Machine Translation of "Gas Act 2011 And Amendment Of The Energy Control Act And The Price Transparency Act" (Austria)

Gas Act 2011 And Amendment Of The Energy Control Act And The Price Transparency Act

Original Language Title: Gaswirtschaftsgesetz 2011 sowie Änderung des Energie-Control-Gesetzes und des Preistransparenzgesetzes

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Unlimited Searches
Weekly Updates on New Laws
Access to 5,345,848 Global Laws from 110 Countries
View the Original Law Side-by-Side with the Translation

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.

107. Federal law, which enacted the Gaswirtschaftsgesetz 2011 as well as the Energy Control Act and the Price Transparency Act are amended

The National Council has decided:

table of contents

Article 1	Gas Economics Act 2011
Article 2	Amendment of the Energy Control Act
Article 3	Amendment of the Price Transparency Act
Article 4	Repeal of the species. I of the Federal Law BGBl. No 174/1995

Article 1

Federal Law, with which new regulations in the field of natural gas industry are enacted (Gaswirtschaftsgesetz 2011-GWG 2011)

table of contents

Part 1

Principles

§ 1. Constitutional provision
§ 2. Reference to Union law
§ 3. Scope
§ 4. Objectives
§ 5. Public service obligations
§ 6. Principles in the operation of natural gas undertakings
§ 7. Definitions

Part 2

Accounting, confidentiality, access to information and views, prohibition of discrimination and cross-subsidies

§ 8. Accounting, prohibition of cross-subsidies
§ 9. Prohibition of discrimination
§ 10. Access to information and views
§ 11. Confidentiality

Part 3

The operation of networks

1. Main item

Market and distribution areas

Section 1

Market areas and market area managers

§ 12. Market areas
§ 13. Market Area Manager
§ 14. Responsibilities of the market manager
§ 15. Independence of the market area manager
§ 16. General conditions of the market area manager

Section 2

Distribution areas and distribution area managers

§ 17. Distribution Area Manager
§ 18. Responsibilities of the distribution area managers
§ 19. Cooperation between the market area manager and the distribution area manager
§ 20. Independence of the distribution area manager
§ 21. Management of transport capacity in the distribution area
§ 22. Long term planning
§ 23. Monitoring of long-term planning
§ 24. Charge for the distribution area manager
§ 25. Measures for the elimination of short-or medium-term capacity constraints
§ 26. General conditions of the distribution area manager

2. Main piece

General rights and obligations of network operators

Section 1

Network access

§ 27. Network access in the distribution network
§ 28. Conditions of access to distribution line systems
§ 29. Change of network conditions
§ 30. Quality standards for network service performance for end users connected to the network
§ 31. Network access in the transmission system
§ 32. Conditions of access to transmission lines
§ 33. Refusal of access to the network

Section 2

Access to the network

§ 34. Capacity determination
§ 35. Increase of the capacity to be expleable
§ 36. Capacity Offering and Assignment
§ 37. Offer interruptible capacity
§ 38. Trade in capacity rights
§ 39. Online platform for capacity supply
§ 40. Claim for the transfer of capacities
§ 41. Procedure for determining by Regulation

Section 3

Exceptions to network access

§ 42. New infrastructures

3. Main piece

Training requirements for network operators

Section 1

Requirements

§ 43. Approval
§ 44. Approval requirements
§ 45. Technical Operations Manager
§ 46. Managing Director
§ 47. Operational duty

Section 2

Liability

§ 48. Liability
§ 49. Liability limits
§ 50. Disclaimer
§ 51. Proof of the conclusion of a liability insurance

Section 3

Erasing authority to operate a network

§ 52. Endigungstatstocks
§ 53. Withdrawal
§ 54. Spin-off
§ 55. Dissolution of a registered partnership
§ 56. Withdrawal of authorisation
§ 57. Measures to secure the supply of natural gas

4. Main piece

Operation of networks

Section 1

Distribution networks

§ 58. Obligations of distribution system operators
§ 59. General obligation to attach
§ 60. Load profiles
§ 61. Information requirements

Section 2

Transmission networks

§ 62. Obligations of transmission system operators
§ 63. Network Development Plan Coordinated
§ 64. Network Development Plan Approval
§ 65. Network development plan monitoring
§ 66. Capacity for load flows in both directions

Section 3

Common provisions

§ 67. Network Coupling Contract

Part 4

Virtual trading point

§ 68. Tasks and duties of the operator of the virtual trading point

Part 5

System Usage Fee

1. Main item

Procedure for setting the system use charges

§ 69. Determination of the Cost Base
§ 70. System use charges and compensation payments
§ 71. Regulatory Account

2. Main piece

De-Parts Components

§ 72. Determination of system usage charges
§ 73. Network usage fee in the distribution network
§ 74. Network usage fee in the transmission system
§ 75. Network entry fee
§ 76. Network Delivery Rate
§ 77. Remuneration for measurement services
§ 78. Remuneration for other services

3. Main piece

Principles of cost and quantity determination

§ 79. Cost determination for distribution system operators
§ 80. Financing costs for distribution system operators
§ 81. Determination of the volume framework for distribution system operators
§ 82. Cost and quantity of transmission for transmission system operators

4. Main piece

Principles of remuneration

§ 83. Payment of charges and cost-management
§ 84. Network levels and network areas

Part 6

Balance group system

1. Main item

Clearing house for transactions and price formation for balancing energy (balance group coordinator)

§ 85. Concession
§ 86. Exercise Requirements
§ 87. Tasks
§ 88. General conditions
§ 89. Clearing fee

2. Main piece

Balance groups

§ 90. Summary of Network Users in Balance Sheet Groups
§ 91. Tasks and duties of the accounting group responsible
§ 92. General terms and conditions of the accounting groups responsible
§ 93. Approval of accounting group leaders
§ 94. Revocation and deletion of the permit
§ 95. Allocation of suppliers to balance sheet groups
§ 96. Physical settlement point for gas exchange transactions

Part 7

Storage Companies

§ 97. Access to storage facilities
§ 98. Procedures relating to access to storage facilities
§ 99. Storage usage charges for negotiated storage access
§ 100. Storage usage fees for regulated storage access
§ 101. Presentation of contracts
§ 102. General conditions for storage access
§ 103. Capacity allocation procedures
§ 104. Bottleneck management
§ 105. Obligations of storage companies

8. Part

Unbundling

1. Main item

Unbundling of distribution system operators

§ 106. Requirements

2. Main piece

Unbundling of storage companies

§ 107. Requirements

3. Main piece

Unbundling of transmission system operators

Section 1

Ownership unbundling of transmission system operators

§ 108. Requirements

Section 2

Independent System Operator (ISO)

§ 109. Requirements
§ 110. Obligations
§ 111. Independence of the transmission system owner

Section 3

Independent transmission system operator (ITO)

§ 112. Assets, Independence, Services, likelihood of confusion
§ 113. Independence of the transmission system operator
§ 114. Independence of management and employees
§ 115. Independence of the supervisory body
§ 116. Equal treatment programme and equal treatment officer

Section 4

More effective independence of the transmission system operator

§ 117. Requirements

Section 5

Combined network operator

§ 118. Combined network operator

Procedures with regard to transmission system operators

§ 119. Procedures for the certification and designation of transmission system operators
§ 120. Procedures for the certification of transmission system operators with respect to third countries

Part 9

Gas dealers and suppliers

§ 121. Obligations

Part 10

Obligations to customers

§ 122. Network Access Permission
§ 123. Change of supplier or balance sheet group and resignation process
§ 124. Supplied Last Instance
§ 125. General terms and conditions for the supply of natural gas
§ 126. Minimum requirements for invoices and information and promotional material
§ 127. Disconnection of network connection and information of customers
§ 128. Smart meters
§ 129. Measurement data of intelligent measuring instruments
§ 130. Designation of origin (Labeling)

11. Part

Monitoring tasks

Section 131. Monitoring tasks

12. Part

Dispute settlement

§ 132. Procedure

Part 13

Natural gas pipeline systems and storage facilities outside the mineral raw materials law

Section 1

Nature of natural gas pipeline systems

§ 133. Minimum technical requirements for piping systems

Section 2

Establishment and dismissal of natural gas pipeline systems

§ 134. Permit requirement
§ 135. Requirements
§ 136. Pre-Review
§ 137. Approval of natural gas pipeline systems
§ 138. Parties
§ 139. Notification requirements at the start of operation and the operating end
§ 140. Self-monitoring
§ 141. Delete Approval
Section 142. Unapproved natural gas pipeline systems
§ 143. Insectary security measures
§ 144. Preliminary work on the construction of a natural gas pipeline system

Section 3

Expropriation

§ 145. Expropriation

Section 4

Storage facilities outside the mineral raw materials law and measures relating to the control of major-accident hazards

§ 146. Scope

14. Part

Statistics

§ 147. Arrangement and implementation of statistical surveys

15. Part

Authorities and procedures

Section 1

Authorities

§ 148. Responsibility of authorities in gas affairs

Section 2

Pre-examination procedures and procedures for the approval of natural gas pipeline systems

Section 149. Pre-examination procedures
§ 150. Initiation of the authorisation procedure
§ 151. Authorisation procedure and hearing rights
§ 152. Process concentration
§ 153. Granting of authorisation

Section 3

Procedures for the execution of expropriations

§ 154. Expropriation procedure

16. Part

Specific organisational provisions

§ 155. Appointment of a delivery agent
§ 156. Duty of information and confidentiality
§ 157. Obligation to pass on tax cuts
§ 158. Automation-supported traffic

17. Part

Penal provisions and fines

1. Main item

Administrative transgressions

§ 159. General criminal provisions
§ 160. Withholding of tax cuts
Section 161. Consenseless operation
§ 162. Price dispute
§ 163. Statute of limitations

2. Main piece

Fines

§ 164. Discrimination and other fines
§ 165. Participating companies and legal succession
§ 166. Measurement
§ 167. Statute of limitations

3. Main piece

Judicial acts of criminal law

§ 168. Revelation or recovery of data

18. Part

Repeal, Transitional and Final Provisions

§ 169. entry into force
§ 170. Transitional provisions
§ 171. Enforcement

Part 1

Principles

Constitutional provision

§ 1. (constitutional provision) The matters governed by this Federal Act may be directly provided by the bodies provided for in those provisions.

