Part of the reason why gas supplies are falling so quickly is because there has been little wind in recent months, combined with little sunshine. As wind turbines and solar panels provided less energy, gas plants had to run at full capacity. Gas demand was also pushed up by the low temperatures, causing heat demand to rise.
Moreover, the prices on the so-called spot market, where natural gas is traded at daily prices, are higher than the price paid last summer for the gas now in the buffers. Therefore, this gas is sold first and relatively little is bought on the spot market, says Hans van Cleef, energy analyst at consultancy Publieke Zaken. In the spring, therefore, the storages will be a lot emptier than in previous years.
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