More than a third of German municipal utilities plan to shut down gas networks

More than a third of German municipal utilities (known as Stadtwerke) plan to fully or partially decommission their gas distribution networks. A similarly large share still does not know what it will do with the infrastructure. That is according to a survey by the VKU, the association of municipal utilities. The shift away from natural gas is complicated not only by uncertainty over future demand, but also by missing legislation and the deteriorating economics of operating the networks.

According to the VKU survey, 13% of the companies surveyed plan to decommission their entire gas distribution network. Another 25% are considering a mixed approach: decommissioning some parts of the network while converting others or continuing to use them to transport hydrogen or biomethane.

By contrast, 7% of respondents want to retain their entire network for biomethane distribution and 1% for hydrogen. The largest group, however, still has not made a final decision. A total of 38% of those surveyed cannot say what the future holds for their gas networks. This is an improvement on the previous year, when 46% of companies gave that answer.