German regulator chief laments lack of gas savings in week 16

The head of the German energy regulator Klaus Muller said April 27 "hardly any" gas was saved in week 16 (to April 23) as he pushed again for consumers to continue to target 20% savings.

Gas consumption averaged 2.16 TWh/d in week 16, down 3.5% on the average for the same week over 2018-2021.

That meant Germany missed its gas savings target of at least 20% for the fourth consecutive week following reductions of only 13.7% in week 15, 10.3% in week 14 and 17.2% in week 13.

"In week 16, hardly any gas was saved in Germany," Muller said. "The colder spring days increased gas consumption, but investments and savings can help us to prepare for Winter 23/24," he said.

Gas consumption by households and small businesses was actually 6.5% higher than the 2018-2021 average in week 16 due to cold weather triggering increased heating demand.

Germany has met the 20% savings target only five times so far in 2023 despite the regulator and government continuing to advocate for the target to ensure the country's gas supply security into next winter.

Storage levels

Reducing demand is seen as key for Germany to be able to fill its gas storage sites over the summer.

Germany's gas storage industry association INES said April 19 that in the event of a cold winter, sites could be fully depleted by January 2024, potentially leading to shortages.

German gas storage sites were filled to 66% of capacity as of April 25, up 1.5 percentage points week on week, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

Germany set itself strict storage targets last summer -- which went further than those agreed at the EU level -- as part of new energy security legislation.

As a result, Germany's storage sites -- the biggest in the EU -- were filled to 100% of capacity by mid-November.

Germany required its facilities to be filled to 75% of capacity by Sept. 1, 85% by Oct. 1 and 95% by Nov. 1. The targets -- which were met ahead of time last year -- are unchanged for 2023.

High stocks through much of Europe have helped keep a lid on European gas prices in recent months.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the benchmark Dutch TTF month-ahead price at an all-time high of Eur319.98/MWh ($353/MWh) on Aug. 26, 2022.

Prices have weakened since on the back of healthy storage levels and demand curtailments but remain historically high, with Platts assessing the TTF month-ahead price on April 26 at Eur38.43/MWh.

"Wholesale prices have fallen in recent weeks," the regulator said. "But companies and private consumers must continue to adjust to fluctuating prices and higher price levels."