Amendments to the Common Regulations for the Use of Natural Gas Transmission System (open until 30.07.2023)

Latvian and Estonian natural gas transmission system operators, JSC "Conexus Baltic Grid" and Elering AS (hereafter referred to as TSOs), are initiating a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Common Regulations for the Use of Natural Gas Transmission System (hereafter referred to as Amendments). The aim of this consultation is to gather input from stakeholders regarding the draft Amendments.

To enhance the readability and legal clarity of the joint network rules 'Common Regulations for the Use of Natural Gas Transmission System' between Estonia and Latvia, the TSOs, propose the following amendments:

• Improve the wording and ensure consistent use of terminology in English throughout.
• Introduce rules for the use of Latvian production entry point and directly connected consumption exit points in Latvia, as well as regulations for linking transmission system users with these entry and exit points.
• Add or revise the following terms: Common IT Platform, Domestic Consumption, Entry point, Production.
• Remove the term Standard Communication Protocol.
• Clearly express how the data exchange process is established (Chapter 4 - General conditions for the access to the transmission services).
• Specify the procedure for capacity allocation if someone wishes to reserve capacity at the Paldiski LNG entry point to ensure firmness for already allocated LNG slots in the region (P 5.5.2)
• Clarify the rules for capacity return (Section 6.3.4 - only firm capacity, order of return).
• Clarify the conditions for secondary trading (Section 7.1 - only firm capacity, no return after a certain point, limitation in case of congestion).
• Extend the settlement data availability deadline to the 10th of each month, as it is not feasible to meet the deadline of the 6th (Section 9.2.3).
• Add a reference to REMIT (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency) compliance (Section 11.3.2).
• Grant the TSO the right to interrupt the injection or off-take from the transmission network in case of issues caused by LNG terminal failures (Section 12.1.1).
• Align Chapter 19 (Confidentiality) with the Common Regulations for the Natural Gas Balancing of Transmission System.
• Add Chapter 20 to comply with GDPR.
• Harmonize collateral requirements between Conexus and Elering and consolidate two annexes into one.

Stakeholders are invited to submit proposals and comments on the Amendments (in English) until July 30, 2023, by sending them electronically to the TSOs´ e-mail addresses: JSC “Conexus Baltic Grid” (capacity@conexus.lv) and Elering AS (airi.noor@elering.ee).

The amendments to the Common Regulations for the Use of Natural Gas Transmission System are intended to enter into force 30 days after the coordinated decision by the Public Utilities Commission of Latvia and the Estonian Competition Authority. Until the Amendments entry into force, the current version of the Common Regulations for the Use of Natural Gas Transmission System will remain applicable.