Europe’s gas storage is running low. Austria still has ways to shield itself from high prices

Europe is heading into the end of summer with gas storage at sharply different levels. Germany’s reserves stand at 133 terawatt-hours, a historically low figure that would cover only about one severe winter month.

Austria has enough gas in storage for the entire winter, but the wider European storage crisis could still affect prices. Austrian consumers benefit from a strategic reserve created after the major gas crisis. In 2022, the government bought 20 terawatt-hours of natural gas and stored it for emergencies. That volume alone covers more than a quarter of annual demand.

More than 67 terawatt-hours are now held in Austrian storage facilities. The figures make a physical shortage during this heating season effectively unlikely. They do not, however, prevent consumers from feeling the impact of rising wholesale prices.

The government recently extended the strategic reserve through 2029. Its annual storage cost is listed at 94 million euros this year, while the budgets for the next two winters set aside 117 million euros each. Current data seen by Die Presse indicate that the economy ministry will actually spend 38.75 million euros a year on storing the reserve, saving taxpayers 156.5 million euros.

The savings followed changes to the tender criteria and the creation of a storage product tailored to the strategic reserve. Because the gas will remain available for emergencies over the long term, the government did not book additional injection and withdrawal capacity. Economy and Energy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said, “We are securing Austria’s gas supply for the long term while also using taxpayers’ money sparingly.”

The reserve also carries a major historical cost. The government paid 3.7 billion euros for the gas itself when it bought the 20 terawatt-hours in 2022, when prices were extremely high. If the reserve had not been extended, the state would have had to sell the gas at much lower prices and realize losses. At the current Dutch TTF wholesale price of about 71.5 euros per megawatt-hour, the reserve would be worth only 1.4 billion euros if sold on the market.

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We are securing Austria’s gas supply for the long term while also using taxpayers’ money sparingly.