Reference to Union law

§ 2. Under this federal law, taking into account Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, OJ L 327, 30.4.2009, p. No. OJ L 211, 14.08.2009, p. 1,


1.		Directive 2009 /73/EC on common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003 /55/EC, OJ L 327, 31.12.2003, p. No. OJ L 211, 14.08.2009, p. 94 (the internal gas market directive) and;
2.		Directive 2006 /32/EC on energy end-use efficiency and energy services and repealing Directive 93 /76/EEC, OJ L 206, 22.7.1993, p. No. OJ L 114, 27.04.2006, p.64, and the
3.		Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 laying down the conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1775/2005, OJ L 145, 31.5.2009, p. No. OJ L 211, 14.08.2009, p. 36, and the
4.		Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 on measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply and repealing Council Directive 2004 /67/EC, OJ L 378, 27.9.2004, p. No. OJ L 295, 12.11.2010, p.1,
the provisions reserved for implementation by the Member States.

Scope

§ 3. (1) This federal law has


1.		the release of provisions relating to transmission, distribution, purchase or supply of natural gas, including access to the network and storage;
2.		the system of system use charges, accounting rules, internal organisation, unbundling and transparency of the accounts of natural gas undertakings;
3.		the establishment of other rights and obligations for natural gas undertakings, and
4.		the establishment, extension, modification and operation of natural gas pipeline systems
The subject matter, unless otherwise provided for in paragraph 2.

(2) From the scope of this Federal Act are excluded:


1.		those activities, for the exercise of which a profit or storage permit according to the provisions of the MinroG (MinroG), BGBl. I No 38/1999, is required;
2.		Natural gas pipeline systems which are part of a commercial plant and are located within the operating site; and
3.		the construction and operation of natural gas pipeline systems from the end of the house connection.

Objectives

§ 4. The aim of this federal law is to:


1.		of the Austrian population and economy of natural gas environmentally friendly, cost-effective, sufficient, safe and in high quality, and its efficient use, in particular also in the conversion of electricity and heat, to be made available to the public , and to provide the necessary infrastructure for the safe supply of natural gas to the Member States of the Community;
2.		to establish a market organisation for the natural gas sector in accordance with EU primary law and the principles of the internal market in natural gas, in accordance with the internal market in natural gas;
3.		the introduction of the calculation of the system usage fee and of a cost-recovery procedure to ensure an appropriate distribution of network costs on the network users;
4.		to provide compensation for public service obligations in the general interest which have been imposed on the network operators and which are based on safety, including security of supply, regularity, quality and price supplies and environmental and climate protection;
5.		to lay the foundations for an increasing use of the potential of biogenic gases for the Austrian gas supply;
6.		to ensure compliance with the infrastructure standard laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010.

Public service obligations

§ 5. (1) The following public service obligations shall be imposed on the network operators in the general interest:


1.		equal treatment of all customers of a network with the same characteristics of transport performance;
2.		the conclusion of private-sector contracts with network users via the connection to their natural gas pipeline systems (general obligation to connect);
3.		the establishment and maintenance of a natural gas infrastructure for domestic gas supply and for the fulfilment of obligations under international law.

(2) The natural gas undertakings shall be subject to the following public service obligations in the general interest:


1.		the achievement of the objectives set out in § 4 (1) and (2) with the resources at their disposal;
2.		the fulfilment of the obligations imposed by legislation in the public interest.

(3) Natural gas undertakings shall endeavour to achieve the best possible fulfilment of the obligations imposed on them in the general interest in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 2 above, with all the means at their disposal.

Principles in the operation of natural gas undertakings

§ 6. As a customer and competitive provider of energy services, natural gas companies have the principles of safe, cost-effective, environmentally sound and efficient provision of the services in demand, as well as of a competitive and competitive natural gas markets. They have to anchor these principles as corporate objectives.

Definitions

§ 7. (1) For the purposes of this Federal Law, the term "


