Germany’s winter gas storage facilities are filling up faster than forecast

Germany’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, said the country’s gas storage facilities were filling up faster than anticipated giving hopes that the nation could avoid acute gas shortages this winter.

Habeck told Der Spiegel Magazine the reservoirs were filling up faster than specified. He added that the government goal of achieving 85% storage capacity by October 2022 could be reached by the beginning of September 2022.

Germany is at Phase two of a three-stage emergency plan formulated after reducing fossil fuel flows from Russia, the nation’s leading supplier.

According to the data by the BDEW power industry association, only 9.5% of Germany’s gas consumption in August 2022 was supplied by Russia, the magazine reported. In 2021, Russian gas accounted for almost 55% of the European country’s total consumption.

The German government had targeted a 75% gas storage level by September 1, 2022, but according to industry data from the European operators’ group CIE from Sunday, the storage levels are already 82.2%.

Minister Habeck said companies could withdraw gas from storage facilities as planned over the winter and supply households and industry.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is also expected to be supplied to Germany from France after the two countries resolve technical and organizational challenges to ease supplies.