1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of29June1990
concerning a Community procedure to improve the transparency of gas and electricity prices
chargedtoindustrialend-users
(90/377/EEC)
(OJ L 185, 17.7.1990, p. 16)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Directive 93/87/EEC of 22 October 1993 L 277 32 10.11.1993
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of29June1990
concerning a Community procedure to improve the transparency
ofgasandelectricity priceschargedtoindustrialend-users
(90/377/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof,
Having regard to the Commission's proposal(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(3),
Whereas energy price transparency, to the extent that it reinforces the
conditions ensuring that competition is not distorted in the common
market, is essential to the achievement and smooth functioning of the
internal energy market;
Whereas transparency can help to obviate discrimination against users
by increasing their freedom to choose between different energy sourcesand different suppliers;
Whereas, at present, the degree of transparency varies from one energy
source and one Community country or region to another, thus callinginto question the achievement of an internal energy market;
Whereas, however, the price paid by industry in the Community for the
energy which it uses is one of the factors which influence its competi-tiveness and should therefore remain confidential;
Whereas the system of standard consumers used by the Statistical
Office of the European Communities (SOEC) in its price publicationsand the system of market prices due to be introduced for major indus-trial electricity users will ensure that transparency is not an obstacle to
confidentiality;
Whereas it is necessary to extend the consumer categories used by the
SOEC upto the limits at which the consumers remain rep resentative;
Whereas in this way end-users price transparency would be achieved
without endangering the necessary confidentiality of contracts; whereas
in order to respect confidentiality there must be at least three consu-mers in a given consumption category for a price to be published;
Whereas this information which concerns gas and electricity consumed
by industry for energy end-users, will also enable comparisons to bedrawn with other energy sources (oil, coal, fossil and renewable energysources) and other consumers;
Whereas undertakings which supply gas and electricity as well as
industrial gas and electricity consumers remain, independently of theapplication of this Directive, subject to the Treaty's competition rulesand whereas consequently the Commission can require communication
of prices and conditions of sale;
Whereas knowledge of the price systems in force forms part of price
transparency;
Whereas knowledge of the breakdown of consumers by category and
their respective market shares also forms part of price transparency;
Whereas the communication to the SOEC of prices and conditions of
sale to consumers and price systems in operation as well as the break-1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 257, 10. 10. 1989, p. 7.
(2) OJ No C 149, 18. 6. 1990.
(3) OJ No C 75, 26. 3. 1990, p. 18.
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down of consumers by consumption category should inform the
Commission sufficiently for it to decide, as necessary, on apropriateaction or proposals in the light of the situation of the internal energy
market;
Whereas the data supplied to the SOEC will be more reliable if the
undertakings themselves compile these data;
Whereas familiarity with the taxation and parafiscal charges existing in
each Member State is important to ensure price transparency;
Whereas it must be possible to check the reliability of the data supplied
to the SOEC;
Whereas the achievement of transparency presupposes the publication
and circulation of prices and price systems as widely as possible amongconsumers;
Whereas to implement energy price transparency the system should be
based on the proven expertise and methods developed and applied by
the SOEC regarding the processing, checking and publication of data;
Whereas, with the prospect of the achievement of the internal market in
energy, the system of price transparency should be rendered operationalas soon as possible;
Whereas the uniform implementation of this Directive can only take
place in all the Member States when the natural gas market, in parti-cular with regard to infrastructure, has reached a sufficient level ofdevelopment,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Member States shall take the steps necessary to ensure that undertak-
ings which supply gas or electricity to industrial end-users, as defined
in Annexes I and II, communicate to the SOEC in the form provided
for in Article 3:
1. the prices and terms of sale of gas and electricity to industrial end-
users;
2. the price systems in use;
3. the breakdown of consumers and the corresponding volumes by
category of consumption to ensure the representativeness of thesecategories at national level.
Article 2
1. The undertakings referred to in Article 1 shall assemble the data
provided for in Article 1 (1) and (2), on 1 January and 1 July of eachyear. These data, drawn upin conformity with the p rovisions referredto in Article 3, shall be sent to the SOEC and the competent authoritiesof the Member States within two months.
2. On the basis of the data referred to in paragraph 1, the SOEC
shall publish each May and each November, in an appropriate form,
the prices of gas and electricity for industrial users in the Member
States and the pricing systems used to that end.
3. The information provided for in Article 1 (3) shall be sent every
two years to the SOEC and to the Member States' competent authori-ties. The first communication shall concern the situation as at 1 January1991. This information shall not be published.