1.	"Agency" means the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of 13 July 2009 establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, OJ L 145, 31.5.2009, p. No. OJ No L 211, 14.08. 2009 p. 1;
2.	"balancing energy" means the difference between the application and the levy of a balance sheet group per defined period of measurement, whereby the energy per measurement period can actually be recorded or calculated by calculation;
3.	"exit point" means a point where gas can be taken from a network of a network operator, except by the end user;
4.	"balance sheet group" means the summary of network users to a virtual group within which compensation is provided between the application and the levy;
5.	"balance sheet coordinator" means the operator of a clearing house according to Z 67;
6.	"accounting group responsible" means a natural or legal person or registered partnerships, representing the members of a balance sheet group, with respect to other market participants and the balance sheet group coordinator;
7.	"direct line" means a natural gas pipeline, in addition to the interconnected system;
8.	"third countries" means States which do not accede to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or are not members of the European Union;
9.	"feed-in" means a natural or legal person or a registered civil society which transfers natural gas or biogenic gas at a point of feed for transport;
10.	"feed-in point" means a point where gas can be transferred to a network operator in its network or subnetwork;
11.	"final consumer" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which purchases natural gas for its own use;
12.	"borrower" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which takes over natural gas at an exit point;
13.	"ENTSO for Gas" means the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators for Gas, in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009;
14.	"natural gas dealer" means a natural or legal person or a registered civil society which purchases or sells natural gas without, within or outside the network in which it is established, a transmission or distribution function;
15.	"natural gas pipeline" means an installation which, for the purpose of the transmission, the distribution of natural gas, is constructed or operated by pipeline or pipeline networks or as direct lines, provided that it is not a pipeline system upstream of the pipeline (Z 77); natural gas pipelines include, in particular, compressor stations, pig sluices, slide stations, measuring stations and gas pressure control systems;
16.	"natural gas undertaking" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which, in profit or loss, is of the functions of transmission, distribution, supply, sale, purchase or storage of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas at least one of them is responsible for the commercial, technical or maintenance tasks related to these functions, with the exception of the final consumer; undertakings in accordance with Z 58, § 13 and § 17 shall be natural gas undertakings;
17.	"road map" means the document which indicates the amount of energy per unit of time in a constant time grid (measuring periods) for the supply of the final customer or the supply or discharge into or out of the distribution network;
18.	"transmission" means the transport of natural gas through a network comprising mainly high-pressure transmission lines, with the exception of upstream pipeline networks and the part of the part used primarily in the context of the local distribution of natural gas, of High-pressure transmission lines to enable customers to supply, but not the supply of the customers themselves;
19.	"transmission system" means a natural gas pipeline system for the purpose of transmission;
20.	"transmission system operator" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which carries out the function of the transmission and is responsible for the operation, maintenance and, where necessary, the extension of the the transmission network in a given area and, where appropriate, the interconnectors to other networks, and for ensuring the long-term ability of the network to meet reasonable demand for the transport of gas;
21.	"house connection" means the part of the distribution system which makes it possible to connect the distribution system to the customer's facilities, starting from the network connection point (Z 40) at the time of the conclusion of the contract relating to the manufacture of the connection existing distribution system and end with the main locking device or, if any, with the house pressure regulator. An all-time home pressure regulator in the end user's facility is part of the house connection;
22.	"house pressure regulator" means a pressure control device in the ownership of the system operator with a pressure control range from an input-side overpressure greater than 0.5 bar (0.05 MPa) and less than/equal to 6 bar (0.6 MPa) to an output-side overpressure less than 0,5 bar (0,05 MPa), provided that the pressure control device is not part of a commercial operating system;
23.	"horizontally integrated natural gas undertaking" means a natural gas undertaking performing at least one of the functions of transmission, distribution, supply, sale, purchase or storage of natural gas and, in addition, a further activity outside the the natural gas sector;
24.	"hub service undertaking" means a company providing services in support of natural gas trading transactions;
25.	"integrated natural gas undertaking" means a vertically or horizontally integrated natural gas undertaking;
26.	"intelligent measuring instrument" means a technical device which records the meter readings in the hour grid and which has a data transmission that can be read out remotely. These devices are designed for universal installation and therefore differ in type, installation and transmission from the load profile counter;
27.	"labelling obligation" means any advertising material intended for sale of natural gas intended for end-users. Below:
a)		Advertising material for product sales for individual customers, such as product brochures;
b)		other standardized product print media, which are intended for sale;
c)		product advertising related to online;
28.	"Small enterprises" means undertakings within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (1) of the KSchG, which employ fewer than 50 persons, consume less than 100 000 kWh/year of natural gas and have an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total of not more than 10 million euros;
29.	"commercial hub services" means services in support of natural gas trading transactions, such as, in particular, "title tracking" (retaking of the title transfer of natural gas from commercial transactions);
30.	"control" means rights, contracts or any other means which, individually or in combination, give the possibility of exercising a decisive influence on the activity of an undertaking, taking into account all the actual or legal circumstances; in particular by
a)		the rights of ownership or rights of use as a whole or of parts of the assets of the undertaking;
b)		Rights or contracts which give a decisive influence on the composition, deliberations or decisions of the institutions of the undertaking;
31.	"cost rolling" means a calculatory calculation method which is applied in order to assign to a consumer collective the costs of all the network levels above the connection network level;
32.	"customers" means end users, natural gas distributors or natural gas undertakings purchasing natural gas;
33.	"long-term planning" means the long-term planning of supply and transport capacities of natural gas undertakings to meet the demand for natural gas in the network, to diversify sources of supply and to ensure the supply of supplies to customers;
34.	"load profile" means a reference quantity or supply quantity of a feeder or operator, which is shown at time intervals;
35.	"load profile counter" means a technical device which records the actual load cycle in the hour grid;
36.	"market area" means a summary of networks of different network operators in which a network access authorized person can flexibly use booked capacity at input and exit points;
37.	"market rules" means the sum of all the rules, regulations and regulations on a legal or contractual basis which market participants have to comply with in the natural gas market in order to enable and ensure the orderly functioning of this market;
38.	"market participants": balance group responsible, balance sheet group members, suppliers, natural gas traders, producers, network users, customers, end users, balance group coordinators, transmission system operators, distribution system operators, market area managers, Distribution Area Manager, Storage Companies Stock Exchange Companies and Hub Service Companies;
39.	"network" means any transmission or distribution system belonging to or/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, including its facilities used for ancillary services (e.g. control and measuring equipment), and of installations connected to it; undertakings which are required for access to transmission and distribution;
40.	"network connection point" means the location of the network, which is technically appropriate for the extraction or feeding of natural gas, of the network existing at the time of the conclusion of the contract relating to the manufacture of the connection, taking into account the economic interests of the network network user;
41.	"network user" means any natural or legal person or a registered private company which feeds into a network, is eaten from a network or is supplied from it, or the installation of which is connected to a network;
42.	"network area" means the part of a network for which the same system usage charges apply;
43.	"network operator" means any transmission system operator or distribution system operator;
44.	"network level" means a sub-area of the network which is essentially determined by the pressure level;
45.	"network coupling point" means a point on which networks of different network operators are connected;
46.	"network access" means the use of a network;
47.	"network access authorized" means a natural or legal person or a registered partnership which requires access to the network, including, in particular, natural gas undertakings, in so far as this is necessary for the performance of its tasks;
48.	"network access contract" means the contract in accordance with § 27 or § 31, individual agreement between the network operator and a network operator who is responsible for the network connection point and/or regulates the entry and exit points and the use of the network;
49.	"network access" means the first-time production of a network connection or the change in the capacity of an existing network connection;
50.	"new infrastructure" means new natural gas infrastructures, such as interconnectors and storage facilities, which have not been completed by 4 August 2003;
51.	"Nomination" means the amount of energy per fixed time interval, which is applied to an input and/or output signal. Output point of the transmission network or at the virtual trading point, or is to be taken over;
52.	"producer" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which acquires natural gas;
53.	"technical rules" means technical rules which contain principles derived from science or experience in the technical field and whose accuracy and usefulness are generally considered to be proven in practice; compliance with the relevant rules the technology is presumed if the technical rules of the ÖVGW and the ÖNORM are complied with during the construction, the extension, the modification, the operation and the maintenance;
54.	"control energy" means the energy to be applied for the short-term compensation of pressure fluctuations in the network occurring within a given interval;
55.	"safety" means both the security of supply and the supply of natural gas as well as operational safety and technical security;
56.	"other market rules" means that part of the market rules, which according to Article 22 (1) (1) of the Federal Law on the Regulatory Authority in the Electricity and Gas Industry (Energy-Control-Law-E-ControlG), BGBl. I No 110/2010, which is drawn up on the basis of a legal order by way of approved general conditions;
57.	"storage facility" means an installation for the storage of natural gas belonging to and/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, with the exception of the part used for the activities in accordance with the Mineral Raw Materials Act, except in the case of facilities which: are reserved exclusively for network operators in the performance of their functions;
58.	"storage undertaking" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which carries out the storage function and is responsible for the operation of a storage facility; for that purpose it is sufficient for the undertaking to be responsible for the storage of such storage facilities. storage facility only managed;
59.	"authorised access to storage" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which has access to storage, including, in particular, natural gas undertakings, to the extent that this is necessary for the performance of its tasks;
60.	"state of the art" means the development level of advanced technological processes, facilities and modes of operation based on the relevant scientific knowledge, the functional capability of which is tested and proven; The state of the art shall be determined in particular by comparable methods, facilities or modes of operation;
61.	"standardised load profile" means a load profile which is characterised by an appropriate procedure for a given feed or user group;
62.	"system usage fee" means the fee to be paid for the supply of natural gas to a network or the discharge or extraction of natural gas from the network;
63.	"interconnector" means a transmission line crossing or spanning a border between Member States and solely for the purpose of connecting the national transmission networks of those Member States;
64.	"related natural gas undertakings"
a)		an affiliated company within the meaning of Section 228 (3) of the UGB,
b)		an associated company within the meaning of Section 263 (1) of the UGB (UGB) or
c)		two or more companies whose shareholders are ident;
65.	"interconnected network" means a number of networks which are interconnected;
66.	"available line capacity" means the difference between the maximum technical capacity and the maximum technical capacity of the input/output capacity. Exit points via Fern or distribution lines ab-resp. , and the actual power used at a given point in time at the points of entry and exit of the relevant natural gas pipeline;
67.	"Settlement office for transactions and price formation for balancing energy" means a body in accordance with § 85 in distribution network ;
68.	"supplier" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which is responsible for the supply;
69.	"supply" means the sale to customers, including the resale of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas;
70.	"distribution area" means the geographical area covered by distribution networks in a market area;
71.	"distribution line installations" means natural gas pipeline systems for the purpose of distribution;
72.	"distribution system operator" means a natural or legal person or a registered private company which carries out the function of distribution and is responsible for the operation, maintenance and, where necessary, developing the distribution system in a given area and, where appropriate, the interconnectors to other networks, and for ensuring the long-term ability of the network to meet reasonable demand for the distribution of gas;
73.	"distribution" means the transport of natural gas through local or regional distribution networks for the purpose of supplying customers, but excluding supplies;
74.	"vertically integrated natural gas undertaking" means a natural gas undertaking or a group of undertakings in which the same person (s) is (are) entitled to exercise, directly or indirectly, control, the undertaking or undertaking concerned, respectively, the group of undertakings concerned shall carry out at least one of the functions of transmission, distribution, liquefaction/re-gasification (LNG) or storage and at least one of the functions of extraction or supply of natural gas;
75.	"management of natural gas storage" means the conclusion of contracts with third parties on the provision of storage space, including the storage and storage capacity;
76.	"virtual trading point" means a virtual point in a market area where natural gas can be traded after being fed into the market area and before being fed into the market. The virtual trading point is not associated with any physical entry or exit point, and allows buyers and sellers of natural gas to buy or sell natural gas, even without booking capacity;
77.	"upstream pipeline network" means pipelines or a network of pipelines, the operation or construction of which is part of a natural gas extraction or storage project, or which is used to supply natural gas from one or more such projects to a To direct the processing plant or the transfer station (terminal), including storage stations;
78.	"counting point" the feed-in or Sampling point at which a natural gas quantity is recorded and registered. A summary of multiple count points is not allowed.

(2) Where reference is made in this Federal Act to provisions of other federal laws or to EU law directly applicable, these provisions shall be applied in their respectively applicable version.

(3) Person-related terms do not have gender-specific meaning. They must be applied to specific persons in their respective gender-specific form.

(4) Insofar as the terms natural gas or gas are referred to in this federal law, biogenic gases prepared for the quality of natural gas are to be understood as meaning.

Part 2

Accounting, confidentiality, access to information and views, prohibition of discrimination and cross-subsidies

Accounting, prohibition of cross-subsidies

§ 8. (1) In the case of domestic natural gas undertakings, irrespective of their ownership and legal form, they have to draw up annual accounts, to have them reviewed by a statutory auditor and, in so far as they are in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting law is required to publish. The audit of the annual accounts also has to be related to the investigation of whether the obligation to avoid unfair cross-subsidies is complied with in accordance with paragraph 2. The drawing up, the examination and the publication of the annual accounts must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Act. Natural gas undertakings, which are not legally obliged to publish their annual accounts, shall keep the annual accounts available to the public at the company's registered office.

