17.03.2022
Today, a new draft bill by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action on the Gas Storage Act became known. The further development of the planned interventions in the gas storage market have not contributed to any improvement. The Initiative Energien Speichern e.V. (INES) sees the target of minimum filling levels in gas storage facilities and the business basis for the operation of gas storage facilities endangered by these plans.
Sebastian Bleschke, Managing Director at INES, comments on the new legislative proposal as follows: "The draft of the Gas Storage Act, which has only been slightly amended and became known today, has not contributed to any improvement. On the contrary. It creates further uncertainty in the storage market, especially with regard to the question of how compliance with the minimum filling level requirements is to be ensured. The proposals for improvement put forward by INES in the context of the existing processes have been unconsidered so far.
The threatened withdrawal of storage capacities in the event of non-compliance with the minimum filling level requirements will not result in achievement of the minimum filling levels. Storage users will cancel their bookings of storage capacities in order to avoid the obligation. The imposition of minimum filling levels or the threatened withdrawal will devalue bookings of storage capacities. A clear assignment of the filling levels obligation to a suitable addressee, i.e. the market area manager, would be necessary to achieve the minimum filling levels in the German gas market area.
The requirements constitute a deep intervention in existing contracts and endanger the business basis of storage operators in principle. The usage of interruptible storage capacities would be able to prevent these interventions. At the same time they offer a suitable possibility to achieve the political objectives."
Photo by Brad Javernick of Home Oomph
Presse-Statement auf Deutsch lesen / Read Press Statement in German