The Netherlands enters winter with low gas reserves, warns Gasunie

Dutch energy company Gasunie has confirmed that the Netherlands is heading into winter with lower gas reserves than planned. Even with low reserves, residents are more likely to pay more for energy than to be stuck without gas to heat their homes.

The Netherlands fails to meet gas storage targets

Gasunie has warned that the filling target for gas reserves in the lead-up to winter is not achievable, reports NU.nl. As of August 24, gas storage facilities in the Netherlands were only sitting at about 44 percent full. 

The same time last year, this was at 63 percent, while three years ago it was 94 percent. Earlier this year, the state-owned energy company advised storing 115 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas for the winter, around 80 percent of gas storage capacity in the Netherlands - 1TWh of gas is equivalent to the annual consumption of 55.000 households.

"Based on the latest developments, the Netherlands will not meet the previously set filling target for this winter," a Gasunie spokesperson told NU.nl. It appears that the EU target of 74 percent will also not be met this year. 

Gas reserves should be sufficient

While gas reserves are low, Gasunie maintains that there should be enough gas available for the coming winter and that it doesn’t necessarily mean security of supply is at risk. Gas is still being received through pipelines from Norway, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and small fields in the Netherlands.

Energiebeheer Nederland (EBN), responsible for filling gas storage facilities on behalf of the government, has been filling up gas reserves "steadily". "Under normal circumstances, I am therefore not extremely worried about the amount of gas in the gas storage,” said René Peters, expert at research institute TNO. “The risk lies mainly in situations where multiple problems occur simultaneously."

This could be extended periods with severe cold weather, which would cause gas demand to increase sharply, or pipeline failures, issues with LNG terminals or other infrastructure problems. All these situations could threaten gas supply.

Gasunie has said that the Netherlands is “insufficiently prepared” for a very bad winter if additional measures aren’t taken, having previously warned that gas reserves were being filled too slowly.

Dutch households should expect higher energy bills

With gas prices at their highest level in two years due to the conflict in the Middle East, energy companies have been avoiding stocking up on gas during the summer, when gas is usually at its most affordable. "Then we are more dependent on LNG and therefore more vulnerable to high prices," energy market expert at Rabobank Florence Schmit told RTL Nieuws. 

While EBN is filling gas reserves, the company is purchasing gas at a high price and will still need to fork out more money to store and transport the stock. These extra costs are likely to be passed on to the consumer.

It doesn’t help that gas prices are expected to remain high for the next three to four months. "They won't start falling until early 2027," said Schmit. "Purely because the Strait of Hormuz isn't fully opening yet." 

Residents with variable or dynamic energy contracts will especially notice the higher prices. However, over half a million households in the Netherlands already live in energy poverty, short more than 600 euros for their energy bills.