FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) — The Federal Network Agency has initiated a determination procedure for the design of access regulation for LNG plants and is now conducting a consultation. The determination should include the rights and obligations of the operators of LNG systems that are necessary for competitive access to this infrastructure and to the German and European gas market, as the authority announced.
Part of the definition should also be conditions for capacity allocation and capacity management. Provisions are made for the long-term and short-term allocation of terminal capacities. In particular, a reservation quota of 10 percent of the annual terminal capacity should be set for a short-term allocation of capacity. Such a regulation helps to reduce new unilateral dependencies on a few LNG importers or importing countries. Otherwise, the infrastructure would only be reserved for individual LNG importers on the basis of long-term capacity contracts for exclusive use.
Due to the current geopolitical situation, the sources of gas supply in Germany should be quickly diversified. LNG systems should make a significant contribution to this. So far, there is no LNG infrastructure in Germany, so there is no regulatory framework adapted to the special features of LNG plants.
In order to guarantee a transparent and non-discriminatory legal framework for the planned LNG plants in Germany, the Federal Network Agency intends to issue a stipulation for access to LNG plants. The determination procedure does not include the determination of fees.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 28, 2022 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT)