Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke//File Photo
By Holger Hansen
BERLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – The German government will go ahead with a planned 24-terawatt-hour crisis gas reserve to be funded by user surcharges, the economy ministry said, following criticism over missed storage targets for the winter heating season this year.
The state buffer, which amounts to about 10% of the nation’s gas storage capacity, will be accumulated over up to three years, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said the move would address severe disruptions, for example from acts of sabotage, and does not replace the private sector’s seasonal stock-keeping duties.
“The gas reserve does not relieve market participants of their responsibilities, which include winter preparedness as well as meeting supply obligations,” it said.
To fund the reserve, households would likely face 0.3% to 0.5% higher gas prices, the ministry said.
Opposition parties and Italy have criticized Germany’s low gas storage levels, which stood at 62% at end-October, below a target of 70%.
Berlin has said its supplies are still secure as it now has more purchasing options via liquefied natural gas terminals and through pipelines from Norway than it had in 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered an energy crisis.
The government also plans a range of measures to tighten gas market regulation, including mandatory seasonal stock keeping for gas utilities, a ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday.
A person close to the matter said the plans include closer monitoring of inventories by the network regulator, while the government is also considering measures to secure gas supplies to power plants and industrial sites.
Documents seen by Reuters showed that setting up the reserve will likely cost between €1.26 billion ($1.41 billion) and €1.81 billion, plus running costs.
($1 = 0.8957 euros)
(Reporting by Holger HansenWrtiting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Matthias Williams and Sharon Singleton)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.
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