"For the first time we are seeing a slight withdrawal from the gas storage facilities," wrote Müller, referring to the status on Thursday. Accordingly, the amount of gas stored fell slightly by 0.03 percent to 99.26 percent. Müller pointed out that growth was still recorded in individual storage facilities, but that others had given up gas.

According to Müller, the amount of gas now stored will last “for nine to ten weeks”, as he said in an interview with “Spiegel” published on Friday. This applies "if you take a warm winter like 2021/22 as a basis and we only have to supply ourselves from storage".

With a view to the winter, the head of the network agency advised not to give the all-clear too quickly if the temperatures remained relatively warm for the time being. "The winter can be mild until the end of January and everyone thinks: Tschaka!" He told the "Spiegel". "But a few freezing cold days are enough for a dramatic increase in gas consumption (...) When it gets really frosty, the storage tanks are quickly drained."