Germany wants SEFE to store additional gas
Reuters reports that the state-owned company was instructed to increase winter reserves by 8 terawatt-hours, but official confirmation is lacking.
The German government wants state-owned energy company SEFE to store more gas, according to a Reuters report. The report comes as German storage facilities were around 58 per cent full at the end of September and after the government had previously stressed that market participants themselves were responsible for winter reserves.
Economy Minister Katherina Reiche is said to have instructed SEFE to store an additional 8 terawatt-hours of natural gas, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing reporting by Handelsblatt. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is said to support the measure. According to Reuters, the ministry and SEFE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This leaves the precise status of the instruction unclear. No formal decision or public instruction has been published in the sources consulted for this article. The wording also differs from the German ministry’s explanation on 16 September, when it said SEFE was expanding its storage activities on its own commercial basis.
The German government has previously said that filling gas storage facilities is in principle a task for the market. The ministry did welcome SEFE’s intention to store more gas at the time. A spokesperson stressed that this was not the same as a government instruction such as the one issued in 2022 during the energy crisis.
The need for additional security has not disappeared since then. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, German gas storage facilities were 57.63 per cent full on 28 September. In the Netherlands, the level was 57.85 per cent, and across the European Union as a whole it was 71.16 per cent. A storage percentage alone does not indicate how much gas is needed to get a country through the winter; import capacity, consumption, temperatures and gas flows also play a role.
Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur reported on 29 September that gas imports were stable. Between 21 and 27 September, 15.1 terawatt-hours arrived via pipelines and 1.9 terawatt-hours via German LNG terminals. The regulator also announced that Germany had lifted the alert level under its gas emergency plan; the early-warning level has been in force since July 2025.
If the instruction to SEFE does indeed exist, Berlin would be placing a larger share of winter preparations with a state-owned company. This could strengthen security of supply, but also raises questions about market distortion, costs and the role of the government as owner of an energy company.
For Dutch businesses and households, the European context is particularly relevant. Germany and the Netherlands are closely connected to the European gas market. Additional German purchasing could increase competition for available supplies, but during a cold winter it could also contribute to a larger buffer in the region. For now, the current instruction remains a development reported by Reuters that has not yet been publicly confirmed.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- German gas storage facilities were less than full at the end of September.
- The German state owns SEFE.
- The government previously stressed the responsibility of the market.
- The new instruction has not yet been officially confirmed publicly.
Left
Arguments Energy security is a public responsibility. If the market builds up insufficient reserves, the government must be able to intervene to protect households and public services.
Values Affordability, security of existence, public control and solidarity.
Consequences State intervention can limit shortages and price shocks, but can also cost public money and weaken market incentives.
Centre
Arguments The government must safeguard security of supply, while making as much use as possible of market mechanisms and transparent rules. A state-owned company can temporarily take on additional responsibility, provided the conditions are verifiable.
Values Security of supply, proportionality, market operation and administrative transparency.
Consequences A mixed approach can offer flexibility, but makes it important to prevent conflicts of interest and unequal treatment.
Right
Arguments The gas market should primarily be served by companies. Political instructions to state-owned companies can lead to misguided investment decisions, higher costs and dependence on the government.
Values Market operation, financial discipline, competition and limited state intervention.
Consequences Less government intervention may be more efficient, but leaves companies and consumers more exposed to price rises during geopolitical shocks.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article clearly separates confirmed storage figures and official policy information from the unconfirmed new instruction. The central claim is explicitly attributed to Reuters and Handelsblatt.
- confirmed Reuters reported that Germany may have instructed SEFE to store an additional 8 terawatt-hours of gas. — Reuters reported this on the basis of reporting by Handelsblatt; the instruction itself has not been independently officially confirmed. source
- confirmed German gas storage facilities were 57.63 per cent full on 28 September. — Gas Infrastructure Europe lists this percentage. source
- confirmed Between 21 and 27 September, Germany imported 15.1 terawatt-hours via pipelines and 1.9 terawatt-hours via LNG terminals. — These figures appear on the current page of Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur. source
- confirmed Germany previously stressed that market participants were responsible for filling storage facilities. — This is stated in the report of the German government press conference on 16 September. source
Editor's note
The new instruction has been reported solely on the basis of sources Reuters attributes to Handelsblatt. Official German sources do confirm the storage figures and the earlier market-oriented explanation, but not the new instruction itself.Sources
- German ministry orders SEFE to increase gas storage, Handelsblatt says — Reuters, herplaatst door Devdiscourse
- Aktuelle Lage der Gasversorgung — Bundesnetzagentur
- Gas in Storage — Gas Infrastructure Europe
- Regierungspressekonferenz vom 16. September 2026 — Bundesregierung Duitsland
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „gasopslag duitsland”
- Het Parool — „gasopslag duitsland”
- de Volkskrant — „gasopslag duitsland”