agency. The mild weather and strong wind are helpful; In addition, France also calls off much less.
The gas storage levels have risen constantly over the past few days. “Germany has been storing gas again for five days,” said the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller. “The mild weather, which means lower consumption, more wind energy, which means less gas power generation and fewer exports to France have helped us.”
According to current information from the European storage association GIE, the storage level from Sunday to Monday rose by 0.38 percent to 88.22 percent. The bottom line is that Germany has not withdrawn any gas since Thursday. A similar trend could be observed in many other EU countries, but in Germany the storage levels increased at an above-average rate. According to the Federal Network Agency, well-stocked gas storage means security of supply for 2023.
In France, the electricity network operator Enedis reported a sharp drop in electricity consumption in the public sector. In the first half of December, a “historic” drop in consumption of public lighting by 20 percent was recorded, the company said. According to this, street lighting is responsible for more than 40 percent of the electricity consumption of French municipalities.
The European market prices for gas have also recently fallen sharply. The futures contract TTF on the energy exchange in the Netherlands, which is used as a reference, was at times on Tuesday at almost 82 euros and thus below the level before the Russian attack on Ukraine. On February 23, the TTF was quoted at EUR 85 and fell below it for the first time on December 23. However, a sharp drop in prices over the holidays is not surprising given the reduced consumption in industry.
The peak price for gas was reached on March 7, shortly after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. At that time, gas in European trading briefly cost 345 euros per megawatt hour. At the end of August, the price was almost as high, at just over 342 euros.
