The Netherlands is even more dependent on imported gas

One day a price drop, the next a price peak, the TTF gas price has fluctuated back and forth in recent days. The daily gas price opens on Thursday at 27.7 euros per megawatt hour. This is still slightly higher after Wednesday’s gas price increase. The EPEX daily price for electricity is dropping again. A strong wind pushes hourly prices to 0 at the beginning of the afternoon.

European production of electricity from wind energy in the past seven days up to March 24 was 10.1 TWh, energy supplier Vattenfall shares in an update. It was the lowest yield in the past four months. The outlier here was Wednesday, March 20, when there was the lowest yield of electricity from wind energy in six months. In the Netherlands there was sufficient wind again last weekend and the generation of electricity from wind increased again. Negative prices were again seen on the spot market last week at times of plenty of sunshine. “This will most likely occur more often in the coming period, when we expect more sun again,” says Vattenfall. Gasunie Transport Services makes the national news with a (new) warning about security of gas supply after closure of the Groningen field. It also points out the dangers of LNG dependence. The global demand for liquefied gas (LNG) is still higher than the supply for the time being, which means that security of supply can no longer be taken for granted, it is said.The Netherlands is currently dependent on imports for 75% of its gas consumption. With the closure of the Groningen field and declining domestic production, this dependence will become even greater. That is why the Netherlands, like other EU member states, benefits from a well-functioning European internal market for gas.

From mid-2022, almost the entire Russian supply to NW Europe will have disappeared. This is offset by maximum imports from Norway and maximum supply of liquefied gas (LNG) via Gate (Rotterdam) and EemsEnergyTerminal throughout the year. This supply meets basic needs, but can hardly make an additional contribution in the winter, Gasunie emphasizes.

“The supply of LNG is stable throughout the year and therefore does not provide an adequate basis for the so-called seasonal flexibility. This means that in the coming years, even more than in the past, seasonal storages will be the main source for supplying seasonal flexibility. Although market parties commercial motives can sometimes be at odds with guaranteeing security of supply. That is why some additional legal measures are proposed, such as legally establishing a filling standard for seasonal storage that must be achieved by market parties. A party designated by the government would act as a backup. could serve if the market parties do not fulfill this obligation in a timely manner.”

Gasunie Transport Services provides advice to The Hague.