Status: 11.01.2022 1:28 p.m.
There is still uncertainty on the gas market. Promised deliveries to Germany are missing, companies are adjusting to supply gaps – and consumers have to pay more.
The situation on the German gas market remains tense. Wholesaling prices are currently not rising, but companies have raised concerns about security of supply. Meanwhile, the German gas storage facilities are emptying.
Yamal pipeline continues to pump eastwards
The Russian Yamal pipeline, which is actually supposed to transport gas to Western Europe, pumps the raw material from Germany to Poland again today. The pipeline has now been running eastward for 22 days instead of westward as originally planned. Russia announced at the end of the year that reversing gas supplies was a purely commercial decision and had nothing to do with political considerations. From Poland it was said that the Russian gas supplier Gazprom was fulfilling its contractual obligations. The deliveries to the east had been commissioned by Poland.
As Reuters reported, the direction of transport could be changed again in the middle of the month. The news agency relies on sources from the Gazprom group. He ordered and paid for gas deliveries to the west.
Gas storage tanks empty
A better supply of natural gas is apparently also necessary, as a look at the gas storage facilities in Germany shows. The gas association “Zukunft Gas” considers the storage capacities, especially in southern Germany, to be too low. Overall, the fill levels would be 53 percent of their capacity, well below the average of previous years.
Especially for large consumers, supply gaps could arise in the coming weeks, said association boss Timm Kehler the “Handelsblatt”. This primarily affects companies whose contracts provide for the possibility of an interruption in delivery. Companies enter into such contracts because they either have alternative supply options or simply want to use more favorable conditions in gas contracts.
The energy supplier RWE had already warned in December that there could even be interruptions in operations at power plants in North Rhine-Westphalia in the weeks up to the beginning of April due to the precarious situation on the gas market. That could also lead to a shortage on the electricity market.
Prices at a high level
Prices on the gas market have currently settled down at a high level. A megawatt hour (VAT) of natural gas costs around 80 euros at the Dutch trading center TTF. That is much less than the 170 euros that had to be paid for futures contracts at the end of December. But a look at contracts for delivery in summer 2022 shows: Even after the heating period, market participants on the gas exchange are expecting prices of more than 70 euros per megawatt hour, which is significantly more than in previous years.
Households with low incomes are particularly hard hit
According to the providers, consumers do not have to worry about interruptions to the gas supply in winter. This is ensured by corresponding contracts that always guarantee a basic supply for private households. The gas bill, however, is likely to remain high for private customers in the longer term. According to the Check24 portal, the average gas price has increased by almost half for end consumers in the past year. The comparison provider Verivox currently calculates a price of 8.21 euros per kilowatt hour (KWh). A year ago it was 5.81 euros per KWh.
Rising energy prices are an increasing challenge, especially for less financially strong households. According to the Federal Statistical Office, households with a net income of less than 1,300 euros have to spend almost ten percent of this on energy for the home. To compensate, around 700,000 households are to receive a one-off heating cost subsidy of at least 135 euros according to plans by the federal government. For a two-person household, there should then be 175 euros, according to the draft law by Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD). A surcharge of 35 euros is provided for each additional person in the household.