Vienna (OTS) – Germany is trying to create gas supply security through statutory fill level specifications and is letting neighboring countries pay. With the gas storage fee, Germany passes on about a third of its gas security costs to its neighboring countries. This means additional costs of more than €100 million a year for Austrian gas importers and their consumers.
The German gas supply security measures establish that the company THE (Trading Hub Europe), as manager of the market area, is legally responsible for achieving the storage level specifications (October 1st 85%, November 1st 95% , February 1 at least 40%) . To meet this requirement, THE acts as a major trading player in the gas market and purchases quantities of natural gas to meet these fill level targets.
As announced by THE, it bought 49.67 TWh until November 1, 2022 and sold around 25% of that volume (12.42 TWh) again last winter. This purchase and sale transaction by THE has so far generated losses in the range of billions of euros. It is not surprising that such high losses can occur every year, because in order to meet the filling level specifications, expensive purchases are made before winter and cheaper sales are made after winter. However, the quantities were not placed on the market to solve a supply bottleneck in Germany, but to meet fill level specifications.
THE has recently published a document on the calculation of the gas storage fee, which unfortunately does not provide information on who bears the financial burden of the gas storage fee.
Since the tax is also offset by Germany’s exports according to the legal basis, neighboring countries are affected to different degrees. A&B has therefore prepared an estimated cost calculation for Germany’s neighboring countries based on the gas storage fee of EUR 1.45/MWh and based on data published by THE. Only the Czech Republic is worse off than Austria, as the country now has to pay EUR 242 million a year on an available basis. In second place is Austria with 115 million euros/year. In total, just over €500 million a year in costs for securing German gas supplies are passed on to neighboring German countries.
Cost projection per year:
Costs for countries neighboring Germany
Czech Republic 242,646,780
Netherlands 45,485,040
Belgium –
Poland 40,070,020
Denmark 18,408,800
France 8,303,680
Austria 115,393,340
Switzerland 67,092,260
Total 537,365,230
If gas flows change, these quantities will also change.
These costs of 115 million euros/year are paid by companies that import gas from Germany into Austria. They will likely have to pass the fee on to the end customer.
The German government will have to extend the specifications for the gas storage level for two years. So far, the gas storage surcharge compensation has been limited to April 2025. The gas storage fee compensation should be extended for another two years until 2027, because the unpleasant alternative would have been to double the gas storage fee. From the point of view of A&B, even with a two-year extension, it is doubtful that the amount of 1.45 euros/MWh will be enough to reduce the deficits in the gas storage account (in May 2023: 8.5 billion of euros).
A decision on the complaints filed by A&B and other Austrian institutions and companies with the European Commission about the German gas storage tax will take some time. Until then, Austria must co-finance German measures to secure gas supplies.
Questions and contact:
A&B compensation energy & balance AG group management
Maria-Theresien-Strasse 57
6020 Innsbruck, Austria
www.aundb.at