Germany widely misses winter gas storage target, fuelling calls for mandatory filling

Germany fell well short of its target to have its gas storages at least 70 percent full at the start of November, underlining the need for binding rules to secure supplies for future winters, according to gas storage industry association INES. Storage sites were about 61.5 percent full at the beginning of the month. The combined national target of around 70 percent averages an 80 percent requirement for most sites and 45 percent for six sites. 

Germany’s economy ministry said the low storage level does not threaten gas supply security for the coming winter, newspaper Die Zeit reported. A ministry spokesperson said storage levels alone would not determine security of supply, which is also influenced “by the rate of withdrawal from storage facilities, ongoing imports and other precautionary measures.” Germany’s government long resisted calls for market intervention, arguing these would lead to higher prices for consumers.

Industry groups like INES that would benefit from a storage obligation early this year warned that the low filling levels could become a challenge amid the impact of the Iran war on global fossil fuel markets. Storage sites were close to full on 1 November in 2022 to 2024 and 75 percent full in 2025, after storage targets were lowered, according to INES data. Klaus Müller, head of grid regulator BNetzA, in the same report said that “gas storage targets are no longer imperative for securing supply” but warned that the low filling levels could lead to higher prices. 

The US-Israeli-led Iran war has upended global energy markets and sparked fears over a new gas supply crisis in Germany, even though the country has made efforts to diversify its supply after its traditional main supplier Russia cut off most pipeline gas following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Germany plans to have a strategic national gas reserve from next year to better shield the country from supply risks. According to a corresponding draft leaked in mid-October, the ministry plans to scrap the country’s gas storage filling targets by the end of March 2027 and introduce the strategic reserve instead.

INES and gas grid operators’ association FNB Gas in a joint paper said the “historically low” storage level shows a need for action alongside the planned strategic reserve. INES managing director, Sebastian Heinermann, said that missing the supply target showed that “gas storage filling must be secured through more binding arrangements for future winters.” He welcomed the economy ministry’s openness to discuss an obligation for gas suppliers to use storage, urging swift legislation.

The gas industry paper warned that filling levels directly influence the storages’ ability to flexibly provide gas during cold snaps. Lower levels lead to lower pressure inside the facilities, meaning maximum withdrawal rates are reduced, which could lead to difficulties, especially from February. INES said Germany’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import infrastructure changed the role of gas storages in the country’s supply architecture, calling for incentives that make higher storage filling economically viable.