The Energy Community (EnC) Secretariat has released its 2025 Annual Storage Report, offering a comprehensive evaluation of how contracting parties have implemented the adapted EU Storage Regulation (EU) 2022/1032. The report covers the period from June 2024 to June 2025 and provides key insights into regional gas storage efforts and energy security.
The report highlights that both Ukraine and Serbia achieved their binding gas storage targets by 1 November 2024. Ukraine’s performance was particularly notable, given the challenges it faced, including severe infrastructure attacks and unfavorable price spreads between summer and winter. Despite these difficulties, Ukraine managed to maintain an uninterrupted gas supply throughout the winter. However, storage levels eventually dropped to historically low levels, prompting the need for corrective measures and increased gas imports by April 2025. Notably, Ukrtransgaz, Ukraine’s storage operator, was successfully certified in accordance with regulatory standards.
Serbia also met its storage filling targets but did not achieve certification for its storage operator. The EnC Secretariat pointed out existing regulatory shortcomings and criticized the lack of transparency in the operation of Serbia’s storage facilities. These issues have raised concerns about the country’s long-term compliance and operational efficiency in the storage sector.
Among the non-storage contracting parties, Moldova made significant progress by creating both security and commercial gas stocks. These measures enabled Moldova to ensure a stable gas supply throughout the 2024/25 heating season. The Secretariat praised Moldova’s proactive and evolving approach and encouraged other non-storage countries within the region to adopt similar strategies.
The report concludes by emphasizing the need for full legal transposition of the storage regulation among all contracting parties. It also advocates for the broader application of market-based mechanisms to strengthen the resilience of energy systems. The Secretariat reaffirmed the critical role of gas storage infrastructure, especially in Ukraine, as a strategic component for regional energy security.
