Energie: Gasspeicher könnten laut Behörde für den Winter reichen
Der Herbst naht, bald brauchen Millionen Haushalte wieder viel mehr Gas für ihre Heizung. Doch Deutschlands Gasspeicher sind nicht allzu voll. Die Bundesnetzagentur teilt die Bedenken nicht.
Berlin - The Federal Network Agency has raised concerns that Germany's gas storage facilities may not be sufficient to meet the country's gas supply needs during the winter. Bundesnetzagentur chief Klaus Müller told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "We now have more gas in storage than we took out of the storage last whole winter half-year."
Currently, storage holds slightly more than 136 Terawatt-hours of gas, roughly 55 percent of their capacity. Last winter, storage received nearly 134 Terawatt-hours. Compared to previous years, the gas storage level is low, leading to concerns that the stored gas may not last until spring. Temporary government orders for gas have been discussed, though they could be costly.
The Gas Storage Association Ines recently reported "historically low filling levels" and advised for new rules to make gas storage profitable again. However, comparing current storage levels to past years is misleading due to the presence of LNG terminals along Germany's coasts, allowing for quick imports of extra capacity from the world market.
Pipelines from Norway also exist. Müller, the Federal Ministry of Economics, is currently not considering state intervention but relies on the free market. "It is the task of market players to fill the storage," said the agency chief, emphasizing that traders have delivery obligations to municipal utilities and industrial facilities.
They can fulfill these obligations through pipeline deliveries, LNG imports, or storage. "State interventions would be costly in any case," Müller concluded.
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