German Government Mandating Natural Gas Storage Fill Levels Be Sufficiently High

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German Government Mandating Natural Gas Storage Fill Levels Be Sufficiently High

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Reichstag building, seat of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag), in Berlin (© Shutterstock/MDart10)
Reichstag building, seat of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag), in Berlin (© Shutterstock/MDart10)

In the wake of the 2022 winter which saw the gas storage fill levels sink to historic lows, the German Bundestag met over the weekend to affirm that the gas storage operators are required to fill storage facilities up to 90 percent of capacity by 1 November of each year.  To this end the Bundestag passed a corresponding law.  

The specifications codified in the law are supposed to secure the gas supply and check price spikes. The law will run until April 2025.

The government coalition, the Union and the Left all voted for the law; the AfD abstained. As a result the gas storage units in Germany are required to be 80 % full by 1 October and 90 percent full by 1 November.  By 1 February of the following year the government has stipulated a minimum fill level of 40 percent.

The Ministry of the Economy will evaluate the implementation of the new law before the middle of December, 2022.

The law is a reaction to the Russian-led war against the Ukraine as well as to the roller-coaster gas prices affecting the market this year.

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