Energy giant Uniper has called for a faster pace in filling gas storage facilities ahead of the winter season. 'Storage levels have been rising since March, but the progress remains far too slow,' CEO Michael Lewis criticized in an interview with the 'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung' published on Thursday. 'If we do not fill the gas storage facilities quickly, we will face a problem next winter.' Uniper operates its own gas storage sites. The group has applied to the Federal Network Agency to decommission its natural gas storage facility in Breitbrunn, Bavaria, as it is no longer economically viable.

According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, domestic gas storage facilities are currently 30.64 percent full. A year ago, the figure stood at 38.65 percent. Prices have risen significantly in the wake of the conflict in Iran, making storage less attractive. According to the interview, Lewis advocated for the regulatory model practiced in France over the medium term, where certain prices are guaranteed by the regulator. He considers the Austrian model of a strategic gas reserve to be only the second-best option for Germany.

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff, Christoph Steitz. For inquiries, please contact our editorial office at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)