OIES – EU Gas Storage Regulation: A Journey from Crisis-Induced Rigidity to Increased Flexibility

The report discusses the EU Gas Storage Regulation enacted in response to the energy crisis starting in late 2021.

It focuses on the regulation's requirements for gas storage filling targets, the challenges faced in meeting these targets, and the evolving regulatory approach towards increased flexibility. The regulation required EU Member States to fill gas storage to at least 90% capacity by 1 November 2023 and subsequent years, with intermediary targets set throughout the year. Negative summer-winter gas price spreads undermined commercial incentives to refill storage in summer, causing some Member States to miss intermediary targets. The regulation itself contributed to price pressures as Member States rushed to meet targets, prompting calls for the European Commission to relax intermediary targets. The Commission responded with a recommendation in March 2025 allowing more tolerance for deviations but keeping targets intact and proposed extending the regulation until the end of 2027 with hints at increased flexibility in the filling trajectory.