In early July, France extracted more than 200 million cubic meters of gas from underground storage, which was intended for the winter heating season. According to RIA Novosti, citing data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the reason for this is the abnormal heat and massive use of air conditioners.
Typically, underground gas storage in Europe is filled during the summer to create fuel reserves for winter. However, during the period from July 1 to 10, France injected 367.9 million cubic meters of gas, while extracting 211.5 million cubic meters during the same period.
At the same time, the gas injection rates in early July became historically the lowest for this period. Over ten days, total gas reserves increased by only 0.14%, while in the same period in 2025, the increase was 0.29%.
Analysts say that due to the abnormal heat, electricity consumption has sharply increased as air conditioners operate at maximum capacity. As a result, gas-fired power plants have increased production, while the volumes of domestic production and imported gas do not meet the growing demand. Therefore, France is forced to draw additional gas from underground storage.
Experts estimate that if the heat persists, France will continue to use winter gas reserves for at least the next two weeks.
