Poland faces energy security risks due to low gas storage capacity

Poland is facing a critical challenge regarding its natural gas storage capacity and energy security. While national installations are reported to be 95–98% full as of mid-September 2026, this high percentage is considered a misleading indicator of actual security.

In reality, current reserves only provide approximately 53 days of average consumption or 38 days during peak demand. This stands in stark contrast to neighboring countries: Slovakia has a buffer of approximately 139 days, Hungary has 184 days, and the Czech Republic has about 154 days.

The issue is rooted in physical capacity rather than market sentiment. Poland possesses approximately 3.3 billion cubic meters of active capacity against an annual consumption of roughly 21 billion cubic meters. Furthermore, only about one-quarter of this capacity is provided by cavern storage, which is necessary for the rapid injection and withdrawal of gas required to stabilize the network.