As of mid-September 2026, Germany had stored just about 141 terawatt-hours of gas, accounting for around 57% of the country's total storage capacity. Last winter just under 134 terawatt-hours of gas were withdrawn from storage, according to the Federal Network Agency, the agency that monitors the country's electricity and gas networks. At first glance, the numbers sounds reassuring, especially since last winter was quite cold and therefore required a lot of heating.
But compared to previous years, natural gas storage levels are low. On September 4, Markus Söder, the premier of Bavaria, called for intervention by the federal government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A few days later, the opposition Green Party accused the economy minister of negligence.
"The gas storage facilities are not full. We are facing a potential shortage," said Britta Hasselmann, co-leader of the Greens' parliamentary group. Such statements have raised concerns about potential gas shortages in Germany this winter.
To assess the current situation, however, various factors such as imports and the diversification of supply sources need to be taken into account , not least since Germany is no longer as dependent on a single importer as it was on Russia until 2022. Most experts interviewed by DW are not concerned about the winter gas supply. Charlie Grüneberg, spokesperson for the German Gas and Hydrogen Industry association, points to the contracts that have been signed for the medium term.
"Anyone who has contractually secured their gas needs for the winter with a reliable supplier will receive the agreed quantities," he said. Sebastian Heinermann, managing director of INES, a German association for gas and hydrogen storage system operators, is more cautious. He pointed out that it's technically possible to fill gas storage facilities in Germany to around 77%, but this would require filling at a level that "has not been observed even once in the past three weeks," Heinermann said.
"If this trend continues unchanged, the fill level will reach only about 65% by November 1." Still, the Federal Network Agency sees no cause for concern. "The gas supply in Germany is stable," the agency's spokesperson, Nadia Affani, told DW. "Security of supply is currently guaranteed.
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