Article 3
The implementing provisions concerning the form, content and all
other features of the information provided for in Article 1 are set outin Annexes I and II.1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 3
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Article 4
The SOEC shall not disclose data supplied to it pursuant to Article 1
which might, by their nature, be subject to commercial confidentiality.
Such confidential statistical data transmitted to the SOEC shall be
accessible only to officials of the SOEC and may be used only forstatistical purposes.
This provision shall not, however, prevent the publication of such data
in an aggregated form which does not enable individual commercialtransactions to be identified.
Article 5
Where the SOEC notes statistically significant anomalies or inconsis-
tencies in data transmitted under this Directive, it may ask thenational bodies to allow it to inspect the appropriate disaggregated
data as well as the methods of calculation or evaluation upon which
the aggregated data are based, in order to assess, or even amend, anyinformation deemed irregular.
Article 6
Where appropriate, the Commission shall make the necessary changes
to the Annexes to this Directive in the light of specific problems iden-tified. Such changes may, however, cover only the technical features ofthe Annexes and may not be of a nature such as to alter the general
structure of the system.
Article 7
In the case of any changes to the Annexes, as referred to in Article 6,
the Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature
composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired bythe representative of the Commission.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver itsopinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay
down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
vote.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition each Member
State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in theminutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered
by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner inwhich its opinion has been taken into account.
Article 8
Once a year the Commission shall present a summary report on the
operation of this Directive to the European Parliament, the Council
and the Economic and Social Committee.
Article 9
Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions needed to comply with this Directive no later than 1 July1991. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
In the case of natural gas, the Directive will not be implemented in a
Member State until five years after the introduction of that form ofenergy on the market in question. The date of introduction of thatenergy source on a national market is to be explicitly reported to the
Commission by the Member State concerned without delay.
Article 10
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 4
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ANNEXI
SPECIFICPROVISIONSONGAS
1. Two types of gas are concerned:
(a) natural gas;
(b) manufactured gas(1).
2. Where both types of gas are distributed in the same urban area or region,
data on both must be reported except where consumption is less than 10 %
of the total consumption of natural gas and manufactured gas in the places
or regions referred to in point 11 below.
3. Only piped distribution is considered.
4. Prices to be reported are prices paid by the end-consumer.5. Uses considered are all industrial uses.6. Excluded from the system are consumers who use gas:
(a) for electricity generation in public power plants;
(b) in non-energy uses (e. g. in the chemical industry);
(c) above 4 186000 GJ/year (= 1163 GWh/year).
7. Prices recorded are to be based on a system of standard consumers defined
basically by the level and modulation (or load factor)(
2) of gas consump-
tion.
8. Other characteristics which could play a part in price setting (e. g. interrupt-
ibility) will be determined in each case, always adopting the solution which
is most frequent in practice.
9. Prices must include meter rental, the standing charge and the commodity
rate. They should not include the initial installation charge to the consumer.
10. The following industrial standard consumers, coded I1to I5, have been
chosen:
Annual consumption Modulation
I1418,60 GJ or 116300 KWh No load factor laid down(*)
I24 186 GJ or 1 163000 KWh 200 days
I3-141860 GJ or 11,63 GWh) 200 days 1 600 hours
I3-241860 GJ or 11,63 GWh 250 days 4 000 hours
I4-1418600 GJ or 116,3 GWh 250 days 4 000 hours
I4-2418600 GJ or 116,3 GWh 330 days 8 000 hours
I5-44 186000 GJ or 1 163 GWh 330 days 8 000 hours
(*) If necessary 115-200 days.
11. Prices are to be recorded in the following places or regions:
— Belgium: Brussels,1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 5
(1) ‘Manufactured gas’ means a derived energy, manufactured from coal, petroleum
products or cracked, reformed or blended natural gas.The scope of this Directive does not extend to liquefied petroleum gas (butane,
propane), coke-oven gas or blast-furnace gas.
(
2) The daily load factor is the number of days which would be required to take the entire
annual consumption at the maximum daily offtake rate:
nd¼Qa
Qdmax
The hourly load factor is the number of hours which would be required to take the
entire annual consumption at the maximum hourly offtake rate:
nh¼Qa
Qhmax
In the above formulae:
Qa = annual volume consumed.Qd
max= maximum daily offtake.
Qhmax= maximum hourly offtake.
