Adjustments of the German storage filling level requirements

the new federal government has been in office since 6 May. The coalition parties had already announced their ministers in the days leading up to the election of the new chancellor. All of the personnel speculation that I reported on in the last edition turned out to be incorrect. Katherina Reiche, previously chairwoman of Westenergie, is the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy. At the end of March, someone who knows the CDU (Christian Democrats) very well said that Ms Reiche would become minister. At the time, I did not want to believe this, as I simply could not imagine Ms Reiche accepting a significant pay cut. Moreover, her career had taken her from politics to the business world. However, she is clearly a ‘political animal’. Most representatives of the energy industry were pleased with the appointment, hoping for a pragmatic continuation of the energy transition with greater technological diversity. Only time will tell if and how long the enthusiasm will last. Some people I spoke to wondered whether Ms Reiche and her new management team really have a plan and a general, holistic view on energy topics. One of the first things she said was not very promising: She boldly announced that the ban on operating old boilers would be lifted. This ban was introduced, with many exceptions, into the Building Energy Act under the Economics Minister, Peter Altmaier (CDU), in 2020. It generally affects gas and oil heating systems installed before 1 January 1991. In this issue, dear readers, you will of course find more information on Ms Reiche’s appointment, her start, and other personal details of the new federal government.

The many storage capacity sales in this edition are probably rather tedious. It's the chronologist's duty! You can find the reason for the, flood of sales procedures in this month's topic. The Ministry of Economic Affairs triggered the flood by introducing a new filling level regulation and relaxing filling targets. I have, of course, also written about why the regulation can be viewed very critically, and by the end of the month it had become clear that this was the case. In southern Germany, the ordinance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs' handling of it could trigger a veritable storage and supply crisis.

Dr. Heiko Lohmann
Freelancer

E-Mail +49 30 8824005

Topic of the month: Adjustments of the German storage filling level requirements

In the last issue (energate Gasmarkt 05/25), I reported on a possible initiative by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) to adjust the German storage filling level requirements. BNetzA President Klaus Müller had hinted at such a plan at a conference in March.

1.1 The new filling level regulation

The previous government actually implemented this at the very last minute. On 28 April at 14:07 hours, the BMWK sent the draft of a regulation adjusting the filling level requirements for gas storage facilities (Gas Storage Filling Level Regulation – GasSpFüllStV) to the relevant associations for consultation. The deadline for comments expired on Tuesday at midday. The Federal Cabinet approved the regulation at its final meeting on Wednesday, 30 April. The regulation was published in the Federal Law Gazette on 5 May. It specifies differentiated filling levels.

• For most storage facilities, the target will fall from 90 to 80 per cent for 1 November.

• For the Bad Lauchstädt, Frankenthal, Hähnlein, Rehden, Stockstadt and Uelsen storage facilities, the target is to be reduced to 45 per cent.