BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The association of gas storage operators assumes that natural gas storage facilities in Germany can be filled to 100 percent again at the start of the 23/24 heating season. A renewed extensive filling of the gas storage facilities before the winter of 2023/24 is physically possible, reported the Initiative Energies Speichern (Ines) on Thursday in Berlin. Model calculations by the association see the filling level at 100 percent both at the end of September and at the end of October of the current year - regardless of the temperature trend. In the winter coming to an end, the storage facilities had been 100 percent full in mid-November 2022, despite the Russian gas supply freeze. Currently, the fill level is 75 percent.

Ines Managing Director Sebastian Bleschke was optimistic about the gas situation in the rest of the winter 2022/23: "Although consumption savings fell in January compared to December, we still don't have to fear a gas shortage." He added that this was true even with extremely low temperatures. However, with a view to refilling the gas storage facilities in the summer, continued consumption savings remain relevant "and should be maintained if possible," Bleschke added. A moderate to high volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is needed to refill the storage facilities, he said./tob/DP/jha