(2) The network operator shall refrain from cross-subsidies. In order to avoid discrimination, cross-subsidisation and distortion of competition, natural gas undertakings are therefore obliged to do so within the framework of their internal accounts


1.		carry out their own accounts in separate accounts for their natural gas transmission, distribution and storage activities;
2.		publish the balance sheets and accounts of the individual gas sectors and their allocation rules in accordance with paragraph 3;
3.		to publish consolidated accounts for their activities outside the natural gas sector and to publish a balance sheet as well as an outcome calculation in accordance with paragraph 3.
The internal accounts shall contain a balance sheet for each activity as well as a result statement. In addition, the rules, including depreciation rules, are to be disclosed in the internal accounting procedure, without prejudice to corporate and fiscal rules, according to which the assets and liabilities as well as the assets and liabilities are subject to the are assigned to the accounting circuits listed separately in accordance with Z 1. Amendments to these rules shall only be permitted in exceptional cases. These amendments must be mentioned and duly justified. Revenue from the ownership of the transmission and/or Distribution network shall be shown separately in the accounts.

(3) In the notes to the annual accounts, transactions whose performance, remuneration or other economic advantage exceed a value of one million euros and which have been made with related natural gas undertakings (§ 7 (1) (64)) are separately . If the business item consists of several parts for which a separate transaction is concluded in each case, the value of each sub-business must be taken into account when calculating the threshold value.

Prohibition of discrimination

§ 9. Network operators, storage companies, hub service providers, balance sheet group coordinators, the operator of the virtual trading point, distribution area managers and market area managers shall be prohibited from those persons who use their facilities or shall use or intend to take advantage of their services or to treat certain categories of such persons in a discriminatory manner, in particular in favour of vertically integrated natural gas undertakings.

Access to information and views

§ 10. Natural gas undertakings, hub service providers, balance group coordinators, the operator of the virtual trading point, distribution area manager and market area manager are required to at any time to the authorities, including the regulatory authority to grant access to all documents and records relevant to the operation of the business, and to provide information on all matters relating to the relevant enforcement area. This obligation to accept and issue information shall not be subject to any specific circumstances, even if such documents or information are in future to be clarified or to prepare for the clarification of relevant facts. procedures to be carried out. In particular, natural gas undertakings, hub service providers, balance sheet group coordinators, the operator of the virtual trading point, distribution area manager and market area manager shall have all the information available to the Authority to make an appropriate assessment possible. If the natural gas undertaking does not comply with this obligation, the Authority may base its assessment on an estimate.

Confidentiality

§ 11. Without prejudice to legal obligations and obligations arising from Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 and the acts adopted in implementation thereof, network operators, storage undertakings, Hub service providers, balance sheet group coordinators, the operator of the virtual trading point, distribution area manager and market area manager, commercially sensitive information, as well as business and business secrets, of which it is responsible for the gaining knowledge of the performance of their business; Confidential. They shall have to prevent information on their activities which may bring economic benefits from being disclosed in a discriminatory manner, in particular in favour of vertically integrated natural gas undertakings.

Part 3

The operation of networks

1. Main item

Market and distribution areas

Section 1

Market areas and market area managers

Market areas

§ 12. (1) The Austrian network consists of the following market areas, in each of which one market area manager and one distribution area manager and one balance sheet group coordinator in accordance with this law with the performance of system services :


1.		Market area East;
2.		Market area Tyrol;
3.		Market area Vorarlberg.

(2) The market area East comprises the networks located in the countries of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria and Vienna.

(3) The Tyrol market area comprises the networks located in the province of Tyrol.

(4) The Vorarlberg market area comprises the networks located in the province of Vorarlberg.

(5) Networks of different market areas which are connected to each other shall be grouped into a market area in which a market area manager, a distribution area manager and a balance sheet group coordinator shall comply with the provisions of this Act of system services.

(6) Networks or parts of networks may, to the extent that this is conducive to the performance of the European internal market, form a market area with adjacent network operators of other Member States. For the implementation of the European internal gas market, networks or parts of networks are located in a market area which is exclusively supplied from an adjacent Member State and for which there is no independent market in the relevant market area. A balancing energy market shall be used to co-operate with the adjacent network operator of that Member State in such a way that partial or full supply from the adjacent market area of the Member State becomes possible. The establishment of a common market area with network operators of other Member States shall require the approval of the regulatory authority.

Market Area Manager

§ 13. (1) The transmission system operators of a market area shall designate a market area manager who shall carry out the tasks in accordance with § 14. The designation of the market area manager shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority. No market area manager is to be designated in market areas without transmission lines. The appropriate costs of the market area manager shall be borne by the transmission system operators and shall be taken into account as the cost of the transmission system operators.

(2) The authorisation shall be granted if it is to be expected that the designated market manager shall be in a position to perform the tasks in accordance with § 14 efficiently and that he meets the requirements of § 15.

(3) If no market area manager has been designated by 3 March 2012 in accordance with paragraph 1, the regulatory authority shall, on its own account, select an appropriate undertaking, taking into account the conditions of exercise set out in paragraph 2, and to: undertake to assume the tasks of a market area manager on a provisional basis. The Authority shall repeal this decision as soon as a suitable market area manager is appointed in accordance with paragraph 1.

Responsibilities of the market manager

§ 14. (1) The market area managers shall be responsible for the following tasks:


1.		ensuring the establishment and non-discriminatory access to the virtual trading point, the designation of the operator of the virtual trading point in accordance with § 68 and the cooperation with the virtual trading point;
2.		the management of balance sheet groups active in the market; this includes, in particular, the information of market participants in relation to the balance sheet group system and the compensation rules, the allocation of identification numbers of the balance sheet groups in coordination with the balancing group coordinator, the organization of the conclusion of the necessary contracts in accordance with § 91 (2) Z 1 in the name and on the account of the contractual partners concerned in accordance with the market rules;
3.		the coordination of the network control and the use of network buffering (Linepack) as well as the retrieval of the physical balancing energy in cooperation with the distribution area manager in the market area primarily via the virtual trading point under Consideration of the efficient use of control energy with the aim of minimizing the retrieval of physical balancing energy;
4.		the drawing up of a uniform calculation scheme for the identification and designation of the capacity for the points of entry and exit of the transmission system of the market area according to § 34 and § 35; the calculation model shall require the approval of the regulatory authority. amendments shall be made at the request of the regulatory authority;
5.		the organisation of the establishment and operation of the online platform for the provision of capacity pursuant to § 39 and for the publication of information concerning the market area in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009;
6.		the preparation of a common forecast based on different load flow scenarios for the capacity and burden of the transmission networks of the market area for the next 10 years, with the participation of the the transmission system operator and the distribution area manager;
7.		the establishment of the coordinated network development plan;
8.		the coordination of measures to overcome physical bottlenecks in cooperation with the distribution area manager, as well as with network operators and storage companies in the market;
9.		contracts for the exchange of data with the distribution area manager, the network operators, the accounting group responsible, the operator of the virtual trading point as well as the balance sheet group coordinator and other market participants in accordance with the the conclusion of market rules;
10.		the submission of its General Terms and Conditions for approval to the regulatory authority pursuant to § 16;
11.		the coordination of the maintenance of the transmission and distribution networks, in cooperation with the distribution area manager, in accordance with Article 18 (1) Z 28, in such a way as to minimise the impact on the network users;
12.		the identification and publication of the calorific values for the market area on the basis of the data determined by the network operators;
13.		the coordination of the nomination process for the transmission system including the nomination exchange with the operator of the virtual trading point;
14.		the organisation of the settlement of the balancing energy in the transmission system in cooperation with the operator of the virtual trading point and the transmission system operators.

(2) The market area manager shall be provided with all information from the distribution area manager, the network operators and the balance-sheet group managers, suppliers and operators of storage and production facilities as well as the operator of the virtual trading point. , which are required to carry out the tasks and duties of the market area managers. In particular, the market area manager shall also be provided with information on capacity utilization by the network operators. The group responsible for the balance sheet group shall have the timetables or timetables within a reasonable period to be determined by the market area manager. To announce nominations of a balance sheet group in advance.

3. In the event of disputes between one of the parties referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the market area manager, the regulatory authority shall decide on the measures and information required for the performance of the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 above. Request with information on the measures and information to be taken and/or information. ,

Independence of the market area manager

§ 15. At least in terms of legal form, organisation and decision-making authority, the market area manager must be independent of all areas of activity which are not related to the pursuit of the activities referred to in § 14 or a transmission system operator pursuant to § 7 para. 1 Z 20. § 108 bis § 120 shall apply mutatily.

General conditions of the market area manager

§ 16. (1) The General Conditions of the Market Area Manager shall govern the legal relationship between the market area manager and the accounting group responsible. The General Conditions of the Market Area Manager and their amendments shall require the approval of the regulatory authority. This authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions, conditions or fixed-term conditions, in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. The duration shall not be less than a period of three years. Market area managers shall be obliged to amend or re-establish the General Conditions, at the request of the regulatory authority, to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of this Act.

