01.11.2026
The statutory filling targets for German gas storage facilities have not been met across the board by today's deadline. The German Energy Storage Initiative (INES) sees this as a clear signal that the instruments for ensuring winter preparedness need to be further developed and welcomes the willingness of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) to discuss mandatory gas storage obligations. Together with the Association of Gas Transmission System Operators (FNB Gas), INES has prepared a joint position paper to make a constructive contribution to the emerging debate.
As of 1 November, German gas storage facilities are generally required to be at least 80 percent full. A reduced target of 45 percent applies to six storage facilities. However, the nationwide storage filling level currently stands at 61.5 percent.
From INES' perspective, the failure to meet the filling targets highlights the need for legislative action to ensure adequate winter preparedness. The future market framework must ensure that sufficient volumes of gas are stored to meet demand during the winter. INES therefore welcomes the willingness of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) to discuss a supplier obligation, i.e. an obligation to use gas storage facilities.
“The missed filling targets show that gas storage filling must be secured through more binding arrangements for future winters. It is therefore both right and important that the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs is open to introducing a supplier obligation. We now need to discuss concrete options for designing such a storage obligation without delay so that it can be enshrined in law as soon as possible,” says Sebastian Heinermann, Managing Director of INES.
With their joint position paper, the two associations aim to make a constructive contribution to this debate by bringing in the perspectives of gas transmission system operators and storage operators. The priority now is to swiftly discuss the specific design of a storage obligation in order to establish a reliable framework for winter preparedness.
The joint position paper, “Versorgungssicherheit mit Speichern im aktuellen und zukünftigen Erdgassystem” (only in German) is available here: https://energien-speichern.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FNB-INES-Impuls_Versorgungssicherheit-mit-Speichern-im-aktuellen-und-zukuenftigen-Erdgassystem.pdf