It's 97% but total gas storage capacity it quite low so it's easier to fill.

True, but other large EU members also did a better job replenishing their stores:

https://energiedashboard.admin.ch/gas/eu-gasspeicher

For instance, Italy has more storage capacity per capita despite very similar consumption (~10TWh/1mln population) and they're already at 86%+.

Meanwhile indeed Poland has much less storage (about a third of Germany per capita), but it also uses it less (half the consumption of Germany per capita).

I must ask: what the hell are the Germans waiting for?

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rostigerpudel 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Our minister responsible for energy is Katherina Reiche, a lobbyist for fossil companies. She has been suspected to dawdle on refilling gas storage to make it easier for her former employers to make a quick buck when gas becomes scarce in winter. She's also botched the transition to renewable energies by removing the incentives for state and industry to build out electric infrastructure, so it would not be out of character.

Plus, our chancellor has zero experience in governing anything (he's not even been mayor before) and is firmly stuck in thinking like a Blackrock executive.

So, to answer your question: We are waiting for a government that is not entirely in the pocket of those that want to stick to the status quo and profit from crises as long as possible.

	▲	LeChuck 7 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		That's a nice conspiracy theory you have there. Which former employer is going to make a quick buck? The grid operator or the grid operator lobbyist? Besides, who is going to profit from a price spike when the whole point is that the summer-winter spread is inverted, so no one expects to make money from injecting?

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ben_w 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> I must ask: what the hell are the Germans waiting for?

Bureaucracy, most likely. That and in-fighting (I count NIMBY as an example of that, but not the only thing).

Here's a train station in Berlin, whose upgrade is currently 20 years behind schedule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin-Köpenick_station