COMMISSION DECISION
of 24 August 2012
on amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2012/490/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 (1), and in particular Article 23(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 sets non-discriminatory rules for access conditions to natural gas transmission systems to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market in gas. Since the duplication of gas transmission systems is in most cases not economic and efficient, competition in natural gas markets is stimulated by third-party access opening infrastructure to all suppliers in a transparent and non-discriminatory way. The frequent occurrence of contractual congestion where network users cannot gain access to gas transmission systems in spite of the physical availability of the capacity is an obstacle on the road towards completing the internal energy market.
(2)
The practice has shown that despite the application of certain congestion-management principles such as the offering of interruptible capacities as provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks (2) and Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, contractual congestion in the Union gas transmission networks remains an obstacle to the development of a well-functioning internal market in gas. Therefore it is necessary to amend the guidelines on the application of congestion-management procedures in the event of contractual congestion. In accordance with Article 23(3) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 the proposed guidelines should reflect differences between national gas systems and may set minimum requirements to be met to achieve non-discriminatory and transparent network access conditions with respect to congestion management procedures.
(3)
The congestion-management procedures should apply in the event of contractual congestion and are aimed at resolving those events by bringing unused capacity back to the market to be reallocated in the course of the regular allocation processes.
(4)
Where an interconnection point is frequently subject to the occurrence of physical congestion, congestion management procedures may often be of no avail. In those cases a solution should be examined from a network planning and investment point of view.
(5)
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (‘the Agency’) should monitor and analyse the implementation of these guidelines. It is necessary that transmission system operators publish the information necessary to identify the occurrence of contractual congestion in a workable format.
(6)
In accordance with Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 the national regulatory authorities ensure compliance with those guidelines.
(7)
In order to ensure that congestion management procedures are applied in the most effective way at all interconnection points and with a view to maximising available capacities in all adjacent entry-exit systems, it is of great importance that national regulatory authorities and transmission system operators from different Member States and within Member States closely cooperate amongst themselves and with each other. In particular national regulatory authorities and transmission system operators should have regard to best practices and endeavour to harmonise processes for the implementation of these Guidelines. Acting in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 the Agency and the national regulatory authorities should ensure that the most effective congestion management procedures are implemented at the applicable entry and exit points across the Union.
(8)
Whereas transmission system operators possess detailed information about the physical use of the system and are best placed to assess future flows, it is appropriate for them to determine an amount of additional capacity to be made available in addition to the calculated technical capacity. By offering more firm capacity than technically available through taking into consideration flow scenarios and contracted capacities, transmission system operators take a risk that should be rewarded accordingly. For the purpose of determining transmission system operators’ revenues, such additional capacity should however only be allocated if all other capacity, including capacity resulting from the application of other congestion-management procedures, has been allocated. Transmission system operators should closely cooperate to set the technical capacity. In order to resolve a potential situation of physical congestion the transmission system operators should apply the most cost-effective measure, including either buying back capacity or taking other technical or commercial measures.
(9)
Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(10)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 51 of Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4),
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 24 August 2012.