Outdoor Chiemgau (a Bavarian YouTuber focused on energy crisis and blackout prep) claims about Germany’s gas situation is far more dangerous than officials admit.

Outdoor Chiemgau claiming:

Germany at ~20.5% fill level (he calls it the “magical 20% threshold”); one facility down to 0.7%. He does math showing daily withdrawals (e.g., 1700–2500 GWh) are unsustainable without cut-offs if cold weather returns, even with warmer forecasts helping temporarily.

Leaked/exclusive committee minutes – From a special Bundestag Wirtschaftsausschuss session (Feb 17, 2026, with Minister Katherina Reiche and BNetzA’s Klaus Müller).

Geopolitical/Iran risk -big emphasis on potential war/escalation.

[~0:04 – 0:50]

20.5% in storage. From now on, it mustn’t get cold anymore, because that would simply mean we could inject around 3000 gigawatt hours per day. We’ve already consumed 3400 gigawatt hours this year, hence this magical 20% mark that we’ve now practically reached. We’ll look at how the weather is getting warmer now—how will that affect things long-term? We’ll take a look at the situation across Europe. My biggest concern right now is the Netherlands with only 12%. There are new outages in Austria and new ones in Norway. LNG has improved a bit. We’ll look at the individual storage levels because we have the first storage below 0.7%, and we’ll mainly focus on Check 1.

[~0:50 – 1:32]

I told you about this special session on Wednesday. That video really got to me emotionally—you might have noticed—and now I’ve received the minutes of that meeting… and what can I say? Yes, I’d say let’s just take a look at it. And we see there’s also some positive news to report: it’s not only getting warmer, but wind is picking up again and we’re using less gas. So, a few positive things. We’ll see if that’s enough. If you’re interested, just stay tuned.

[~1:32 – 3:02]

So, folks, in the midday video I complained that I hadn’t heard anything from the AfD yet.

Apparently, they took that as a cue to send me the internal protocol. And the first thing that stands out: the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy has a total of 42 members.

And those who were there were Katharina Reiche and Klaus Müller… (lists attendees: CDU members like Mr. Lenz, Saska Ludwig; SPD’s Ms. Scher; AfD’s Mr. Holm and Mr. Kotre; The Left’s Mr. Jesane; Greens’ Ms. Verlinde and Mr. Kellner).

That means out of 42 people, only nine were present at this important meeting… I sometimes wonder what we pay our parliamentarians for if they’re just a bunch of no-shows at such a crucial special session.

The assessment presented in the special session on gas shortage paints an overall picture of widespread reassurance. It was unanimously stressed that there is no acute gas shortage, the market is liquid, sufficient import options exist, and even low storage levels give no reason for quality changes—availability is simply a question of price.

[~3:02 – 3:35]

I’m simply speechless again today when I read something like this. Physics exists, dear politicians… The pipelines from Norway are delivering the maximum amount… With LNG it can sometimes take three to four weeks until the ship arrives. The next question is whether there will even be so many ships in the future if there’s a war with Iran.

[~3:35 – 5:03]

The central starting point… is the thesis that security of supply is guaranteed even with historically low gas storage fill levels. Storage levels around 20–25% have repeatedly been described as unproblematic… Gasspeicher now at 20.5%…

We have net imports of 315 TWh, but 720 go abroad… So, we’re left with 2425… But we consumed 4117… That means on average we’ve withdrawn 1720 gigawatt hours from the gas storages… How the hell are we supposed to manage without gas storages if we can only add 2400 and in the worst case maybe only 3400 gigawatt hours…

[~5:03 – 9:46]

If something like the Strait of Hormuz happens… geopolitical tensions, possible sabotage… War Iran… LNG underway… 25% of global LNG flows through there.

[~9:46 – 10:21]

For that, LNG has now delivered 500 gigawatt hours for the first time in a while. So twice as much as recently. A new small ship has arrived… LNG is running again.

[~10:21 – 11:07]

Europe itself is just barely over 30%… The Belgian one is now at 24% too… We already mentioned the Netherlands, currently at 256 TWh, while Germany still has 21.07… and if you open Germany today, it’s dark red here, so many storage areas are already red, dark red… Our largest storage capacity is still at 5%.

[~11:07 – 13:32]

Gas storage dashboard… The KT on March 6th is at 17.7%. But what does that mean?

Well, I said at 20% we can roughly withdraw 3000… At 15% we might only get 2134 out of the gas storages… and we regularly exceed those values… That means at 15% someone probably already has to be switched off… And at 10% we can only store 1500 more today.

[~13:32 – 14:29]

We have further unavailable storages at Seven Fields in Austria… Seenfield now has a compressor problem… Talesbrunn… another 250 fewer unplanned outages… Storage at 0.7%.

