Germany must review and improve its mechanism for filling its gas caverns and gas storage facilities, according to industry association INES, as storage levels in Europe’s largest economy remain at record lows before winter.
– As of Friday, gas storage levels stood at 61.35 percent, well below the 80 percent target Germany set for the beginning of November, raising fears about supply shortages even though Berlin has said there will not be any bottlenecks.
– “The failure to meet storage level targets shows that storage levels for coming winters must be guaranteed more rigorously,” INES Managing Director Sebastian Heinermann said in a statement.
– “It is therefore right and important that the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs is open to the introduction of an obligation on suppliers,” Heinermann said.
– The main driver for lower storage levels has been the US-Israel war on Iran and its impact on prices, which has made filling caverns over the summer uneconomical and difficult. The European Union also has placed sanctions on natural gas imports from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
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