Germany well prepared as heating season starts, saving gas still important – regulator

Gas supply in Germany at the beginning of winter is stable and storage facilities are well stocked as the heating season gets underway, business daily Handelsblatt reported. The risk of a tight gas supply is currently seen as low, according to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA). However, "it is still important to use gas sparingly," the agency said.

While gas consumption would rise substantially if the winter is harsh as heating demand increases accordingly, the gas industry is not concerned. "Should we experience an extremely hard winter like the one in 2010, it could become challenging in mid-February," Sebastian Heinermann, director of energy saving association INES, told Handelsblatt. However, "even then, private households will not have to freeze," he said. Yet, Germany had not yet reached the gas supply security levels from pre-crisis times, Heinermann added.

Only a few days ago, Russian gas company Gazprom halted supplies to Austria. Russia continues to ship sizeable amounts of LNG to Europe and holds sway over the gas supply of some central and eastern European countries. However, Germany and many other countries in Europe now enter winter without pipeline gas supplies they used to take for granted, and the latest supply freeze did not hit the gas market unprepared. Storage levels in Germany currently stand at just over 95 percent, while capacities for alternative imports have been increased.