(2) The General Conditions of the Market Area Manager shall be non-discriminatory and shall not contain any abusive practices or unjustified restrictions and shall not endanger security of supply. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		ensuring compliance with the tasks assigned to the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the balance sheet group responsible, the balance sheet group coordinator and the network operators;
2.		they are not in conflict with existing legislation.

(3) The General Conditions of the Market Area Manager shall include in particular:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, in particular in order to comply with the other market rules;
2.		the handling of the nomination management by the market area manager;
3.		the procedure relating to the management of the capacity of customers by the accounting groups responsible;
4.		Provisions in accordance with section 27 (2) on the release of unused network capacities;
5.		the determination of the data to be exchanged between the contracting parties.

Section 2

Distribution areas and distribution area managers

Distribution Area Manager

§ 17. (1) The distribution area shall comprise the distribution line systems of network levels 1 to 3 in the respective market area.

(2) Distribution area managers shall be responsible for:


1.		Market area East: the natural gas undertaking designated by the operators of the lines of Appendix 1;
2.		Market area Tyrol: the natural gas company named by TIGAS-Erdgas Tirol GmbH;
3.		Market area Vorarlberg: the natural gas company named by VEG Vorarlberger Erdgas GmbH.

(3) The undertakings referred to in paragraph 2 shall designate the distribution area managers to the regulatory authority. The designation of the distribution area manager shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority. The authorisation shall be granted if it is to be expected that the designated distribution area manager shall be able to carry out the duties in accordance with § 18 efficiently and that he meets the requirements of § 20.

(4) If no distribution area manager has been designated by 3 March 2012 in accordance with paragraph 2, the regulatory authority shall, on its own account, select an appropriate undertaking and undertake to provisionally take over the tasks of a distribution area manager. The Authority shall repeal this decision as soon as a suitable distribution area manager is appointed in accordance with paragraph 2.

Responsibilities of the distribution area managers

§ 18. (1) The distribution area managers shall be entrusted with the following tasks:


1.		the booking of capacity at the points of exit of transmission networks to the distribution networks in the market area, which correspond to the forecast capacity requirements in the market area;
2.		the management of the capacities in accordance with Z 1, the capacity at the points of feed into the transmission system from the distribution network and the capacity in the distribution line systems of network level 1 in accordance with Appendix 1;
3.		the processing of the nomination at the points of exit of the transmission networks to the distribution networks in accordance with the market rules;
4.		the implementation of a delimitation of control energy to balance energy in the distribution system according to transparent and objective criteria; the method of demarcation shall require the approval of the regulatory authority;
5.		the establishment of a uniform calculation scheme in coordination with the market area manager for the identification and designation of the capacity for those points of entry and exit of the market area which do not simultaneously enter and exit points in the market area. the transmission system; the calculation model shall be subject to the approval of the regulatory authority. amendments shall be made at the request of the regulatory authority;
6.		to coordinate the response to requests for network access to the distribution network and the allocation of capacity pursuant to Article 27 (2) and to conclude appropriate contracts and to identify the use of capacity;
7.		conclude contracts with the network operators to grant access to the network operators, to the extent necessary, a right of access to the upstream natural gas pipelines (Article 27 (1)) up to the virtual trading point pursuant to § 31 (3);
8.		the retrieval of physical balancing energy in the distribution area primarily via the virtual trading point, taking into account the efficient use of control energy with the aim of minimizing the retrieval of physical balancing energy;
9.		Provision of the system service (performance and pressure control) pressure maintenance) by taking the technical-physical compensation or concluding corresponding contracts with third parties;
10.		control of the distribution line systems referred to in Appendix 1, by means of specifications to the distribution system operators;
11.		Preparation of long-term planning;
12.		in the context of long-term planning, annual reporting to the regulatory authority on the relationship between supply and demand, the expected development of demand and the availability of supply, planning and construction additional capacity as well as measures for the operation of demand peaks and for the management of failures of one or more suppliers. The data determined in the context of long-term planning can be used for the purpose of energy management (§ 20i and § 20j Energielenkungsgesetz 1982) as well as for the preparation of the monitoring report (§ 28 para. 3 E-ControlG);
13.		Creation of summary load forecasts for early detection of imbalances;
14.		Monitoring of state variables at interfaces of the line systems transmitted to it for control;
15.		the knowledge of the network utilization in the management systems assigned to it at any time, in particular with regard to rivers and pressure;
16.		the creation of a load forecast for the detection of bottlenecks;
17.		ensure optimum utilisation of the capacity of the management systems entrusted to it for control by the coordination of transport services;
18.		the forwarding of the reply to the network access request to the distribution system operator in accordance with Article 27 (1) within a period of five days;
19.		Publication of the network utilization of the piping systems transmitted to it for control;
20.		bottleneck management, where transport for the purpose of retail supply takes precedence over other transport;
21.		the submission of its General Terms and Conditions for approval to the regulatory authority in accordance with Section 26;
22.		Purchase and sale of balancing energy according to Z 8 at the market price primarily at the virtual trading point in the name and on the account of the balance sheet group coordinator, insofar as they are called up for the distribution area manager in accordance with the applicable regulations. In accordance with Article 87 (3) of the Financial Regulation, an additional compensation energy requirement is to be processedthrough the balance sheet group coordinator in accordance with the market rules;
23.		the establishment of measures to overcome physical bottlenecks in the management systems entrusted to it for control, in cooperation with network operators and storage undertakings;
24.		to make available to the network operators and to the clearing house the data necessary for carrying out the calculation of the balancing energy in the distribution system, in particular by means of the data to be used for the calculation of the Timetable deviations and the deviation from the load profile of each balance sheet group are required;
25.		conclude contracts for the exchange of data with the network operators, the accounting group responsible and the balance sheet group coordinator and other market participants, in accordance with the market rules;
26.		the handling of the timetable;
27.		to follow the instructions of the balance-group coordinator if there are no compensatory energy offers, including the procurement provided for in Z 8 and Z 22, and
28.		coordination of the maintenance of the distribution line systems in accordance with Appendix 1 to minimise the impact on network users.

(2) The distribution area manager shall be provided by the market area manager, the balance sheet group coordinator, the network operators and the balance-sheet group managers, suppliers and operators of storage and production facilities with all the information to be provided by the distribution area manager. Fulfilment of the tasks and responsibilities of the distribution area managers are required. In particular, information on capacity utilisation shall also be given to the distribution area manager from the network operators.

3. In the event of disputes between one of the parties referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 with the distribution area manager on the measures and information necessary for the performance of the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, the regulatory authority shall decide on: Request with information on the measures and information to be taken and/or information. ,

Cooperation between the market area manager and the distribution area manager

§ 19. (1) The distribution area manager and the market area manager shall support and coordinate each other in the performance of their tasks, with the aim of achieving the overall network of a market area as a whole in a uniform and coherent manner. . This applies in particular to the establishment of uniform methods for the identification and designation of capacities, specifications for network coupling contracts, the preparation of the coordinated network development plan as well as the long-term planning, procurement and the management of the use of control energy, the preparation of a plan of action in accordance with § 25, and the publication of information concerning the market area. The cooperation contract shall be submitted to the regulatory authority at its request, and it shall be subject to comments and/or comments. To take account of the objections of the regulatory authority.

(2) The functions of the distribution area manager and of the market area manager can be merged, so far as the owners agree. This company must then be set up in the legal form of a public limited company.

Independence of the distribution area manager

§ 20. (1) The distribution area manager must, at least in terms of legal form, organisation and decision-making authority, be independent of all areas of activity which are not related to the pursuit of the activities referred to in Article 18 or the provision of services in the Connection with the planning, control and capacity and network access management of natural gas control or storage facilities.

(2) The distribution area manager shall be established in the legal form of a public limited company.

Management of transport capacity in the distribution area

§ 21. The capacity of the distribution line systems referred to in Appendix 1 and the capacity booked at the discharge points of the transmission system to the distribution networks in the market area shall be carried out by the distribution area manager in cooperation with the network operators managed. The ownership of the line systems as well as the operation of the line systems shall remain unaffected. On the instructions of the distribution area manager, network operators shall provide the data required for network access.

Long term planning

§ 22. (1) The objective of long-term planning is to:


1.	the distribution line systems referred to in Appendix 1 with regard to
a)		meeting the demand for transport capacity to supply end-users, taking into account emergency scenarios,
b)		the achievement of a high level of availability of transport capacity (security of supply of infrastructure),
c)		, as well as the capacity requirements at the points of entry and exit to the transmission system as well as to storage facilities
	, and
2.	To ensure consistency with the Community-wide network development plan and the coordinated network development plan in accordance with § § 63 et seq.
3.	comply with the infrastructure standard in the market area in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010;
4.	to increase transparency in relation to planned and already decided network extensions and network notions, including the schedule of investment projects, for the market.

