GTS' revenues to fall by EUR 8 million in 2019
Revenues for the Dutch transmission system operator for natural gas Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) will fall by over EUR 8 million in 2019, to a total revenue of 878 million. This has been determined by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). This decrease in revenue is mainly the result of an efficiency-stimulating tariff cut that ACM set previously. Nevertheless, the tariffs charged by GTS will increase by around 2%, because GTS will be expected to sell less transmission capacity. It is still unclear what this tariff increase will mean exactly for consumers, as this depends on how much of the tariffs will be passed on to them by the gas distributors.
Selling of transmission capacity by GTS
The fact that the tariffs will, on average, increase, while revenue will decrease, is due to the expectation that GTS will sell less transmission capacity. This is mainly because of lower gas exports, less transport to regional transmission grids, and a decrease in domestic gas production. GTS has been selling fewer transport services for a number of succesive years, indicating that this is a trend.
ACM sets the tariffs for GTS' different statutory tasks. The tariff changes also vary for each statutory task. For instance, the transport tariffs rise by approximately 4%, while the tariffs for other statutory tasks fall: existing connections (by -12%), connection points (by -17%), and quality conversion (by -8%). Because ACM sets tariffs for individual entry and exit points, the tariff changes may also differ for each point.
Changes in timing of the tariff decision
The timing of the annual tariff decision about GTS has been changed in comparison to previous years. The European network code on tariff structures (NC TAR) stipulates that the tariffs must be published no later than one month before the start of the auction of yearly capacity. This year, the auction of yearly capacity will take place on 2 July 2018.
Effects on consumers
Consumers and businesses are not directly charged GTS’ transmission costs. However, ACM does expect the effects of the new tariffs to be passed on to them through the gas distributors.
Affordable and secure supply of energy
ACM supports the objective of realizing an affordable and sustainable supply of energy. It regulates system operators, which enjoy a monopoly on the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas. ACM’s regulation ensures that tariffs are not higher than necessary, and it offers system operators a reasonable return on their investments. At the same time, it offers system operators a market-based return on their investments.
More information:
- 2019 Tariff Decision for GTS (in Dutch)