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— Denmark: Copenhagen,
— Federal Republic of
Germany:Hamburg, Hanover, Weser-Ems, Dortmund,
Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart,
Munich,►M1Dresden and Berlin, ◄
— Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, the Nord and
East,
— France: Lille, Paris, Strasbourg, Marseilles, Lyons,
Toulouse,
— Ireland: Dublin,
— Italy: Milan, Turin, Genoa, Rome, Naples,— Luxembourg: City of Luxembourg,
— Netherlands: Rotterdam,
— Portugal: Lisbon,— United Kingdom: London, Leeds, Birmingham.
12. Prices recorded are to be based on the tariffs, contracts, conditions and rules
in force at the beginning of each six-month period (January and July),
including any rebates.
13. If there are several possible tariffs, it is the tariff which is most advanta-
geous to the consumer that is taken into account, after eliminating tariffs
which are not used in practice or which apply only to a negligible number
of users.
14. When there are only quasi-tariffs, special contracts or freely negotiated
prices, the most commonly found price (most representative of the given
supply conditions) must be recorded.
15. Prices must be expressed in national currency by physical unit of gas(
1).
The unit of energy used is measured on the basis of the gross calorific value
(GCV), as is the practice in the gas industry.
16. Two price levels are to be shown(2):
— with all taxes excluded,
— with all taxes included (except recoverable VAT).
17. The rates and method of calculating taxes, which should include any tax
whether national, regional or local, levied on gas sales to the consumer,
should also be reported.
18. An explanation as detailed as is necessary to reflect the price system accu-
rately must be annexed. Special heed must be given to any changes
introduced since the previous survey.
19. In Member States where one gas company covers all the industrial sales for
that country, the information should be communicated by that company. In
other Member States where one or more regions are served by more than
one gas company, the information should be communicated by an indepen-
dent statistical body.
20. In the interests of confidentiality, data relating to prices will be communi-
cated only where there are, in the Member State of region concerned, at
least three consumers in each of the categories referred to in paragraph 10.1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 6
(1) Where the cubic metre is used, its energy content should be defined in GJ, kWh or, up
to 1999, in therms.
(2) The price excluding tax is obtained directly from tariffs or contracts. The price
excluding recoverable VAT includes, where payable, other specific taxes.
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ANNEXII
SPECIFCPROVISIONSONELECTRICITY
Data on electricity communicated pursuant to this Directive must contain the
following information:
I.The ‘typical reference consumer’ survey (for consumers with up to
10MWmaximumdemand(net)).
1. The existing survey of electricity prices for typical reference consumers
in the Community carried out by the Commission will be extended to
include two categories of reference industrial consumer with a maximum
demand (net) of 10 MW, and will be incorporated in this Directive.
2. Electricity prices in Member States with a single national tariff will be
surveyed in one location only; for Member States with tariffs which vary
across the country, prices will be surveyed in a representative sample of
locations, as follows:
— Belgium the country as a whole,
— Federal Republic of
GermanyHamburg, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt
am Main, Stuttgart, Munich, Western
Zone, Southern Zone, ►M1Erfurt,
Leipzig and Rostock, ◄
— Denmark the country as a whole,
— Spain Madrid,— France Lille, Paris, Marseilles, Lyons, Toulouse,
Strasbourg,
— Greece Athens,— Ireland Dublin,— Italy Northern and Central Italy, Southern Italy
and the islands,
— Luxembourg the country as a whole,— Netherlands Rotterdam (GEB), North Holland (PEN),
North Brabant (PNEM),
— Portugal Lisbon, Ponta Delgada (autonomous region
of the Azores),
— United Kingdom London, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham.
