The European Union’s gas storage facilities can cover up to a third of the continent’s winter demand.
The capacity of gas storage of the European Union (EU) for winter is already at 90%. It is the second consecutive year that the block Reach your goal early.
The European Commission announced on Wednesday that the goal was reached on August 18, ten weeks before the November 1 deadline. This is equivalent to slightly less 92 billion cubic meters of gasan amount that can cover almost a third of the gas demand of the 27 Member States in winter.
“I think it’s a very good sign in terms of the general state of the market, our ability to find alternative energy supplies and maintain them at a good level,” a Commission spokesperson said on Thursday.
“We are obviously in constant contact with our Member States to make sure they are prepared for winter, but We have no indication that there are new threats or significant risks for next winter,” he added.
The 90% gas storage target was launched in June 2022, weeks after Russia launched its total invasion of Ukrainewhich aggravated the energy crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moscow’s attack on its neighbor also led the EU to promise a drastic cut in Russian gas imports -its main supplier- in an attempt to deprive the Kremlin of funds to finance the war.
Global gas prices reached record highs, and the main Dutch gas market index, known as TTF, exceeded 300 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) at the end of August, which raised fears that the block would have problems supplying itself during the winter months.
Governments across the EU had to intervene to ease the financial burden that rising energy prices placed on industries and households. Meanwhile, Brussels launched a 300 billion euro program‘RePowerEU’, to accelerate the energy transition towards renewables.
The fee of russian gas in EU imports has gone from 40% in 2021 to 8% at the end of 2023. For its part, Dutch TTF gas futures stood at 39.69 euros MWh on August 12.
In a statement, Kadri Simson, of the European Commission, welcomed that “the EU is prepared for next winter”, but stressed that Ukraine faces a “much more difficult situation”, since its “energy sector “is under strong and constant attack by Russia.”
“Europe must stand by Ukraine and provide the necessary support to your energy systemso that the Ukrainian population can also safely get through the harsh winter ahead,” he added.
