Declining Gas Consumption in Germany Leaves Network Boss "Cautiously Optimistic"

Further colour to earlier headlines: German Federal Network Agency boss Klaus Müller is “cautiously optimistic” for German gas in the coming months in earlier comments to Spiegel.

• “The decline in gas consumption in industry shows that we can manage to avert a gas emergency. As painful as the sky-high prices and savings are, a true gas shortage would be even worse.” he said.
• “With the summer temperatures, households cannot make any major savings at the moment. When it gets colder and we turn up the heating, it will also depend on households.” he added.
• In addition, German gas storage levels of more than 80 percent are “on the right track” he said.
• It’s a change of tune compared to remarks last week by the energy regulator stating that fill rates past 75% were set to slow and future markers looked unlikely to be reached. Germany is currently weeks ahead of storage targets.
• Figures from the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said German industry consumed 21.3 percent less gas in July than on average in the July months 2018 to 2021. In April the decline was only 3.6 percent, in May it was 11.6 percent and in June it was 13 .6 percent.