(2) The distribution area manager shall have the task of drawing up, at least once a year, a long-term planning for the distribution line installations referred to in Appendix 1 in order to achieve the objectives of this law and the objectives set out in paragraph 1. The planning period shall be determined by the distribution area manager, which shall be carried out in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner on the basis of the data available to it. The minimum planning period is ten years.

(3) In the preparation of long-term planning, account must be taken of:


1.		the technical and economic benefits,
2.		appropriate assumptions on the development of the extraction, supply, consumption, storage requirements and cross-border gas exchange, taking into account investment plans for regional and Community-wide networks, the the coordinated network development plan and the investment plans for storage facilities,
3.		the current situation and forecasts in terms of supply and demand; and
4.		the objectives set out in paragraph 1.

(4) In the explanatory memo to the application for the approval of long-term planning, the distribution area manager, in particular in the case of competing projects for the establishment, extension, modification or operation of line installations, shall have the technical and technical equipment, economic reasons for endorsement or rejection of individual projects and, at the request of the Authority, to present the documentation of the decision.

(5) All market participants shall, at the written request of the distribution area manager, have the data necessary for the preparation of long-term planning, in particular for the assessment of existing or potential capacity bottlenecks. within a reasonable period of time. The distribution area manager can also draw on other data, which are appropriate for long-term planning, independently of this. These data shall also be taken into account in the assessment of network access applications and requests for capacity expansion by the distribution area manager.

(6) Long-term planning shall be submitted to the regulatory authority for approval. The authorisation shall be granted if the measures presented in the long-term planning appear to be appropriate to support and not to endanger the objectives set out in paragraph 1 and to ensure consistency with the Community-wide network development plan as well as the coordinated network development plan. The authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions, conditions or fixed-term conditions, to the extent that this is necessary for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this Act.

(7) The distribution area manager shall be obliged to amend or re-create the long-term planning submitted for approval at the request of the regulatory authority. Applications for modification of the most recently approved long-term planning shall be admissible at any time, provided that natural gas piping, which is to be additionally constructed, expanded, modified or operated, or other major changes to the Planning bases require a new overall assessment in the context of long-term planning.

(8) In the case of capacity bottlenecks at the discharge points of the transmission networks to the distribution networks, a possible extension of these capacities in the long-term planning must be taken into account.

(9) The proportionate, actually incurred costs associated with the implementation of measures referred to in an approved long-term planning are to be recognised in the determination of the system usage fees in accordance with § § 69 et seq.

Monitoring of long-term planning

§ 23. (1) The regulatory authority shall monitor and evaluate the implementation of long-term planning and may require the distribution area manager to change the long-term planning as far as this is in order to achieve the objectives of long-term planning according to § 22 (1).

(2) Where a network operator has not carried out an investment which had to be carried out in accordance with the approved long-term planning other than compelling reasons which were not to be influenced by it, the regulatory authority shall be the regulatory authority, provided that: Investment on the basis of recent long-term planning is still relevant-obligated to take at least one of the following measures to ensure the implementation of the investment concerned:


1.		the regulatory authority shall require the network operator to carry out the investment in question; or
2.		the regulatory authority shall initiate a tendering procedure for the implementation of the investment in question, open to all investors, the regulatory authority being able to appoint a third party to carry out the tendering procedure; or
3.		the regulatory authority requires the operator to agree to a capital increase with a view to financing the necessary investments and to enable independent investors to participate in the capital.

3. The regulatory authority shall require a tendering procedure in accordance with paragraph 2 (2) (2), which may require the network operator to accept one or more of the following measures:


1.		Financing by third parties,
2.		Establishment by third parties,
3.		the establishment of the new installations in question by themselves,
4.		Operation of the new installations in question by themselves.

(4) The network operator shall provide investors with all necessary documentation for the implementation of the investment, shall establish the connection of the new installations to the network and shall make every effort to ensure the implementation of the investment project . The relevant financing agreements shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority.

(5) The regulatory authority shall exercise its powers in accordance with paragraph 2 (2) (1) to (3), which shall cover the costs of investments by the relevant system use charges.

Charge for the distribution area manager

§ 24. (1) In respect of the services provided for the performance of the tasks of a distribution area manager, the regulatory authority shall, on its own account, determine the costs, including a reasonable profit surcharge, by means of communication. The price approaches corresponding to the services are to be determined in a cost-oriented way. In doing so, the distribution area manager shall also be subject to reasonable costs arising from the requirement to compensate for load fluctuations by means of a power and pressure regulation or pressure maintenance (provision of control power). The costs associated with the provision of activities not covered by section 18 shall be deducted from the determination of the costs.

(2) The Regulation of the Regulatory Authority in accordance with § 70 shall determine, on the basis of the costs established in accordance with paragraph 1, a fee to be paid by a distribution system operator of the respective network area to be determined in the Regulation is. The share of the remuneration for the distribution area manager, which is to be accounted for by the respective network area, is therefore determined on the one hand by the work (kWh) delivered to the end user in the respective network area, with the result of the distribution area manager being the result of the following: Costs in accordance with § 74 for the booking of the discharge points of the transmission system to the distribution network thereof are excluded. The costs of the distribution area manager for the booking of the exit points from the transmission system to the distribution network in accordance with § 74 shall be per distribution system operator on the basis of the payment determination and cost shift in accordance with Section 83 (3) and be replaced by the respective distribution system operator at the point of discharge of the transmission system to the distribution area manager.

Measures for the elimination of short-or medium-term capacity constraints

§ 25. Where the distribution area manager recognizes in the short term the need for measures to eliminate seasonal capacity bottlenecks, it shall have the market area manager, the network operators concerned, the balance sheet group responsible, the suppliers, Balance group coordinators, storage companies and/or to report to operators of production facilities the need for measures to eliminate seasonal capacity shortages, and to draw up a plan of action with these companies. Excluded from this obligation are measures concerning production or storage and subject to the Mineral Raw Materials Act. The companies concerned are obliged to participate in their efforts. The distribution area manager shall immediately inform the regulatory authority of the action plan.

General conditions of the distribution area manager

§ 26. (1) The General Conditions of the Distribution Area Manager shall, on the one hand, regulate the legal relationship between the distribution area manager and the balance sheet group managers (AB VGM-BGV) and, on the other hand, between the distribution area manager and the distribution area manager Network operators (AB VGM-network). The General Conditions of the Distribution Area Manager and their amendments shall require the approval of the regulatory authority. This authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions, conditions or fixed-term conditions, in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. The duration shall not be less than a period of three years. Distribution area managers shall be obliged to amend or re-establish the General Conditions at the request of the regulatory authority to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of this Act.

(2) The General Conditions of the Distribution Area Manager shall not be discriminatory and shall not contain any abusive practices or unjustified restrictions and shall not endanger security of supply. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		ensuring compliance with the tasks assigned to the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the balance sheet group managers and the network operators;
2.		they are not in conflict with existing legislation.

(3) In particular, AB VGM-BGV shall contain:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, in particular in order to comply with the other market rules;
2.		the handling of the nomination and schedule management by the distribution area manager;
3.		the procedure relating to the management of the capacity of customers by the accounting groups responsible;
4.		the balancing energy management by the distribution area manager in the distribution area;
5.		the definition of the data to be exchanged between the contracting parties;
6.		the procedure and modalities for network access in the distribution network (§ 27); the change of the supplier or the balance sheet group (§ 123);
7.		Provisions in accordance with § 27 (2) concerning the release of unused network capacities.

(4) The AB VGM network shall contain in particular:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, in particular in order to comply with the other market rules;
2.		the procedure and the modalities for requests for access to the network;
3.		the technical minimum requirements for network access;
4.		the allocation process relating to the allocation of network capacities;
5.		the definition of the data to be exchanged between the contracting parties, in particular network data, as well as information on changes in the supply of goods;
6.		the obligation of distribution system operators to determine the condition of the gas at the feed points;
7.		the way in which technical raids and incidents are reported and how they can be remedied;
8.		the remuneration to be paid by the distribution system operators in accordance with Article 24;
9.		Rules on payment and accounting;
10.		Provisions in accordance with § 27 (2) concerning the release of unused network capacities.

2. Main piece

General rights and obligations of network operators

Section 1

Network access

Network access in the distribution network

§ 27. (1) The network operator on whose network the customer, production, storage and/or storage A natural gas pipeline system for which access to the network is sought shall be obliged to grant network access to network access to the general conditions and to the system usage charge as defined by the Regulation. In so far as the network access request also relates to the natural gas lines upstream of the respective distribution network, the network operator must immediately forward the network access request to the distribution area manager for further reason. For this purpose, the natural gas undertakings concerned shall conclude civil-law contracts for the benefit of the network access authorised. The line capacity used for the customer up to now in the line network up to the virtual trading point is also available to the customer in the case of a supply change and in the case of the supply by a number of suppliers. In the case of the supply of several suppliers, that part of the capacity previously used for the customer in the line network, which is required by the incoming supplier for the partial supply of the customer, is to be made available by the previous provider. The settlement of the compensation energy of the customer supplied by a number of suppliers is to be carried out in that balance sheet group which is assigned to the counting point of the respective customer.

