Keywords: natural gas, UGS, gas storage, required storage capacities, unevenness of gas consumption

Abstract The article describes the unevenness of consumption of gas received from the high-pressure transmission system by different categories of customers. The analyses were based on detailed data of gas consumption at all 1st degree red-pom stations in the years 2006–2012. The influence of external temperature on the annual profile of uneven gas consumption was analysed and the value of the Equivalent Storage Capacity (EPM) was estimated for each of the five categories of end users. The article also presents the corrected EPM coefficients and the Wnd daily imbalance coefficients for the coldest heating period of the last 20 years. The analysis is used to determine the methodology for estimating the required parameters of Underground Gas Storage Facilities in terms of their capacity on the basis of gas consumption forecasts. It can be used to estimate the gas storage needs resulting from long-term plans to cover the demand for primary energy by natural gas, and thus to plan the development of storage capacity necessary to balance the gas system resulting from uneven gas consumption.