The European Union is steadily reducing its heavy reliance on Russian gas as it strengthens energy security in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. After navigating last winter without major shortages, the bloc now faces another cold season with gas demand likely to rise further.
The European Commission and the Twenty-Seven have coordinated to shield themselves from possible supply shocks linked to Vladimir Putin. Key steps include asking member states to progressively fill their gas storage and to meet minimum reserve levels at defined times of the year. By November 1, storage facilities across the EU are expected to be 90 percent full of usable capacity.
Spain has surpassed this 90 percent target this Tuesday, well ahead of the mandatory deadline, thanks to accelerated injections in recent weeks. Three Spanish underground storage sites collectively hold, at approximately 30,700 gigawatt hours, according to Enagás, the operator of the Spanish gas system, which provides daily updates on storage figures. This aligns with semi-annual EU requirements as recorded by Enagás.
In the meantime, energy companies have begun drawing from Spanish storage reserves in recent weeks. About a month ago, national reserves stood at 77 percent, and the refilling efforts by those companies lifted storage occupancy by around 12 percent in a short period.
Spain also operates an extensive network of regasification facilities, which accounts for about one third of the EU’s total regasification capacity. Current estimates show these plants at about 73 percent of their capacity, based on Enagás data, totaling roughly 16,785 gigawatt hours. Taken together, Spain’s gas reserves could cover more than 40 days of total consumption if needed.
Come with cold waves
The two sharp cold spells that hit Spain in rapid succession, at the end of January and then at the start of March, pushed natural gas consumption above forecasted levels under normal weather conditions. Enagás reported operating in an extraordinary mode twice within a month due to higher demand from households and businesses caused by persistent lower temperatures.
The sudden drop in temperature, combined with slower reinjection into storage tanks, led operators to draw down some of the accumulated reserves more quickly. Underground storage began to fall below 80 percent for the first time in seven months as about 15 percent of stored gas was consumed in a single month.
Three Spanish underground tanks reached occupancy levels above 96.6 percent, with a peak of 34 TWh in November. This prompted Enagás to delay certain gas injections into the storage system and to suspend short-term tenders for a few days to inject gas into tanks. A preventive mechanism was activated to manage the risk of high occupancy at regasification plants and potential ship decompression if necessary.