German gas storage operators criticize plan to implement EU rules
A draft proposal to change Germany's gas storage law to align filling levels with anticipated European Union regulations could be unfair to some operators and even squeeze supplies, their industry lobby INES said on Tuesday.
Germany is mainland Europe's biggest gas consumer and storage nation, able to fill underground gas caverns with a quarter of annual usage. That means its efforts to implement storage rules have implications across the bloc's markets.
INES criticized Germany's plan for requiring 80% filling by November 1 for gas stocks when six individual facilities were given a lower target of 45%.
The six are the Bad Lauchstaedt, Frankenthal, Haehnlein, Rehden, Stockstadt and Uelsen storage units.
Germany's Economy Ministry on Monday circulated the draft of provisions ahead of the 2025/26 winter, a copy of which was seen by media, as it seeks to comply with looser rules on filling storage backed by EU members last month.
The planned amendments would let countries undercut by 10% a former 90% capacity filling requirement.
The rules stem from 2022 to ensure a buffer after Russia cut gas deliveries but have proved to be overly costly.
INES criticized another inconsistency in the draft concerning the end of winter. It would require storage facilities to be at least 30% full on February 1, 2026, while four units - Bierwang, Breitbrunn, Inzenham-West and Wolfersberg - were given a higher target of 40%.
It said the higher requirement could squeeze overall supplies at the end of winter and be counterproductive.
A spokesperson for the Berlin ministry declined to comment on the points raised by INES, saying the draft had not been passed to the cabinet.
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