(2) The balance-sheet groups shall have the balance-sheet groups on the basis of network access applications or Requests for capacity expansion or To adjust the supply changes from the distribution area manager to the sum of the points of exit of the transmission networks to the distribution networks in the market area in their capacity allocated to their actual capacity needs and in the event of a bottleneck , within the limits of the allocated capacity, to make the minimum feed-in requirements for the distribution area manager, provided that they are not caused by force majeure or other unforeseeable or influenceable events, such as maintenance and maintenance, Maintenance work in upstream networks is prevented, this Obligation to comply. Unused itted transport capacity must be made available to third parties. If the line capacity is not registered or is not registered in time, there is a right to network access only in accordance with the free line capacities.

Conditions of access to distribution line systems

§ 28. (1) The general distribution network conditions and their amendments shall be subject to the approval of the regulatory authority. This authorisation shall, if necessary, be granted subject to conditions or conditions to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. Distribution system operators shall be required, in so far as this is necessary in order to achieve a competitive market, to modify the general distribution network conditions at the request of the regulatory authority. The regulatory authority may also require that the time limit within which, at the request of a customer, the date of the counting point be made available to him or to an authorised representative in a common format in electronic form or to: To carry out the change of supply, the general conditions are to be met. The approved general distribution network conditions shall be published on the Internet.

(2) The general distribution network conditions shall not be discriminatory and shall not contain abusive practices or unjustified restrictions and shall not endanger the security of supply or the quality of service. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		the performance of the tasks assigned to the distribution system operator is ensured;
2.		the services of network users are linked to the services of the distribution system operator in a factual context;
3.		the mutual obligations are allocated in a balanced and responsible manner;
4.		contain provisions on technical requirements for connection to the network at the network connection point and for all arrangements to prevent disruptive effects on the network of the network operator or other installations;
5.		establish objective criteria for the acquisition of natural gas from a different network area and the use of interconnectors;
6.		they contain rules on the allocation of costs, which are based on cost causation;
7.		they are clearly and clearly defined;
8.		they contain definitions of the terms which are not generally understood;
9.		they are not in conflict with existing legislation.

(3) The general distribution network conditions shall include in particular:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, in particular in order to comply with the other market rules;
2.		the technical minimum requirements for network access;
3.		the quality requirements applicable to the feed-in and transport of natural gas and biogenic gases;
4.		the possible feed-in points for natural gas and biogenic gases;
5.		the procedure and the modalities for requests for access to the network;
6.		the procedure and modalities for the exchange of the supplier or group of balance sheets (§ 123);
7.		the data to be supplied by network users;
8.		the obligation on the network users to declare their use of the capacity they have booked, in accordance with the deadlines defined in the market rules, by a timetable;
9.		a period of not more than 14 days from the date on which the distribution system operator has to respond to network access; in the case of the exchange process, this period shall be laid down in the Regulation in accordance with Section 123 (1);
10.		the basic principles for the settlement;
11.		the duration of the contract, the conditions for the renewal and termination of benefits and the contractual relationship;
12.		any compensation and refund schemes in the event of non-compliance with the contractually agreed performance quality and an indication of the dispute settlement procedure provided for by law;
13.		the nature and form of accounting;
14.		the way in which technical raids and incidents are reported and how they can be remedied;
15.		the obligation of net access authorized persons for advance payment or security (cash security, bank guarantee, deposit of non-vinkulated savings books) at an appropriate level, to the extent that the circumstances of the individual case are to be expected, that the network user does not comply with his or her payment obligations or does not comply with time;
16.		the modalities for which the customer is obliged to pay partial payments, with a payment at least ten times a year, at least;
17.		the period of time within which the customer's inquiries are to be answered.
In the general distribution network conditions, standards and regulations of the technology (rules of technology) can also be declared binding in their respectively valid versions.

(4) The network operators shall inform the customers of the essential contents of the general terms and conditions prior to the conclusion of the contract. For this purpose, an information sheet is to be handed out to the customer. Network operators shall have transparent information on current prices and tariffs to network users. The measures for the protection of customers laid down in Annex I to Directive 2009 /73/EC must be complied with. The general network conditions are to be followed by the customer upon request.

Change of network conditions

§ 29. If new General Terms and Conditions of Network are approved, the network operator shall inform the system users in a letter addressed to them personally within four weeks of the approval and shall send them to them at their request. In this letter or on the invoice, the changes to the General Terms and Conditions and the criteria to be complied with during the amendment under this Federal Act shall be reproduced in a comprehensible way. At the end of three months from the date of notification, the changes shall be deemed to have been agreed as of the following month's date.

Quality standards for network service performance for end users connected to the network

§ 30. (1) The regulatory authority shall, in addition to the tasks and obligations of the network operators as defined in this Act, have standards for network operators in relation to the safety, reliability and quality of the network users and other network users market participants to set up services and indicators to monitor compliance with the standards set out in the Regulation. Any compensation and refund schemes should be laid down in the event of non-compliance with the standards for network operators in the Regulation where compliance with the established standards is otherwise not fully guaranteed. The authorisation for a regulation must be preceded by a general evaluation procedure, in which, in particular, the network operator concerned has been given the opportunity to comment.

(2) These standards may include in particular:


1.		the safety and reliability of the network operation, including the duration and frequency of supply interruptions;
2.		Time limits for the production of connections to the network and the taking of repairs or repairs. the announcement of supply disruptions;
3.		Deadlines for responding to requests for the provision of network service;
4.		Complaint management.

(3) The standards to be laid down in the Regulation for network operators shall be included in their General Terms and Conditions in so far as they relate to the rights and obligations of the network operator with regard to the network access beneficiaries.

(4) The network operators shall submit and publish annually to the regulatory authority the measures set out in the Regulation.

Network access in the transmission system

§ 31. (1) The transmission system operator, the network of which is responsible for the input and/or for the spout into the from the market area shall be obliged to grant network access to the network access to the general conditions and to the system usage fee as defined by the Regulation, taking into account the arrangements provided for in paragraph 4.

(2) Access to transmission networks shall, in principle, be made by booking freely accessible and tradable capacity at entry and exit points in and/or out of the from the transmission system and by introducing the booked capacity into a balance sheet group.

(3) Capacity rights at feed-in points entitle the supply of gas quantities to the transmission system and the transport of the gas quantities to the virtual trading point of the market area. Capacity rights at exit points entitle to transport from the virtual trading point to the exit point and to the supply of these gas quantities from the transmission system. Trading shall be carried out exclusively at the virtual trading point and shall be subject to the general conditions of the operator of the virtual trading point. In particular, they shall be designed in such a way as to ensure the fulfilment of the tasks assigned to the operator of the virtual trading point. The regulatory authority shall be responsible for approving the general conditions of the operator of the virtual trading point and for any modification. Permission shall be granted subject to conditions or conditions to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. The operator of the virtual trading point shall, at the request of the regulatory authority, in so far as it is necessary to comply with the provisions of this law, make changes to the General Terms and Conditions. At the discharge points of the transmission system to the distribution network in the market area, the transmission system operators shall exclusively conclude capacity contracts with the distribution area manager. Balance-sheet groups also registered in the distribution network shall be used for the discharge of gas quantities to distribution networks in the market area to the extent of the capacity allocated by the distribution area manager of the balance sheet group and for the transport of these gas quantities from the virtual trading point to the exit point into the distribution network.

(4) The connection of new industrial customer installations to a transmission system may take place if the distribution system operator, in whose distribution area the installation to be connected is located, has refused the network connection in accordance with section 33 (1). This is to be demonstrated by the industrial customer to the transmission system operator.

Conditions of access to transmission lines

§ 32. (1) The regulatory authority shall be responsible for approving the general conditions for network access to transmission networks and for each modification. The authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions or conditions to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. The transmission system operators shall, where necessary to comply with the provisions of this law, make changes to the General Conditions at the request of the regulatory authority. The approved general terms and conditions are to be published in German and English on the Internet.

(2) The general conditions for network access to transmission networks shall not be discriminatory and shall not contain any abusive practices or unjustified restrictions, and shall not be subject to security of supply or to any such restrictions. the quality of services. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		the performance of the tasks assigned to the transmission system operator is ensured;
2.		the services of network users are linked to the services of the transmission system operator in a factual context;
3.		the mutual obligations are allocated in a balanced and responsible manner;
4.		contain provisions on technical requirements for connection to the network at the network connection point and for all arrangements to prevent disruptive effects on the network of the transmission system operator or other installations;
5.		they contain rules on the allocation of costs, which are based on cost causation;
6.		they are clearly and clearly defined;
7.		they contain definitions of the terms which are not generally understood, and
8.		they are not in conflict with existing legislation.

