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Publications, documents and reports
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Legislation
|Gas directive 2003/55/EC, Regulation 1775/2005 and SoS Directive 2004/67/EC |Notes for the implementation of Gas directive 2003/55/EC |Notes for the implementation of Regulation 1775/2005 |Price transparency directive 1990/377/EEC |
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Historical documentsHistorical documents on Gas supply directive Commission's proposal Commission has adopted on 11 September 2002 two Directive proposals which will help improve the security of EU energy supply in the framework of the internal market of energy. The strong EU external dependence for its oil and gas supplies is a high risk for the EU economy. In parallel with the development of the internal market of energy, it is essential to foresee efficient mechanisms to guarantee permanent access to energy products at affordable prices to European citizens. The new initiatives proposed by the Commission in its package for a common and joint management of oil and gas stocks are a great step in this direction.
Historical
documents on Gas directive: Package of Commission
documents adopted on 13/03/2001
Explanatory memorandum of the Gas directive 98/30 The European Parliament and the Council adopted on 22 June a directive on common rules for the internal market in natural gas. The directive entered into force on 10 August 1998 and Member States must implement it by 10 August 2000. This Directive forms part of the framework for the internal energy market with regard to which the Commission forwarded in 1992 two proposals to the Council with a view to establishing common rules governing the internal market in electricity and natural gas (the Directive on the electricity market was adopted in December 1996). The main provisions of the Directive are as follows: Scope The directive establishes common rules for the transmission, distribution, supply and storage of natural gas. It lays down the rules relating to the organization and functioning of the natural gas sector, including liquefied natural gas, access to the market, the operation of systems, and the criteria and procedures applicable to the granting of authorizations for transmission, distribution, supply and storage of natural gas. General rules for the organization of the sector/Public service obligations Member States must ensure that natural gas undertakings are operated in accordance with the principles of the directive, with a view to achieving a competitive market in natural gas. They must not discriminate between these undertakings as regards either rights or obligations. The two approaches to system access laid down in the directive must lead to equivalent economic results in the Member States and hence to a directly comparable level of opening-up of markets and to a directly comparable degree of access to natural gas markets. Member States may impose on undertakings operating in the natural gas sector, in the general economic interest, public service obligations which may relate to security, including security of supply, regularity, quality and price of supplies and to environmental protection. These obligations must be clearly defined, transparent, non-discriminatory and verifiable. Member States may refrain from applying certain provisions of the directive with regard to distribution insofar as these provisions would obstruct natural gas utilities in the fulfilment of the obligations imposed on them in the general economic interest. However, non-application of these provisions must not affect the development of trade between Member States to a degree which would be contrary to the Community's interest. Opening-up of the market Member States will specify eligible customers, meaning those customers inside their territory which have the legal capacity to contract for natural gas. Member States will take the necessary measures to ensure that at least the following customers are designated as eligible customers: – gas-fired power generators, irrespective of their annual consumption level; however, in order to safeguard the balance of their electricity market, the Member States may introduce a threshold, which may not exceed the level envisaged for other final customers, for the eligibility of combined heat and power producers. Such thresholds will be notified to the Commission; – other final customers consuming more than 25 million cubic metres of gas per year on a consumption site basis. Member States will ensure that the definition of eligible customers will result in an opening of the market equal to at least 20 per cent of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market. The percentage will increase to 28 per cent of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market five years after the entry into force of the Directive, and to 33 per cent of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market ten years after its entry into force. The threshold for eligible customers, other than gas-fired power generators, will be reduced to 15 million cubic metres per year on a consumption site basis five years after the entry into force of the Directive, and to 5 million cubic metres per year on a consumption site basis ten years after the entry into force of the Directive. Organization of access to the system For the organization of access to the system Member States may choose between two procedures (negotiated access or regulated access) which must operate in accordance with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. – negotiated access Member States must take the necessary measures to enable natural gas undertakings and eligible customers either inside or outside the territory covered by the interconnected system to negotiate access to the system so as to conclude supply contacts with each other on the basis of voluntary commercial agreements. The contracts for access to the system must be negotiated