Europe's Energy Crisis is not Over Yet: Bundesnetzagentur

Klaus Müller, president of the Bundesnetzagentur, the German Federal Network Agency said that the Old Continent’s natural gas storage facilities are at a more comfortable level than in the past two years, but the crisis is far from over. The main factor for the region's energy sector will be unpredictability of the weather.

As of June 6, Germany's gas storage facilities were 76% full, compared with an overall level of just over 70% in the EU (data from Gas Infrastructure Europe). “If all goes well, at the end of the summer we in Germany will have full storage capacity,” predicted Müller.

In his latest weekly report, the regulator noted that “…to ensure gas reserves for next winter, the level of storage should be 75% full by September 1st.” “Last winter we appeared to be capable to prevent gas shortage. At the same time, preparing for the winter of 2023/2024 is a key task. That is why it is still important to conserve gas,” the document says. Germany's natural gas consumption in the week of May 22-28 was 23.2% below the 2018-2021 average and 9% lower than the week before, the regulator added.

Last month, one of Germany's leading utilities, E.On, said the energy crisis is not over and Europe's energy supply situation could worsen later this year. “Our forecast takes into account the possibility of deterioration for the rest of the year. That said, we believe we are well positioned to deal with the volatility that is expected to persist,” E.On Chief Financial Officer Mark Spieker said at the company's Q1 results presentation in early May.