[~14:29 – 16:23]

We have another problem coming our way, folks, and that’s Donald Trump… He promised the Iranians he would support them… That means he could then attack Iran from here and there…

Over 250 fighter jets are currently on their way there… If that happens, they’ll hit back and block the Strait of Hormuz… 25% of global LNG flows through there… most of it goes to Asia… If the Asians no longer get LNG, they’ll go to the world market… that could hit us.

[~16:23 – end]

Okay folks, that was a quick summary of the current situation. Things have improved a bit… We’re importing a bit more LNG; it’s running again… LNG is running again. The wind is picking up again. We’re also generating less electricity from gas right now. It’s getting warmer… We’ll probably have some calm for the next week or two… Still… whether that will be enough for everyone between now and April remains to be seen.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The official Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI) is the primary, transparent, and real-time database for Europe’s underground natural gas storage levels, maintained by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). It’s the exact source referenced in the Outdoor Chiemgau video, German media, and official reports (including Bundesnetzagentur and EU dashboards).

Direct Access to Germany’s Data

• Main Dashboard URL: https://agsi.gie.eu
  • This is the live platform (free, no login required for basic views).
  • On load, it shows an EU overview; select Germany from the country list (or search/filter for it).
  • Key views include:
    • Overall fill level (%)
    • Working gas volume (in TWh)
    • Daily injection/withdrawal rates (GWh/day)
    • Historical charts/trends (compare to 5-year averages, previous years)
    • Individual storage facilities (click “Details” for breakdowns by site, operator, status)
    • Data updates daily (usually around midday CET, confirmed status “C” for verified).

Latest Snapshot for Germany (as of February 20/21, 2026 – based on most recent AGSI data pulls)

• Fill Level: 21.07% (one of the lowest mid-February figures since at least 2011, per cross-referenced reports).
• Working Gas in Storage: ~52.91 TWh (down from ~54.34 TWh the previous day).
• Daily Change: -0.56% (net withdrawal).
• Injection Rate: +17.15 GWh/day (slight net injection starting to show in milder weather).
• Context: This is historically low for late winter (normal mid-Feb averages 40–50%+), driven by prolonged cold snaps earlier in the season. EU-wide is higher (33–39% range in reports). No immediate crisis per government, thanks to Norwegian pipelines, LNG imports, and market mechanisms—but refill for next winter will be challenging.

The official Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI) from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Germany’s underground natural gas storage fill level was exactly 21.07% as of the latest confirmed data point on February 20, 2026 (at 6:00 AM CET, published daily around evening CET).

Latest Snapshot for Germany (as of February 20/21, 2026 – based on most recent AGSI data pulls)

• Fill Level: 21.07% (one of the lowest mid-February figures since at least 2011, per cross-referenced reports).
• Working Gas in Storage: ~52.91 TWh (down from ~54.34 TWh the previous day).
• Daily Change: -0.56% (net withdrawal).
• Injection Rate: +17.15 GWh/day (slight net injection starting to show in milder weather).
• Context: This is historically low for late winter (normal mid-Feb averages 40–50%+), driven by prolonged cold snaps earlier in the season. EU-wide is higher (33–39% range in reports). No immediate crisis per government, thanks to Norwegian pipelines, LNG imports, and market mechanisms—but refill for next winter will be challenging.

The 0.7% storage level mentioned in the Outdoor Chiemgau video refers to an individual underground gas storage facility (not the national average) that had dropped to critically low capacity during mid-February 2026. This is a specific site showing near-empty status, which the host highlighted as a warning sign amid the broader national low of ~21% (which you’ve confirmed at 21.07% on AGSI for Feb 20/21, 2026). What It Means in Context:

• Germany’s overall storage (aggregated across 50+ facilities) was historically low for mid-winter (21–24% range in Feb 2026 reports), but still functional thanks to ongoing imports (Norway pipelines at max, LNG arrivals improving).
• Individual facilities can vary wildly: Some are almost full, others critically low due to:
  • Technical issues (e.g., compressor failures limiting injection/withdrawal).
  • Operational decisions (e.g., not refilling because of high costs or low profitability).
  • Location-specific demand (e.g., regional industrial use or export flows).
• A single site at 0.7% (or below ~5–10%) is a red flag because:
  • Below ~10–15% fill, pressure drops make it hard/impossible to withdraw gas efficiently (physics limit: gas needs pressure to flow out).
  • It reduces the system’s flexibility—if that site is key for a region or connected infrastructure, it could force reliance on other sources or trigger local alerts.
  • In the video, the host ties this to “unavailable storages” (Ausfälle) in Austria-linked sites, suggesting cross-border impacts (Germany relies on some Austrian facilities via pipelines).

Why It Matters (Host’s Point)

• Even if national average is 21%, one near-empty site can signal:
  • Broader infrastructure strain (overloaded compressors from max Norwegian flows).
  • Reduced buffer if cold snaps return.
  • Risk of localized shortages or higher costs to reroute gas.
• Officials downplayed it (“no acute quantity problem”), focusing on imports, but skeptics like the YouTuber see it as evidence of vulnerability.