with the relevant natural gas undertakings. Member States will require natural gas undertakings to publish their terms for use of the system within the first year following implementation of the Directive and on an annual basis every year thereafter. – regulated access Member States opting for a procedure of regulated access, will take the necessary measures to give natural gas undertakings and eligible customers either inside or outside the territory covered by the interconnected system a right of access to the system, on the basis of published tariffs and/or other terms and obligations for use of that system. This right of access for eligible customers may be given by enabling them to enter into supply contracts with competing natural gas undertakings other than the owner and/or operator of the system or a related undertaking. Unbundling The accounts of all integrated undertakings in the sector must be as transparent as possible in particular in order to detect any abuse of a dominant position such as abnormally low or high tariffs or discriminatory practices for equivalent services. To this end, separate accounts must be kept for their natural gas transmission, distribution and storage activities, and, where appropriate, consolidated accounts for non-gas activities, as they would be required to do if the activities in question were carried out by separate undertakings. These internal accounts will include a balance sheet and a profit and loss account for each activity. Derogations – Take-or-pay contracts () If a natural gas undertaking encounters or considers it would encounter serious economic and financial difficulties because of its take-or-pay commitments accepted in one or more gas purchase contracts, an application for a temporary derogation from the requirement to grant access to the system may be sent to the Member State concerned or the designated competent authority. Where a natural gas undertaking has refused access, the application will be submitted without delay. The applications will be accompanied by all relevant information on the nature and extent of the problem and on the efforts undertaken by the gas undertaking to solve the problem. The Member State, or the designated competent authority may decide to grant a derogation and must notify the Commission of its decision without delay. The Commission may request that the Member State or the designated competent authority concerned amend or withdraw that decision. When deciding on derogations, the Member State, or the designated competent authority, and the Commission will take into account, in particular, the following criteria: (a) the objective to achieve a competitive gas market; (b) the need to fulfil public service obligations and to ensure security of supply; (c) the position of the natural gas undertaking in the gas market and the actual state of competition in this market; (d) the seriousness of the economic and financial difficulties encountered by natural gas and transmission undertakings or eligible customers; (e) the dates of signature and terms of the contract or contracts in question, including the extent to which they allow for market changes; (f) the efforts made to find a solution to the problem; (g) the extent to which, when accepting the take-or-pay commitments in question, the undertaking could reasonably have foreseen, having regard to the provisions of the Directive, that serious difficulties were likely to arise; (h) the level of connection of the system with other systems and the degree of interoperability of these systems; and (i) the effects the granting of a derogation would have on the correct application of the Directive as regards the proper functioning of the natural gas market. Serious difficulties will in any case be deemed not to exist when the sales of natural gas do not fall below the level of minimum offtake guarantees contained in gas purchase take-or-pay contracts or insofar as the relevant gas purchase take-or-pay contract can be adapted or the natural gas undertaking is able to find alternative outlets. A decision on a request for a derogation concerning take-or-pay contracts concluded before the entry into force of the Directive should not lead to a situation in which it is impossible to find economically viable alternative outlets. – Only one external supplier Member States not directly connected to the interconnected system of any other Member State and having only one main external supplier may derogate from the Directive. A supplier having a market share of more than 75 per cent will be considered to be a main supplier. This derogation will automatically expire from the moment at least one of these conditions no longer applies. Any such derogation must be notified to the Commission. – Emergent markets and geographical areas which could benefit from the encouragement of investments A Member State qualifying as an emergent market (Greece and Portugal) which, because of the implementation of the Directive, would experience substantial problems not associated with the contractual take-or-pay commitments may derogate from certain provisions of the Directive. Where implementation of the Directive would cause substantial problems in a geographically limited area of a Member State and with a view to encouraging investments, the Member State may apply to the Commission for a temporary derogation for developments within this area. The Commission may grant the derogation, taking account of certain criteria defined in the directive. The derogation may be granted only if no gas infrastructure has been established in this area, or has been established for less than 10 years. The temporary derogation may not exceed ten years after the first supply of gas in the area. Entry into force Member States will bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive no later than two years from the date of its entry into force, which means no later than 10 August 2000.
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