Sluggish Filling of Gas Reservoirs Pose Potential Issues for Chilly Winter Conditions - Sluggish Filling of Gas Tanks Posed as a Challenge Amidst Severe Cold Weather Condition
As the winter season approaches, concerns about gas supply security have arisen due to challenges such as stagnated storage replenishment and the potential for extreme cold. To address these issues, the federal government's strategy is centred on maintaining a diverse and resilient supply mix, combined with strong storage management and market monitoring.
In the UK, the majority of winter gas demand is met by steady supplies from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and Norway, accounting for almost 70% of total supply. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and storage supplies provide additional resilience, filling supply gaps when needed.
In the US, natural gas storage remains comfortably within historical norms, despite being slightly below last year's levels. As of late June 2025, storage in the Lower 48 states was 2,953 billion cubic feet (Bcf), which is 173 Bcf above the five-year average. This healthy buffer against supply shocks during winter is thanks to strong production and injections, which are keeping storage robust, even amid increased summer cooling demand.
The US benefits from high natural gas production, which offsets elevated demand from hot summer weather and supports injections into storage facilities. This production strength lowers the risk of shortages during winter, even if demand rises sharply.
National Gas reports an 18% increase in gas demand for electricity generation during winter 2024/25 due to cold weather and reduced renewables output. Despite this, exports to continental Europe have fallen back to pre-2022 levels, suggesting domestic supply focuses on home demand security.
The federal government is carefully monitoring fossil fuel subsidies under new policy criteria to ensure that support only goes to fuel sources that effectively contribute to energy security. This indirectly supports reliable gas infrastructure and supply resilience.
In Germany, Ines, an association that operates primarily in Germany and has significant influence in the EU gas storage market, represents over 90% of German gas storage capacities. Approximately 25% of all gas storage capacities in the EU are represented by Ines. Sebastian Heinermann, CEO of Ines, has raised the question of ensuring complete gas supply security for the coming winter.
However, gas storage levels were at an average of 29% on April 1st, significantly lower than previous years. By the end of June, the fill level was at 51%, well below the long-term average of nearly 70% for this period. Ines has not provided a solution or proposal for ensuring complete gas supply security in the coming winter.
Given a 70% fill level at the start of the heating season, storage would be emptied by the end of January in an extremely cold winter. The federal government's actions regarding gas supply security in the coming winter are under close observation by Ines and the gas storage industry.
The focus is on the federal government to address the issue of gas supply security in the coming winter, with the understanding that a complete replenishment of gas storage by November 1, 2025, is currently technically impossible. The federal government is under scrutiny to ensure gas supply security due to the current situation.
Sources: [1] National Grid ESO, 2025 Winter Outlook, May 2025 [2] Energy Information Administration (EIA), Natural Gas Monthly, June 2025 [3] Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), UK Gas Storage Report, June 2025 [4] Ines, Annual Report 2024, July 2025 [5] Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Gas Storage Situation Report, June 2025
- The federal government's strategic focus on maintaining a diverse and resilient gas supply mix, combined with strong storage management and market monitoring, would be crucial in addressing the potential problem of very cold winter running only dragging cold spring and contributing to gas storage depletion, especially in light of the industry's reliance on energy sources like natural gas.
- In the discussions about fossil fuel subsidies, finance must carefully consider the importance of ensuring complete gas supply security in the energy sector, particularly during the winter season, as the finance industry's support only for fuel sources that effectively contribute to energy security indirectly supports reliable gas infrastructure and supply resilience.
