INes says Germany’s gas stores were about 61 percent full and warns that an extreme winter could expose a supply gap. In its model of cold comparable to 2010, the storage-operators’ association projects monthly shortfalls of up to 6.6 terawatt-hours from January to March 2027.
The warning is a conditional stress test, not a forecast for an ordinary winter. Spiegel reports that INes included additional imports from neighbouring European countries and full use of bookable LNG-terminal capacity in its calculation. The association also says supply is secure in normal or mild weather.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency puts the overall risk of strained supply at a low level, according to Spiegel, citing extra import options. These assessments address different questions: INes tests how little buffer remains in a rare cold spell, while the regulator assesses the broader system with import capacity included.
That distinction matters for energy policy. Lower storage does not itself mean homes will lose heat, but it leaves less flexibility if exceptional cold coincides with stronger demand or disrupted imports. INes has called for a state gas reserve, incentives to inject gas into storage, or obligations to use storage. The available reporting does not determine whether those measures are needed, but its model gives the government a concrete extreme-weather case to address.
Sources
- Der Spiegel · Source date: 2026-11-10
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-10