“We are happy, today we have exceeded 85% and we will reach 90% filling before the end of the summer season” which in the gas sector coincides with October 31st. “We have fully satisfied the necessary condition for face a winter safely, This is a necessary but not sufficient condition because Italy is still a country that remains interconnected to European markets and the fact that other countries have not done the same requires us to continue to monitor the situation very carefully." He said this Snam's CEO, Agostino Scornajenchi, speaking about gas storage on the sidelines of the presentation of thePolaris Observatory which was held on Tuesday 22 September at Snam Energy House, in the presence of the Vice President of the Lombardy Region, Marco Alparone, and the Director General of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Alessandro Noce.
Polaris: Gas demand up 15% in August
According to data contained in Polaris, as of August 31st the gas demand increased by 15% on the same period of the previous year, driven by the increasing use of gas-fired electricity generation, essential to deal with the high temperature, the consumption of cooling systems and a lower-than-expected hydroelectric contribution. This is the'highest percentage increase of the year, which follows those of May, June and July, dictated by similar reasons.
Considering the first eight months of the year, however, gas demand grew by 2%. During this period, imports also strengthened (+1%), particularly liquefied natural gas (+5%), thanks to the diversification of routes.
They are also confirmed as increasingly decisive in view of the winter the storages: Italy already has today exceeded 85% of their filling level, exceeding the European average by more than 15 percentage points and establishing itself as the country in the Union with the largest volume of gas already stored.
Snam and the new Polaris observatory
Polaris is released on the Snam website on a monthly basis with data, analysis and trends Updates on the national energy system. "The observatory analyzes the composition of the energy mix, the evolution of gas demand, electricity generation from gas and other sources, storage capacity, imports by pipeline and by ship, and other system dynamics that highlight the growing need for increasingly strategic integration between different energy sources and infrastructures," the company explains in a statement, anticipating that four times a year—in January, April, July, and October—a report will be published. quarterly in-depth analysis which will analyse in detail a particularly relevant medium-term dynamic.
"Even in the energy sector," Scornajenchi commented, "we have abundant data: the real challenge is to organize it and transform it into broader knowledge, connecting phenomena that are often interpreted separately, and thus providing the public with an objective and systemic view. Polaris responds precisely to this need, and to our desire to stimulate an informed and non-ideological discussion on gas and energy, extremely sensitive and complex issues, closely linked to national security. We called it Polaris because it aims to offer the ability to navigate complexity which, also in light of the current international context, increasingly characterizes our sector".
