Natural Gas, Electric Power, LNG
November 11, 2026
German cabinet approves gas reserve draft law
By Matt Hoisch and Andreas Franke
Editor:
HIGHLIGHTS
Eyes 24 TWh reserve for crises
Measure heads to parliament for consideration
Also exploring targeted support, supplier obligation
Germany's federal cabinet approved a draft law to develop a strategic natural gas reserve, it said Nov. 11, advancing a long-running effort to add further buffers safeguarding Europe's largest economy against acute energy security disruptions.
The German parliament will now take up the measure for consideration.
The reserve would consist of 24 terawatt-hours (2.3 billion cubic meters) of gas, a German energy ministry spokesperson said Nov. 11, explaining that the volumes would only be for use during a crisis.
"The reserve is to be built up as quickly as possible and can be extended over up to three years if necessary," the spokesperson said. "The entire costs are financed by a levy, which is ultimately borne by the end customer or consumer."
The spokesperson said the levy is estimated to boost household gas costs by between 0.3% and 0.5%.
Other measures
Germany is also targeting other measures to ease energy pricing pressures.
The federal government plans to explore options for "targeted relief for particularly energy-intensive companies," according to the energy ministry spokesperson.
The government also plans to prepare a "supplier obligation to secure winter provisions," the spokesperson said. "To this end, the federal government will advocate for a corresponding European legal framework as part of the negotiations on the new EU energy security framework and introduce a national supplier obligation immediately afterwards."
The push to safeguard German gas security comes as the country manages with diminished storage heading into winter.
Germany's gas storage sites were 58.5% full as of Nov. 9, according to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. At the same time last year, German sites were filled to 74.8%.
Germany, which boasts the EU's largest gas storage capacity, missed a domestic target this year to fill storage sites to 70% on average by Nov. 1.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the German THE month-ahead gas price at €86.74/megawatt-hour on Nov. 10.
