Bavaria’s gas storage levels hit a record low before winter

Gas storage facilities serving Bavaria were less than half full before winter, the lowest level recorded for this time of year, BR reported. On Wednesday, the eight facilities were at 48% capacity, compared with a national average of 58.5%, according to pipeline operator Bayernets.

One facility was empty and two were nearly empty. The Munich-based Economics Ministry and Germany’s Federal Network Agency say supplies are not at risk this winter, citing large volumes of gas arriving daily through pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals.

The Federal Network Agency said in a report on Nov. 11 that security of supply was assured. Pipeline operators’ association FNB Gas cautioned that this depended on the winter avoiding extreme temperatures, unexpected failures in key import or transport infrastructure, and disruptions to the overall availability of gas. FNB Gas and the Initiative Energien Speichern are calling for a requirement that gas traders deliver supplies.

A spokesperson for the Economics Ministry said the current storage level was lower than in recent years but did not indicate an imminent gas shortage. The ministry said stable inflows and careful management of storage levels would be decisive. On Wednesday, Germany’s cabinet put forward a bill to establish a national gas reserve. Current rules call for storage facilities to be 80% full by Nov. 1, but there are no penalties for falling short.

Last year, Germany’s gas storage facilities were 75% full at this point. Even then, gas transport from west to east and north to south was pushed to its limits for weeks, according to an FNB Gas report. Reserve compressors had to be activated, and pipeline operators coordinated measures to manage bottlenecks.

Bayernets also has responsibility for supply security in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, and two storage facilities important to Bavaria are in Austria. The facilities serving Bavaria on both sides of the border currently hold gas with an energy content of 34.4 terawatt-hours. That is close to the net amount delivered to consumers over the previous winter: storage held nearly 51 terawatt-hours on Nov. 9, 2025, and just over 17 terawatt-hours in early March.

Low storage levels do not necessarily mean gas will run short in March, since large volumes continue to flow into Germany during winter. The Federal Network Agency recorded imports of 18.1 terawatt-hours in the previous week. On cold days, Germany’s daily consumption can reach six terawatt-hours, while maximum import capacity is three terawatt-hours, according to FNB Gas.

The Bayernets dashboard showed the Wolfersberg gas storage facility, southeast of Munich, was empty. Inzenham-West, near Rosenheim, was 6% full, while Breitbrunn, on Lake Chiemsee, was at 8%.