3. Electricity prices will be surveyed for the following nine categories of
typical reference industrial consumer:
Reference consumerAnnual consumption
kWhMaximum demand
kWAnnual utilization in
hours
Ia30000 30 1000
Ib50000 50 1000
Ic160 000 100 1600
Id1250 000 500 2500
Ie2000 000 500 4000
If10000 000 2 500 4000
Ig24000 000 4 000 6000
Ih50000 000 10000 5000
Ii70000 000 10000 7000
The maximum demand (net) is the maximum offtake in any quarter of
an hour recorded in one year, expressed in kW. The price of supply is
calculated for cos φ= 0,90. In the case of tariffs based on half-hourly
demand, the maximum demand of the reference consumer is multiplied
by a coefficient of 0,98. In the case of tariffs based on demand
expressed in kVA an adjustment is made by dividing the reference
consumer's maximum demand (net) in kW by the coefficient cos
φ= 0,90.1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 7
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4. In the case of tariffs based on maximum demand readings more frequent
than once a year, the capacity charge is multiplied by the following
coefficients:
TABLE OF POWER CORRECTION COEFFICIENTS
Utilization
(hours)Monthly
maximum
demandTwo-
monthly
maximum
demandQuarterly
maximum
demandAverage of
three
highest
monthly
maximum
demandsAverage of
two highest
monthly
maximum
demandsAnnual
maximum
demand
1 000 0,81 0,83 0,86 0,94 0,96 1,0
1 600 0,83 0,85 0,88 0,95 0,97 1,02 500 0,85 0,87 0,90 0,96 0,98 1,0
4 000 0,90 0,91 0,95 0,98 0,99 1,0
5 000 0,90 0,91 0,95 0,98 0,99 1,06 000 0,96 0,97 0,98 0,99 0,995 1,07 000 0,96 0,97 0,98 0,99 0,995 1,0
5. For tariffs with reductions for ‘off-peak’ periods, the following ‘off-
peak’ consumptions should be assumed in calculating the average price
per kWh:
Standard
consum-
erAnnual
utiliza-
tionAnnual
consum-
ptionAnnual consumption (in 1 000 kWh) charged at off-peak rates
according to the average daily duration of off-peak periods in each
24 hours
hours1 000
kWh7h 8h 9h 1 0h 1 1h 1 2h
Ia1 0 0 03 0000000
Ib1 0 0 05 0000000
Ic1 600 160 11 13 16 19 22 25
Id2 500 1 250 197 225 262 300 338 375
Ie4 000 2 000 438 500 580 660 740 820
If4 000 10000 2 190 2500 2900 3 300 3 700 4 100
Ig6 000 24000 7 140 8160 9120 10080 11040 12000
Ih5 000 50000 13100 15000 17000 19000 21000 23000
Ii7 000 70000 23300 26600 29400 32200 35000 37800
For off-peak periods of durations between those shown above, the
annual consumption of off-peak kWhs should be estimated by extrapola-
tion.
For any further off-peak periods, for example all day Sunday, only half
of the extra hours should be taken into account and these hours averaged
across all days of the year, and the result added to the normal off-peak
period, before using the table above.
6. Wherever possible, the price reported should be based on a publisher
tariff applicable to the reference consumer category in question. If thereare several possible tariffs, the tariff which is the most advantageous to
the consumer, after the elimination of any tariffs which are not used in
practice or which apply only to a marginal of negligible number of
users, should be applied. Where there are only quasi-tariffs, special
contracts, or freely negotiated prices, the most commonly found price
(most respresentative) for the given supply conditions should be
reported.
7. Where electricity for a given reference consumer category may be
supplied at a variety of voltages, that voltage should be assumed which
is the most representative for the reference consumer category in ques-
tion. This principle should be applied to other parameters not specified
in this Directive.
8. The price per kWh should be calculated so as to include all fixed
charges payable (e.g. meter rental, fixed charges or capacity charges,
etc.), as well as the charges for the kWh consumed. It is therefore the
total amount payable after any premiums or rebates, for the consumption
pattern in question, divided by the total consumption. Initial connection1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 8
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charges, however, should not be included. Although information is to be
provided twice yearly, the calculation should be based on annual
consumption figures, to avoid seasonal variations.
9. Prices should be given in national currency per kWh(1):
— with all taxes excluded,
— with all taxes included (except recoverable VAT).
The rates and method of calculating taxes, which should include any tax
whether national, regional or local, levied on electricity sales to the
consumer, should also be reported.
10. An explanation, as detailed as is necessary to describe the price system
accurately and how it is applied, should be given. Special emphasis must
be given to any changes introduced since the previous survey.
11. In Member States where one company covers all the industrial sales for
that country, the information should be communicated by that company.
In other Member States where one or more regions are served by more
than one company, the information should be communicated by an inde-
pendent statistical body.
II.The ‘marker price’ survey (for consumers above 10 MW maximum
demand)
12. To survey industrial consumers with maximum demands above 10 MW,
a new system based on ‘marker prices’, as defined below shall be intro-
duced.
13. In all Member States except the Federal Republic of Germany and the
United Kingdom, variations in the structure of charges and prices
charged for large industrial consumers across the country are relatively
small, and marker prices and associated information should be collected
and published for the Member State as a whole. However, in the Federal
Republic of Germany and the United Kindgom there may be significant
geographical variations and so information for these two Member States
should be communicated and published for three zones in each case, as
follows:
MemberState Zones
Federal Republic of
Germany (1):— North/Central,
— West,— South,
— East;
United Kingdom: — England and Wales,
— Scotland,— Northern Ireland.
