Germany, which is facing the drop in Russian gas delivery, risks missing the objective, set by the government of Olaf Scholz, of filling its gas tanks, warns the federal regulator on Thursday.
"
I don't expect us to reach the next storage targets as quickly as the first
one," reached two weeks before the deadline, Klaus Müller, head of Germany's energy regulator, told the T- online.
Reaching the next goal, 85% of the tanks filled by October 1, is according to him “
not impossible, but very ambitious
”.
“
In all of our scenarios, we will fail to reach an average fill level of 95% by November 1,
” he adds.
“
We won't be able to do this because some storage sites have started from a very low filling level
,” asserts Mr. Müller.
“The second winter could be even more difficult”
Faced with the risk of shortages, the Minister of the Economy, the environmentalist Robert Habeck, had set a series of objectives in July for gas stocks to reach 95% by November 1, before the start of the winter.
Germany's gas reserves were then at about 65% of their capacity.
Last weekend, they were 75% full, two weeks ahead of schedule.
But achieving future goals will be tricky and will still require significant energy savings in the years to come.
“
It's not one winter but at least two.
And the second winter could be even more difficult
,” warned Müller.
“
We need to save a lot of gas for at least another year.
To put it plainly:
".
Shortages are to be expected in some regions during the winter, he adds.
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Germany is heavily dependent on Russian gas and has seen its deliveries drop sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine.
In July, gas flows fell to 20% of the main Nord Stream pipeline's capacity, with the European Union accusing Moscow of using the energy as a "
weapon
" in the dispute.
Household energy bills are set to soar this winter and shortages will put whole swathes of German industry in difficulty.
