11:12 Cabinet pays energy companies to store gas

The cabinet announced on Friday that Dutch energy companies can apply for subsidies for filling the gas tank at Bergermeer. A European directive obliges countries to have an average of 80% of their storage capacity in case Russia suddenly shuts off the gas tap. EUR 406 million has been earmarked for this programme.

Gas storage by energy companies is currently uninteresting due to high gas prices. After all, if the price drops in the coming months, they have bought very expensive gas and will have to sell it for a much lower price.

The cabinet is therefore presenting a plan whereby the government will pay the storage costs and compensate for the difference between the current prices and the prices that are likely to be lower next winter. Companies must declare an amount that they believe will cover their storage costs, and the government chooses the companies with the lowest amount.

The application is made in two rounds. Next Monday, 35 companies that already have agreements with Gas Storage Bergermeer can submit an application. They can then compete for the remaining capacity that has not yet been allocated. In the second round on June 7, there are twelve companies that have already rented buildings but have not yet stored anything. In total, this covers an area of ​​20 terawatt hours.

including Gazprom

If it turns out that not all companies together can achieve 20 terawatt hours of power, state-owned Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) will fill in the rest. The storage space must be 68% full in November. This is less than 80%, but the average 80% is still reached because the other two gas tanks are completely filled.

Gas storage at Bergermeer is a collaboration between Taqa Energy from Abu Dhabi and EBN. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom is also responsible. There are two small gas storage facilities in the Netherlands: Norg and Grijpskerk.