Hattmannsdorfer on gas reserves: “Austria has taken precautions”

The high prices lead to in Europe Problems with filling the memory. Im On average, gas storage facilities in the EU are only 62 percent fullwhich is the worst value since 2011. Last year at the same time they were a full 12 percentage points higher.

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Austria above EU average

In Austria lies the level current at 65 percent, as Minister of Energy Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer informed via broadcast. This is above the European average.

There are currently 65.4 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas stored in Austrian gas storage facilities. This already corresponds to 87 percent of annual consumption. In Germany, for comparison, it is only 14 percent.

“Austria is better positioned than many other countries”

“Austria has taken precautions and is better positioned when it comes to gas supplies than many other European countries,” said Hattmannsdorfer on Thursday. Along with Latvia, Austria is the only EU country that can store more than its annual consumption on its own territory. The annual consumption of 75 to 80 TWh is offset by a total capacity of 100 TWh.

The strategic gas reserve was most recently extended until April 2029 and thus remains an important protection against supply bottlenecks. “This strong storage infrastructure is a clear competitive advantage for our location,” says Hattmannsdorfer.

Price spiral threatens

The slow filling in other countries could trigger an upward price spiral. Many companies will have to make “forced purchases”. According to analysts, the wholesale price is likely to rise from currently just under 70 euros to at least 110 euros. In extreme cases, even 210 euros is conceivable – especially when the winter gets cold and demand increases massively.

This will be particularly felt by households without a fixed price gas contract – a scenario like that after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, when the price rose to over 300 euros.