DTe: Dutch Office of Energy Regulation clarifies for TAQA the regulatory regime governing Gasstorage
TAQA Energy BV, operator of the Piek Gas Installation (PGI) facility in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, is set to convert the Bergermeer gas field in Noord-Holland into a major (seasonal) gas storage facility.
The realisation of this new storage capacity for natural gas will promote a greater free market operation and guarantee the supply of natural gas at a competitive price for households and businesses in the Netherlands for many years to come. The project involves a long-term and complex investment process costing hundreds of millions of euros in the run-up to the commencement of operations in the year 2013. The Dutch Office of Energy Regulation is as chamber of the Netherlands Competition Authority charged with monitoring the regulations governing the fees and conditions for gas storage under the Gas Act.
TAQA Onshore BV (future operator of the Bergermeer gas storage facility and a subsidiary of TAQA Energy BV) had been dogged for some time by uncertainties as to the regulatory regime that might apply for gas storage. In July 2007, it sought clarification from the Dutch Office of Energy Regulation in relation to the status under the regulatory regime that would apply to TAQA Onshore BV. Gas storage companies are regulated via two regimes in the Gas Act. One extensive regulatory regime applies to gas storage companies that hold an economically dominant position or gas storage companies that have an exclusive licence under the Mining Act. Companies that do not have this licence or which have no economically dominant position come under a less extensive regulatory regime. The position of TAQA under the Gas Act has now been clarified via an informal opinion issued by the Dutch Office of Energy Regulation. In legal terms, the Bergermeer facility is regarded as coming under the less extensive regulatory regime.
The lack of adequate access to (seasonal) storage represents a major impediment to the operation of the gas market in the Netherlands. This is further substantiated in the TTF recommendation issued recently by the Dutch Office of Energy Regulation to the Minister of Economic Affairs. In furnishing its informal opinion to TAQA, the Office of Energy Regulation has removed the uncertainty for investors. TAQA and its Bergermeer project show that investment without exemption from the Gas Act is feasible.