Dukefield Energy have been monitoring this week’s energy news.

On the 1st of April, Gazprom announced that they will be withdrawing from Gazprom Germania. The same date after which Gazprom will expect all gas received to be paid for in rubles. In response to this, Germany has appointed the German energy regulator to manage the German arm of Gazprom. By doing so the German government hopes that they can ensure that contractual agreements are met and the security of supplies for German businesses. Prior to this take over, the UK government had been considering a takeover of Gazprom Marketing and Trading (GM&T), which is a supplier of around 20% of UK commercial and public sector gas. However, since the German take over this move has become more unlikely as the takeover has removed the fears of supply disruptions, with Gazprom now being owned by an ally rather than a Russian state-owned company.

On the 23rd of March, the European Commission (EC) proposed that all member states are to fill storage sites to at least 80 % by the 1st of November, increasing to 90% in coming years. The proposal is looking more likely to materialise now that the German government has taken control of Gazprom Germania, with Gazprom sites being amongst the most depleted last year and in-part leading to the low storage levels seen in Europe. The proposal is relatively modest given that EU storage last year was around 77% after ending Q1-21 31% full. This adds some downward trajectory to the UK gas futures as storage levels rose to 26% in Q1-22, suggesting the increase is within a feasible range. However, the current conflict in Ukraine is likely to continue, causing supply security risk, with EU storage being filled dependant on continued supplies of gas to the region.

Dukefield Energy understand that this is a very hard time for customers looking at their energy contracts, we are here to support and help. We have multiple suppliers offering a variety of products to help manage the risk of high prices and a volatile market. If anyone has any concerns or just wants some advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us.