Regulator: Market operator's filling of German gas storage facilities had no unusual impact on gas prices last summer

European gas markets experienced unprecedented price rises last summer, with prices reaching many times their usual levels. One of the main causes was the curtailment of natural gas supplies from Russia, but strong pressure to fill gas storage facilities ahead of the previous winter may also have played a role. The German market operator was involved in this effort. However, according to a report published by Germany's network regulator, the operator's storage filling had no unusual impact on the market.

Filling storage facilities and securing sufficient gas supplies for the previous winter were among the top priorities across Europe last summer. Governments did not want to risk a situation in which storage facilities remained unfilled, as had happened before the winter of 21/22, when Russian gas company Gazprom left a number of storage facilities in Europe in which it held capacity unfilled.

Germany is one example, where Gazprom held significant storage capacity through local company Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries. After Gazprom ceased most of its activities in Germany, the country's gas market operator, Trading Hub Europe (THE), was tasked with filling some of the capacity that had been freed up.