Germany is facing a potential crisis this winter with gas levels at storage facilities lower than during the 2022 crisis and temperatures that brought the coldest Christmas in 15 years.
Not only has gas consumption been higher this winter, one industry association says that facilities were not adequately filled before the heating season, now standing at 42 percent.
Germany started the heating season with a storage level of only 75 percent, warns the association of storage operators, Ines. By comparison, on Nov. 1, 2024, gas storage facilities were 98 percent full.
“Storage facilities are currently emptier than in the crisis year of 2022,” Timm Kehler, CEO of the German Gas and Hydrogen Industry Association, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, as cited by Bild. Fill levels at this time for the years 2017 to 2021 were 20 points higher, the portal adds.
Germany would seem to be risking security of supply, i.e., shortages, before winter’s end. However, experts say this will not take place due to former Economics Minister Robert Habeck (56, Green Party) introducing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, through which natural gas is imported as a buffer for gas storage facilities.
Germany’s old supplier of natural gas, Russia, is no longer a viable source due to the war in Ukraine, even if parties like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the BSW indicate that Germany must continue sourcing cheap energy from Russia in the future.
The German Chemical Industry Association reports that companies are still preparing for any shortage risks: “Emergency plans are in place to minimize production losses and economic consequences in the event of a crisis.”
Kehler also reiterated that Germany “will emerge from the cold season with very empty storage facilities.”
Claims that Germany will run out of gas have been circulating as well on social media.
“If the gas really runs out, the citizens in Germany and probably also in Austria might finally notice what time it has struck. The consequences of shutting down industry due to a gas shortage would be devastating. But apparently Germans only learn through extreme pain,” wrote German lawyer Markus Haintz.
Sollte das Gas wirklich ausgehen, würden die Bürger in Deutschland und wohl auch Österreich vielleicht bemerken, was die Stunde geschlagen hat.
Die Folgen einer Abschaltung der Industrie wegen #Gasmangel wären verheerend. Aber offenbar lernen Deutsche nur durch extremen Schmerz. https://t.co/DxfjSL6Hgj
— Markus Haintz (@Haintz_MediaLaw) January 27, 2026
He cited a prognosis that shows gas levels could be as low as 20 percent in the next 25 days. However, whether that really happens depends much on the weather. As for Germany running out of gas, that remains an unlikely scenario, but there is no doubt that Germany will end the winter season with severely low gas storage levels.
Furthermore, Europe’s continued reliance on U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) is growing to be a strategic risk.
“There is a risk that the US could exploit Europe’s dependence on US LNG as leverage in the conflict over Greenland,” Sebastian Gulbis, managing director of the consulting firm Enervis, said in an interview with Tagesspiegel Background.
While Germany receives the majority of its gas from Norway, it obtains more than 90 percent of its direct LNG from the U.S., and addition amounts of American LNG through other countries like the Netherlands and France. As Remix News has reported in the past, energy experts note that in any real conflict, the U.S. could weaponize this vital energy source against Europe, effectively bringing Europe to a halt both industrially and potentially even on a societal level.
The EU as a whole sources 57 percent of its LNG from the U.S. in 2025, underlining potential risks moving forward. Brussels and national governments continue to invest in renewable energy but natural gas still plays a pivotal role to keep Europe running.
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