Bundesnetzagentur: Gas reserves will not last for three months if deliveries are stopped
Created: 08/18/2022 05:06
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
The gas storage facilities in Germany are better filled than expected.
But that's no reason to give the all-clear, experts warn - on the contrary.
Berlin – The good weather means that the gas storage facilities in Germany are filled better: Despite the fact that supply volumes from Russia have been significantly reduced for weeks, the storage facilities are more than 75 percent full again.
That sounds very reassuring at first - but that doesn't mean that the gas will be enough for the whole winter, experts warn.
Gas storage: Federal Network Agency boss Klaus Müller has doubts about achieving the goal
“We reached the first interim goal ahead of time.
That's gratifying," said the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller.
“Now it is important not to let up when filling the storage tanks.
The gas that is now flowing into the storage facilities can help us in winter.” The next goals are ambitious.
The ordinance stipulates that the German storage facilities must be at least 75 percent full by September 1st.
On October 1st it should be at least 85 percent and on November 1st at least 95 percent.
The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a kind of buffer system for the gas market.
Should Russia further reduce or even stop its gas supplies, precautions would be taken – but only for a short time.
The amount of gas at a level of 95 percent corresponds approximately to the nationwide consumption in January and February 2022.
Müller also confirmed this to the US news agency
Bloomberg
: If the gas storage tanks are 95 percent full by November, "that would only cover about two and a half months of heating, industrial and electricity needs if Russia stops deliveries completely," he told
Bloomberg
.
He also told the magazine it would be "difficult" to even reach the November target of 95 percent, as some gas storage facilities would need more time to fill.
"I cannot promise you that all storage facilities in Germany will be 95 percent full in November, even with good supply and demand conditions," said Müller.
"In the best-case scenario, three quarters of them will reach the goal."
Top economist: "High-level misinformation among the Greens"
Germany is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies and has been trying to find alternatives since the outbreak of the Ukraine war - which, however, will not be able to replace a loss of gas imports from Russia in the coming years.
Among other things, the accelerated expansion of liquid gas plants and a reactivation of coal-fired power plants are planned.
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In addition, a discussion about the continued operation of nuclear power plants in Germany has flared up.
They should be a building block in preventing bottlenecks in the energy supply.
In the traffic light coalition, however, only the FDP is in favor of continuing to operate the nuclear power plants, while the Greens and SPD are still in favor of shutting down the nuclear power plants.
Christian Meyer, the top candidate of the Lower Saxony Greens for the upcoming state elections, uses the news of the well-filled gas storage facilities to speak out against extending the lifetime of the nuclear power plants.
Among other things, he posted the slogan on Twitter: "Bye, bye, nuclear power plants."
That was what top economist Volker Wieland, a professor at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, wanted
former member of the Advisory Council, don't let it stand like that.
He warned on Twitter: "High-level misinformation among the Greens.
The current filling level of 73 percent only covers 21 percent of the annual consumption.
And the consumption is mainly in winter.
Even if the storage tanks are full, it is far from enough, as Putin is throttling deliveries.”
So the debate is far from over.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has recently ordered a stress test to clarify how the energy supply can be secured in winter.
Scenarios are calculated, including those with and without nuclear energy.
(dpa/lma)
