🔶 Concern over gas shortages in Germany; the government says gas supply is guaranteed

🔶 Concern over gas shortages in Germany; the government says gas supply is guaranteed

Germany’s unusually low gas reserves have increased fears about energy supply during the winter. However, Katrin Reiche, Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs, says the government is prepared for different scenarios and that there is no danger to gas supply.

At the beginning of September, Germany’s gas storage facilities were only about 53% full; this level was the lowest recorded in the past 15 years.

The German Gas Storage Association (INES) has warned that if severe cold occurs, the country may face a gas shortage as early as January 2027.

The association attributes the drop in companies’ willingness to store gas to what it describes as the war in Iran and its effects on the energy market.

The German economy minister dismissed these concerns and said Germany supplies 38% of its gas from the Netherlands and Belgium, 36% via pipelines from Norway, and 18% as liquefied natural gas.

The opposition party Greens has accused the economy minister of failing to properly fill the gas storage facilities.