July 07, 2026 [Reuters]- Germany’s Economy Ministry is drawing up plans for a state-owned strategic gas reserve to be used in emergencies, it said on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
The reserve would hold around 24 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas, equivalent to just under 10% of Germany’s total gas storage capacity, and would be financed through a levy on gas consumers, the ministry said.
The reserve is intended to protect against extreme situations, such as sabotage of critical energy infrastructure or a severe global gas shortage.
The ministry said gas purchases would be spread over two to three years to minimise any impact on prices. The first storage bookings are scheduled for the winter of 2026/27, with initial filling due to begin in the summer of 2027.
Germany has sought to strengthen energy security since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a scramble to replace Russian gas supplies and exposed vulnerabilities in Europe’s energy infrastructure.
A person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that the cost of building the reserve, buying the gas and injecting it into storage was estimated at between €1.2 billion and €1.5 billion ($1.4 billion-$1.7 billion), spread across 2027 and 2028.
The source said annual operating costs were estimated at between €150 million and €180 million, and that the plans were expected to be approved by the cabinet in mid-August.
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