Gas Storages Reach Record Levels, Meeting EU Goals Early

The EU’s 90% gas storage target was already met by early autumn, with the Hungarian storage peak – well above 93% – reached at the turn of September and October.

Although the cooler weather has started to reduce domestic gas stocks, the domestic figure is still confidently above the required level by the November deadline, reports Index. The 6 billion cubic meters of reserve is more than the total used in the previous heating season, double the amount used by households for the whole of last year, the Ministry of Energy said in a post, adding that it believes gas is being supplied to residents at the lowest price in Europe.

Since 2022, member states with underground gas storage facilities have been obliged by EU law to fill their facilities to at least 80% of their capacity by the start of the heating season.

From last year, this common target was increased to 90% with a deadline of November 1. To achieve this, the regulation also sets different intermediate levels for each country.

After February, May, July and September, the filling rate of Hungarian gas storage facilities exceeded the EU target again. Hungary has also exceeded the EU’s gas reduction targets for two consecutive periods. Member states were required to achieve a 15% reduction compared to the average of the previous five years.

Domestic savings were also significantly above the mandatory level of 20% from last year until April this year.

Natural gas consumption in the first three quarters of 2024 was 5.2% lower than in the same period last year. Compared to the year before the energy crisis, 2021, gas consumption was almost 2 billions of cubic meters lower in the year to September this year. Full-year consumption is expected to remain below 8 billions of cubic meters in 2024.

Reduced demand, in particular due to high stock levels, will strengthen security of supply, reduce Hungary’s import exposure and reduce domestic emissions.

Via Index; Featured image via Pexels