Netherlands will miss 115 TWh gas storage target for winter: Gasunie says

The Netherlands will not meet its target of filling gas storage facilities to 115 TWh ahead of this winter, Dutch transmission system operator Gasunie said, warning that the country would be insufficiently prepared for an exceptionally cold winter without additional policy measures.

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“Based on the latest developments, the Netherlands will no longer achieve the previously set filling target for this winter (115 TWh)–which is approximately half of the Netherlands’ gas consumption,” the company said in a statement on Aug. 26.

However, the shortfall does not mean there will be insufficient gas for the coming winter or that security of supply is at risk, Gasunie said. But without additional measures, the Netherlands would not be adequately prepared were it to face a repeat of one of the harshest winters of the past three decades.

The 115 TWh target, proposed by Gasunie Transport Services, a wholly owned Gasunie subsidiary, was based on the amount of gas needed to cope with the harshest winter of the past 30 years.

According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Netherlands’ underground gas storage was 44.98% full at 64.67 TWh on Aug. 26, compared with the average 63.54% held across the European Union.

Gasunie said it has raised concerns with the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth about the slow pace of storage injections at Dutch gas facilities this year, despite EBN, the country's storage filling agent, carrying out its role.

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For commercial market participants, filling storage during the summer for sale in winter is currently not economically viable, Gasunie said. It is monitoring storage levels and gas supply and assessing how to maintain supply security without putting unnecessary pressure on the gas market and prices amid changed geopolitical and market conditions.

Ultimately, it is up to the Netherlands' climate minister to decide on policy measures based on the advice received and current developments, the company said.

Gasunie's warning follows similar comments from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which said on Aug. 21 that despite German storage levels running well below both the EU average and year-earlier levels, it did not expect a gas shortage this winter.

The Netherlands and Germany are among six EU member states with the lowest storage levels this summer, according to GIE data. Germany's storage was 51.45% full as of Aug. 26, above only Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latvia and Sweden, whose facilities were between 44.82% and 50.79% full that day.

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