29. September 2020
RWE's storage facilities are ready
All six of the underground gas storage facilities of RWE Gas Storage CZ are ready for the winter. They have now been filled up to 100% of their total capacity of 28.7 TWh, which amounts to approximately one third of the total annual consumption of natural gas in the Czech Republic.
"During the winter months, storage facilities regularly provide more than a half of natural gas supplied to consumers throughout the Czech Republic. On particularly cold days, however, we are able to withdraw as much as 422 GWh of natural gas per day, which translates into nearly two thirds of the entire country's peak consumption. All things considered, we are fully prepared for the beginning of the 2020/2021 heating season," says RWE Gas Storage CZ Executive Director Lubor Veleba.
Gas storage facilities are of key importance in providing reliable gas supplies to Czech household and businesses, particularly during the winter. They not only play an important role as a backup source, but they also offset seasonal differences in natural gas consumption. "Underground storage facilities feature a unique technology that requires meticulous, highly technical care. For that reason, we invest hundreds of millions of crowns into the reliability and safety of storage facilities," Veleba explains. Another reason why natural gas storage facilities need to have a sufficient capacity is the anticipated rise in the use of gas in heat generation and the overall development of the energy sector toward increasing the share of energy produced from renewable sources.
RWE Gas Storage CZ is the largest operator of underground gas storage facilities in the Czech Republic. Its facilities include a unique cavern storage site in Háje in the Příbram District in Bohemia, the Dolní Dunajovice and Tvrdonice storage plants in South Moravia, and the Štramberk, Lobodice, and Třanovice facilities in North Moravia.