DTe Promotes Competition on the Gas Market

DTe strives to achieve effective competition on the gas market. For this reason, it is important that this market is transparent so that trade can occur and a sufficient number of market players can be active. In the Guidelines for Gas Transmission for 2005, DTe has taken, amongst others, the following three measures to promote the effective operation of market forces on the gas market:

DTe will settle part of the quality conversion costs (the costs incurred by market players for converting gas with a high calorific value to gas with a low calorific value, for instance for households) in the transmission tariffs. Through the so-called 'socialisation' of these costs, all players will make a proportional contribution to these costs and a level playing field will be created. Since the calorific value of gas is not a factor on which producers can compete, the availability and price of quality conversion should not play a role in competition between market players. This measure is the first step on the road to fall socialisation of the cost of quality conversion.

In addition, the Guidelines stipulate that the transmission part of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, Gastransport Services, must introduce a new balancing regime in 2006. The new balancing regime must ensure that market players can make optimal use of the possibilities offered by the national gas transmission network, while the cost of maintaining the balance on this network should be limited as far as possible. This also means that the present system of fines, in the event of imbalance, will be replaced by a system in which the fines are based on actual costs.

Another measure is that Gastransport Services is required to provide market players with focused information on import capacity used in the past and import capacity available in the future. On the basis of this information, network users may in future make a good estimate of the extent to which the transmission of gas which they require can in fact take place and whether capacity will be available in the future.

Promoting the operation of market forces on the gas market remains an important priority for DTe in the coming years. Assisted by the measures to be taken and by providing solutions for bottlenecks that are observed now and in the future, DTe aims to realise the effective operation of market forces on the gas market.