Germany to Scrap Gas Storage Surcharge from 2026, Easing Consumer Costs

Germany will remove its gas storage surcharge from January 2026, Trading Hub Europe (THE) announced, following new legislation approved earlier this year. The surcharge — currently 2.89 euros per megawatt hour — was introduced after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to offset the higher cost of replacing Russian pipeline gas with alternatives such as LNG. Germany’s parliament has ruled that remaining surcharge costs, up to 3.4 billion euros by the end of 2025, will be covered by the Climate and Transformation Fund. The economy ministry has since acknowledged that some state-driven measures have inflated consumer energy prices and is shifting toward more market-based mechanisms to secure supply. Germany’s storage capacity stands at 22.6 bcm, around 26% of its annual gas use.