(1)►M1TheLänderwill be divided into four zones, namely:
— North/Central: Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Lower
Saxony, North Hessen,
— West: North-Rhine-Westphalia, Rineland-Palatinate, South Hessen, Saar-
land,
— South: Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria,
— East: all the Ländernot included in the other regions. ◄
14. Marker prices and associated information must be reported for each
Member State as described in paragraph 13 above for three categories
of large industrial consumer, i.e. those industrial consumers with
maximum demands in the region of:
— 25 MW, covering consumers with maximum demands (net) of
between 17,5 and 37,5 MW,
— 50 MW, covering consumers with maximum demands (net) of
between 37,5 and 62,5 MW, and
— 75 MW, covering consumers with maximum demands (net) of
between 62,5 and 75 MW.
These categories include any industrial consumers which also produce a
part of their own electricity themselves, although only information1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 9
(1) The price excluding all taxes is the direct result of the application of tariffs or
contracts. The price excluding recoverable VAT includes any other specific taxes.▼M1
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relating to their electricity consumption from public utilities is required
to be reported.
15. The marker price for a given MW categoriy (e.g. 25 MW) is the average
price payable per kWh for a notional or ‘marker price’ industrial
consumer with a normal demand of about 25 MW, but before any reduc-
tions for ‘special factors’, which should be reported separately (see
paragraph 16 below). The demand characteristics of this ‘marker price’
industrial consumer should be as representative as possible (ignoring
‘special factors’) of all the industrial consumers in the category in ques-
tion.
In order to achieve a measure of homogeneity, the Commission will
define demand characteristics for ‘marker price’ consumers for each
category, (i.e. 25 MW, 50 MW and 75 MW), which should be used by
utilities where appropriate. If such demand characteristics are not appro-
priate, a utility maydefine its own ‘marker price’ consumer demand
characteristics, subject to the approval of the Commission. These
demand characteristics concern, for example, the load factor, (e.g.
‘7000 hours’, where 7 000 is the number of hours for which demand
would have to remain at maximum to obtain the annual consumption),
and the distribution of consumption by the different time-of-day charge
bands (e.g. peak, off-peak, etc.).
16. The marker prices given should be calculated so as to include all fixed
charges payable (e.g. meter, rental, fixed charges or capacity charges
etc.), as well as the charges for the kWh consumed. Initial connection
charges, however, should not be included. Although information is to
be provided twice yearly, annual consumption figures should be used in
order to avoid seasonal variations. The way in which the marker price is
calculated, including the inclusion of any fixed charges, should be
explained.
17. For each marker price a range of ‘special factors’ which may be applied
to reduce the price of electricity (e.g. interruptibility clauses), should be
described and the amount of reduction (e.g. 6, 8, 10 %) indicated. These
special factors should be representative of factors which are applicable
to the consumers supplied by the reporting utility in the MW category
being surveyed.
18. In Member States where there is more than one electricity utility, these
utilities shall each provide marker prices and related information (on the
demand characteristics of the notional consumer (paragraph 15), and on
special factors and price reductions (paragraph 17)), to an independent
statistical body. These bodies shall then pass on the highest and the
lowest marker price for the Member State (or for each region if applic-
able) for each MW category, together with the related information on
those marker prices, to the national administration and to the SOEC.
For the other Member States, where one national utility covers the
whole country, the information must be reported directly and simulta-
neously to the national administration and to the SOEC.
19. In the interests of confidentiality, marker prices and related information
will be reported by the national utility or the independent statistical body
as appropriate (see paragraph 18 above) only where there are at least
three consumers in the appropriate MW category in the Member State
or region concerned.
20. Marker prices should be expressed as indicated in paragraph 9.
21. Supply utilities should also provide data, once every two years, on the
number of its consumers in each MW range (i.e. 17,5 to 37,5 MW,
37,5 to 62,5 MW and 62,5 to 75,0 MW), and the total annual consump-
tion of these consumers for each range (in GWh). The information
required under paragraph 18 should be communicated either via the
independent statistical body, which shall collate information for the
Member State as a whole, or directly and simultaneously to the national
administration and to the SOEC. The information required under this
paragraph will be provided on a confidential basis and will not be
published.1990L0377 — EN — 27.10.1993 — 001.001 — 10