Minister of Trade D. Saková: The EU has gas storage filled to 54%, Slovakia at 43%
Bratislava – The European Union has gas storage filled to an average of 54%, while Slovakia is at 43%. This was stated on Friday by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Denisa Saková (Hlas-SD), in response to statements made by the former leadership of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, particularly Saková’s predecessor in office, Karol Hirman, and Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Karol Galek (SaS). This was reported by TASR.
“In Slovakia, we have storage volumes of approximately 35 terawatt-hours (TWh), of which 17 TWh is already leased by the company SPP, and approximately another 7 TWh is in the Dolné Bojanovice storage, which is located in the Czech Republic. There, we have storage filled to 85%, which is owned by SPP distribution and is gas intended for the safe supply of households. Currently, we have filled, in terms of SPP’s reserves, half of the mentioned 17 TWh,” said Saková in response to Hirman’s statements that Slovakia’s gas reserves are well below the EU average and that during the same period last year, the storage was full to a significantly higher percentage.
According to her, it is unprofessional for the former Minister of Economy to mislead and unsettle the public.
“The fact that in mid-June the storage is half full is normal practice, as storage is mainly filled during the summer months when there is no heating season and gas is cheapest. I can confirm that all contracts from which gas will flow into the storage will be fulfilled by November 1. This means that the 17 TWh that SPP must hold in gas reserves according to EU regulations will be filled,” emphasized the Minister of Economy.
“Currently, we are taking less than half of the gas from the Russian side, and we are currently purchasing a larger portion of gas from various diversification contracts. This is because we do not have, or there is not sufficient capacity, to take as much Russian gas as we would need,” she informed.
Saková also announced that the EU fund program Slovakia in the energy sector, mainly in Green Households and Green Solidarity, continues. “We are ready to strengthen them in the next revision with additional resources,” she emphasized. (June 20)
“Currently, we are taking less than half of the gas from the Russian side, and we are currently purchasing a larger portion of gas from various diversification contracts. This is because we do not have, or there is not sufficient capacity, to take as much Russian gas as we would need.” Denisa Saková
