Austria Targets Domestic Gas Reserves

Austria is aiming to build up domestic gas storage ahead of next winter to ensure higher levels of energy security in initial emergency plans announced this week.

• Austrian gas storage is only at 26% capacity. The EU expects member states to be at 80% by November.
• The government plans to develop its first strategic gas reserve with non-Russian gas accessible to all industries, with enough capacity to cover two months of winter usage.
• Gazprom’s gas storage facility in Haidach is empty. Energy and Climate Action Minister Leonore Gewessler said in a statement this week that other suppliers would have access to the facilities if Gazprom does not use them.
• Austria is heavily reliant on Russian gas, accounting for around 80% of supply making a short term push to ditch Russian flows entirely unfeasible as the rest of the bloc scrambles to do the same.