Low German gas storage levels trigger backlash from political fringes

Germany's gas storage facilities are currently less full than at any point at this time of year since records began in 2011, according to gas storage group INES.

"The current gas storage level is by far the lowest ever recorded for this time of year in Germany," Sebastian Heinermann, managing director of INES, told dpa. "It is therefore a historic low."

Heinermann said storage facilities were currently 49% full, compared with 67% at the same time last year.

The Economy Ministry sought to ease concerns about possible shortages over the winter on Thursday, saying that based on current information, no gas shortage was expected.

The ministry said it was taking seriously the fact that Germany's gas storage facilities were significantly less full than in previous years, but added that security of supply could not be judged on storage levels alone.

Germany also receives gas via pipelines from Norway, liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals and neighbouring European countries.

Call for resignation

Sahra Wagenknecht, whose fringe party has campaigned for Germany to resume purchases of Russian gas, sharply attacked conservative Economy Minister Katherina Reiche over the low storage levels and called for her resignation.

"The empty gas storage facilities represent a state failure. Economy Minister Reiche bears responsibility for this disaster and must therefore resign," the founder of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) said.

It was not acceptable for a minister to "play with the population's security of supply and in doing so, drive prices even higher for ordinary families and businesses," she added. 

Wagenknecht, who defected from The Left to set up her populist alliance, accused Reiche of having been inactive for months, since the low storage levels first became apparent.

"We need cheap Russian pipeline gas. Nord Stream must be turned back on!" Wagenknecht demanded, referring to the pipeline that once delivered Russian gas to Germany.

Her comments come ahead of closely watched state elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September, at which the far-right Alternative for Germany is expected to make record gains.

If the BSW is voted into parliament, those states would come out in favour of a return to Russian gas "in order to refill the storage facilities in record time," Wagenknecht said.

Criticism has also come from Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner.

"Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz is on holiday and Economy Minister Reiche is hoping for good weather. The government is playing ... with Germany's gas reserves," she said.

High energy prices dampen procurement

Gas supplies could not be fully safeguarded in the event of extremely low temperatures, INES director Heinermann said, even if all currently booked storage capacity - equivalent to 78% of Germany's total capacity - were completely filled by winter.

Gas procurement costs are currently often higher than the prices that can be obtained for it in winter, leaving little economic incentive to put more gas into storage.

The Economy Ministry said private companies, including gas suppliers and traders, bore primary responsibility for preparing for winter and warned that state intervention carried risks.

However, the government was preparing "the necessary options for action so that they can be deployed quickly and in a targeted manner if the situation deteriorates," the ministry said.

Gas prices have been unusually high this summer because of the Iran war and the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, prompting traders to buy less gas for sale during the winter.

European natural gas prices rose in the middle of the week to their highest level since the early stages of the Iran war.