nergy imbalance in action: Germany paid billions for LNG terminals, while others use them
Germany has built LNG terminals and other countries are taking gas from them
Germany has invested billions of euros in building LNG terminals, but most of the fuel goes to neighboring countries. Despite full capacity utilization, national gas storage facilities remain insufficiently filled.
The German government has invested huge sums of money to establish four liquefied natural gas terminals, three of which are state-run. However, the results of this initiative have been unexpected: significant volumes of imported fuel are being diverted to neighboring countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic and even Ukraine. This situation has developed due to the peculiarities of the European gas transportation system and market demand in the region.
According to Bloomberg, despite the record load of terminals, the level of filling of German gas storages remains lower than expected. Energy Aspects analysts explain this phenomenon by increased demand from Central and Eastern European countries. A particularly alarming signal was the increase in gas exports to Ukraine, which creates additional risks for the energy security of Germany itself, writes eadaily.
The current situation makes Germany vulnerable to possible energy crises.
“With the onset of a cold winter or problems in the gas transportation system, Europe could face a capacity shortage,” notes Thomas Thorkildsen of Hoegh.
This forces the German authorities to consider additional intervention in the energy market, which will inevitably have an impact on end consumers' bills.