Timeline

Germany: gas stocks and supply security

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11 November 2026Confirmed

Germany backs bill for a 24 TWh strategic gas reserve

Germany’s cabinet approved a bill on 11 November 2026 to establish a strategic gas reserve. The planned volume is 24 terawatt-hours, roughly 10% of national storage capacity.

Gas storage at Rehden in 2022. — Rehden, August 2022 archive; not the future reserve. Foto: Axel Hindemith / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/; unchanged. — Foto: Axel Hindemith / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ — août 2022, sans modification.

The reserve would be used in exceptional circumstances, including sabotage or major import disruptions. Its release would depend on the Federal Network Agency declaring an emergency.

Trading Hub Europe is to start building it in 2027, with purchases spread over three years, according to the government. Costs would be passed on to customers through a levy. Energie & Management reports opposition from municipal utilities association VKU, which wants budget funding. This is a future arrangement; the government says current supplies remain secure.

Sources 3

1 November 2026Reported information

Germany enters winter with gas stocks below target

German gas storage is about 61.4% full at the start of November 2026, according to AGSI figures reported by dpa-AFX on 1 November. That is below the aggregate national target of about 70%.

Rehden gas storage site in 2022. — Rehden, August 2022: archive, not a visual measure of current stocks. Foto: Axel Hindemith, CC BY-SA 3.0. — Foto: Axel Hindemith / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ — août 2022, sans modification.

The Economy Ministry says winter supply is secure. Regulator Bundesnetzagentur also assesses the risk of strained supply as low, taking imports and withdrawal capacity into account alongside stored volumes.

Storage operators’ association INES calls the shortfall a warning: smaller reserves increase vulnerability to cold weather or disrupted imports. It wants the filling mechanism improved. These are assessments of future risk and do not establish a current shortage.

Sources 2