An agreement on minimum gas storage obligations has been reached between the European Parliament and EU member states. The new rules are intended to ensure the security of energy supply across the EU for winters to come. Member States will need to reach a minimum 80% gas storage level by 1 November 2022 to protect against potential supply interruptions, notably due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The target will be raised to a minimum gas storage level of 90% by 1 November 2023.
This agreement comes after concerns about Russian supply security arose in the past months. In April 2022, Germany's energy regulator took over Gazprom Germania due to suspicions over the company's strategy to keep low storage levels of gas before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
EU Member States consumed approximatively 400 bcm of gas in 2020 (25% of the EU's primary energy consumption), and they possess a combined gas storage capacity of about 105 bcm (as of 2020). Gas is still the dominant source of energy for European households (32%).
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