95 percent by November 1st: This is the target set by the traffic light when filling the gas storage tanks in order to get through the winter safely. Although Russia is no longer delivering, this milestone has now been reached – more than two weeks before the end of the month.
The filling of Germany’s gas storage facilities is making progress despite the lack of deliveries from Russia. As the website of Europe’s gas infrastructure operators (GIE) revealed late on Wednesday evening, the filling level rose by 0.28 percentage points to 94.97 percent within 24 hours.
According to a federal regulation, the facilities must be 95 percent full by November 1st. This value has now almost been reached on average for all systems. However, the ordinance stipulates that each storage facility must comply with the 95 percent requirement. This is not the case – some plants are already above this, but others are still below.
The full gas storage tanks are important so that Germany’s economy, authorities and households get enough energy in the upcoming heating season. However, the gas reserves would be far from sufficient to cover the demand. Therefore, the Federal Network Agency repeatedly emphasizes the urgency of savings, both for companies and consumers.
The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a kind of buffer system for the gas market. They are usually well filled when the heating season begins in autumn. The filling levels then decrease until spring. On cold winter days in recent years, up to 60 percent of gas consumption in Germany has been covered by domestic storage facilities.
Mathematically, the full gas storage would only be sufficient for around two winter months to cover domestic demand. Therefore, according to the Federal Network Agency, imports via liquid gas terminals and energy saving remain the order of the day.