Netherlands wants EU to end current gas storage approach after 2027

The Netherlands is pushing for the European Union to abandon its current approach to regulating natural gas storage once its existing law expires after 2027 in favor of less sweeping, more market-based strategies, according to a Sept. 25 letter from the Dutch Climate Minister to the country's parliament.

"The cabinet aims to phase out the EU filling targets in their current form," Minister Stientje van Veldhoven said in the letter, adding, "At the moment, these lead to a disproportionately large task for member states with a lot of storage capacity, like the Netherlands."

The Netherlands holds the third-largest storage capacity in the EU, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

While Veldhoven acknowledged that existing government involvement in the gas market had emerged for "good reasons," she asserted that it no longer functions as intended.

Storage obligations have spurred summer prices to overtake winter ones, removing a financial incentive to store gas in warmer months for sale in colder ones, the minister argued.

"As a result, there is currently almost no market in the Netherlands for storing gas in seasonal storage, even though seasonal storage remains an essential part of suppliers' resource portfolios for ensuring supply security," Veldhoven said.

The government's financial exposure is another concern.

The Dutch government has allocated up to about €1 billion to support gas storage filling this winter, the minister stressed. She argued the Netherlands has faced an unfavorable burden since its storage sites are relatively large compared with domestic consumption.

"The current EU framework does not provide a basis for recouping the extra costs incurred on this from other member states or foreign buyers, even though they benefit from the gas stored in the Netherlands," she said.

The minister also stressed that the evolution of the European gas market since storage obligations began in 2022 — particularly the significant integration of LNG into the supply mix — has made storage less relevant for suppliers than earlier this decade.

Alternative approaches

Instead, the minister pushed to focus on "restoring a market that works well under normal conditions, while also strengthening resilience during extreme situations."

If storage targets persist, the government favors they fall on market players, rather than member states.

The Dutch government, Veldhoven explained, aims to base gas stocking targets on EU gas supply standards that require suppliers of "protected customers" to hold part of their needs in storage.

"This is most effective at the European level and ensures that all consumers in Europe contribute to the system's increased resilience," she said.

If storage targets remain at the member-state level, the Dutch government wants them to be based on "actual gas demand and a broader view of a member state's gas infrastructure."

The minister also called for "more balanced cost-sharing" across member states if filling obligations continue.

"The government is committed to meeting all European standards, including the European filling targets, as long as they are in effect," she added.

Other European gas market watchers have likewise advocated recently for greater flexibility after the EU's current storage regulation expires.

The EU adopted its initial gas storage regulation in 2022, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That law set filling obligations by Nov. 1 at 80% in 2022 and 90% in subsequent years. EU lawmakers revised the regulation in 2025, giving member states a wider window to reach targets and allowing for lower fill levels in some cases. The latest law expires at the end of 2027.

Dutch interventions

The Dutch Climate Minister also outlined several interventions the government is exploring as it calls for a different EU-wide approach to gas storage.

Among them is an eye to further optimizing third-party access to the country's storage.

"To make seasonal storage more accessible, the government plans to explore, among other things, offering virtual storage products through [state-owned energy company] EBN," she said, adding, "This can ensure that market players still gain virtual access to gas storage where practical technical third-party access is limited."

If the EU's fill targets phase out, the minister added, the Dutch government would also look into the need for a potential expansion of strategic gas reserves. The Netherlands is already developing a 5 terawatt-hour (473 million cubic meters) strategic reserve at its Alkmaar storage site.

Dutch gas storage is currently filled to just 56.5%, according to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

Earlier in September, the Dutch government lowered its EU-mandated storage filling target ahead of the coming winter from 80% to 64% in a bid to prevent further upward pressure on wholesale gas prices.

European gas prices remain elevated as winter approaches and the war in the Middle East persists. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the month-ahead Dutch TTF gas price at €75.605/megawatt-hour on Sept. 24.