(3) The general conditions for network access to transmission networks shall include in particular:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties;
2.		the technical minimum requirements for network access;
3.		the quality requirements applicable to the supply and transport of natural gas;
4.		the possible feed-in and exit points for natural gas;
5.		the various services and quality levels to be provided by the transmission system operators in the context of access to the network;
6.		the procedure and the modalities for requests for access to the network;
7.		effective provisions, according to which criteria and the manner in which unused network capacities have to be made available to third parties;
8.		the data to be supplied by network users;
9.		the obligation of network users to nominate the use of the capacity they have booked in compliance with the deadlines defined in the market rules;
10.		a period of not more than 10 days from the date on which the transmission system operator, in cooperation with other transmission system operators, has to respond to network access;
11.		the duration of the contract, the conditions for the renewal and termination of benefits and the contractual relationship;
12.		any compensation and refund schemes in the event of non-compliance with the contractually agreed performance quality and an indication of the dispute settlement procedure provided for by law;
13.		the basic principles for the settlement;
14.		the nature and form of accounting;
15.		the charging scheme for the booking of capacity and
16.		the way in which technical raids and incidents are reported and how they can be remedied.
In general terms, standards and regulations of the technology (rules of technology) can also be declared binding in their respectively valid versions.

Refusal of access to the network

§ 33. (1) The access to the network may be refused for the following reasons:


1.		extraordinary network states (incidents);
2.		a lack of network capacity or a lack of network;
3.		if the network access would prevent a network operator from complying with the public service obligations imposed on it pursuant to § 5;
4.		if the access to the network is rejected for a customer who, in the State in which the supplier or one of the dominant undertakings is situated, would not have access to the network in the absence of a legal claim, and this is established by the regulatory authority;
5.		if the technical specifications cannot be brought into line with each other in a reasonable manner.
The network operator to whose network the customer's facility is connected, or for whose entry or exit point network access has been sought, the denial of the access to the network shall have to be justified in writing with regard to the network access authorized. Where the refusal of access to the network is carried out via the instigation of a third natural gas undertaking, it shall also be specified in the explanatory statement of that natural gas undertaking on the grounds of which the refusal of access to the system shall be effected.

(2) In the event of refusal of access to the network pursuant to Section 1 (2) (2) for transport in the distribution network, the network access authorized person shall have the opportunity to submit a request for capacity expansion. The capacity requirements on which this application is based shall be taken into account in the preparation of long-term planning by the distribution area manager. The application shall be accepted in accordance with the following principles:


1.		the long-term planning, which includes the necessary implementation measures to satisfy the capacity needs underlying the application for capacity expansion, has been approved by the regulatory authority;
2.		any necessary contracts for the transmission and distribution system operators concerned have been concluded with the distribution area manager in respect of the implementation of the measures provided for in the long-term planning;
3.		The application for capacity expansion can take place under any conditions.

(3) In the case of refusal of access to the network for the fault of a third natural gas undertaking, the distribution area manager shall reserve the refund of the compensation granted to the network access authorized pursuant to § 1313 of the ABGB. Natural gas undertakings connected to a natural gas undertaking (Article 7 (1) (64)) shall be liable to an undivided hand.

(4) The regulatory authority shall, at the request of the person claiming to have been infringed by the refusal of access to the network in its right to grant access to the network, have been infringed to determine whether the conditions for the access to the network have been met. Refusal to grant access to the network. Defendant


1.		in those cases where the access to the network to which the customer's installation is connected or for the entry or exit point for access to the network is refused, the operator of that network;
2.		in all other cases for which access to the network has been requested for a customer's installation, the distribution area manager in whose distribution area the customer's installation is located and the network operator on which the refusal of access to the network has been effected.
The time limit within which the regulatory authority has to decide shall be 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the cases referred to in paragraph 1 (1), (1), (4) and (5), one month from the date of the application.

(5) The respondent has to prove the existence of the refusals pursuant to paragraph 1. If the refusal of access to the network is effected via the instigation of a third natural gas undertaking, such proof may also be provided by that natural gas undertaking. The regulatory authority shall, in any position of the procedure, seek to reach an amicable agreement between network access authorised and network operators (natural gas undertakings).

(6) Where it is established that access to the network has been wrongly refused, the provider of the network concerned shall be liable to the natural gas undertaking which has wrongly refused access to the network for the purposes of the refusal to grant access to the network caused damage. In the event of the participation of several natural gas undertakings, the regulatory authority shall determine in its decision which natural gas undertaking has wrongly refused access to the network.

Section 2

Access to the network

Capacity determination

§ 34. (1) The market area manager shall identify, with the participation of the transmission system operators and the distribution area manager, a common forecast based on different load flow scenarios for the need for capacity and the load on the networks of the market area for the next ten years. The forecast shall be updated every two years and shall be consulted with ENTSO (Gas) and the network access authorized persons.

(2) Transmission system operators operating networks connected via network coupling points and the distribution area manager for the distribution line systems referred to in Appendix 1 to it for the control of the distribution area managers shall be responsible for the calculation and designation of the distribution system operators of the distribution system technical capacity to be able to identify, to the greatest possible extent, coordinated capacities in the interconnected networks. The required capacity calculations are carried out on the basis of load flow simulations according to the state of the art with the aim of covering the needs identified in the joint forecast according to paragraph 1 as much as possible. The calculations shall include at least the transmission networks of the market area and the distribution line systems in accordance with Appendix 1 and shall take into account the adjacent networks in a suitable manner.

Increase of the capacity to be expleable

§ 35. (1) If the determination of the capacities in accordance with section 34 (2) leads to the result that capacities cannot be offered permanently in a measure which corresponds to the demand for capacity and the forecast according to § 34 para. 1, the market area manager co-ordinate the application of appropriate measures to enable the identification of a correspondingly increased capacity supply. Network-use charges for transport in the distribution system according to the first sentence shall be determined by the regulatory authority in accordance with § 70 and shall be increased by the distribution area manager. The transmission system operators shall be obliged to cooperate with the market manager in this regard and to implement the appropriate measures. The measures shall be notified to the regulatory authority without delay.

(2) If the application of the measures referred to in paragraph 1 does not lead to the coverage of capacity demand and are permanently or frequently high actual load flows, and in the future no lower load flows are to be expected, the to verify the needs-based expansion of the network and to take account of the need to develop the network development plan in accordance with the needs of the transmission system operators. This applies accordingly if the prognosis according to § 34 para. 1 permanently or frequently allows high actual load flows to be expected.

Capacity Offering and Assignment

§ 36. (1) Transmission system operators shall provide fixed and interruptible capacity. Transmission system operators shall be able to offer the capacities in such a way as to enable the capacity offered to be booked and used without the establishment of a transport path and without any other additional conditions. Network users shall be able to book at bookable points independently of each other, at different heights and in time different from each other, capacities.

(2) The capacities determined in accordance with § 34 and § 35 shall be offered to the network users at least on a yearly, monthly and daily basis for all bookable points. The share of the capacity allocated to the respective contracts of different maturity is determined by demand.

Offer interruptible capacity

§ 37. (1) Interruptible capacities differ from fixed capacities only by the interruptibility themselves and the remuneration to be measured in accordance with § § 72 ff.

(2) Interruptible capacity shall be offered in such a way as to make it possible to use the part of the capacity of the networks which is not used by the holders of fixed capacity or which is not predictable in advance.

(3) Only the foreseeable unenforceability of the altogether interruptible nominal transport shall be subject to the interruption of the interruption in order to take full account of all the possibilities offered by the network operators in the short term. An interruption is to be announced in good time before the interruption occurs, so that the network user can take compensatory measures.

Trade in capacity rights

§ 38. Network users may, without the consent of the transmission system operator, wholly or partially sell acquired rights from capacity contracts to registered network users or leave registered network users for use. Network users may act on acquired capacity rights on the common online platform in accordance with § 39 or after consulting the market in cooperation with the market area manager on the exchange trading in the secondary market.

Online platform for capacity supply

§ 39. (1) Capacity allocation shall be carried out through an electronic online platform for each market area. The platform is user-friendly and in particular has to enable procedures for anonymous handling of the capacity trading. The electronic online platform is available at least in German and English language.

(2) The publication of information relating to the market area referred to in Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 for relevant points in the transmission network shall be made via the electronic online platform. The relevant points shall be defined by the transmission system operators and shall be approved by the regulatory authority.

(3) The publication of information relating to the distribution area, in particular the publication of the information pursuant to § 18 (1) (19), has to be made via the electronic online platform.

(4) The market area manager offers via the electronic online platform a balance sheet group contract for the establishment of balance sheet groups in accordance with § 91 (2) (1) (1) (1).

Claim for the transfer of capacities

§ 40. (1) In the event of a change of supply, the new supplier may require the supplier to transfer the feed-in capacities actually used for the supply of this customer to the market area if the supply of the customer is is otherwise not possible according to the delivery commitment received. This is to be justified on the basis of the previous supplier.

(2) (1) also applies to the supply of a counting point by a number of suppliers for the proportional capacity.

(3) The regulatory authority shall, at the request of the new supplier, determine whether the transfer of the feed-in capacity has been denied by the previous supplier. The commitments entered into by the previous supplier, which are contrary to a transfer, must be taken into account in this connection. The time limit within which the regulatory authority has to decide shall be one month from the date of receipt of the application.

Procedure for determining by Regulation

§ 41. (1) In order to achieve efficient network access and uniform rules for all market participants concerned and the objectives of this law, the regulatory authority may, in compliance with the requirements of a safe and reliable Network operations and the balance of the interests of market participants for each market area separately, taking into account the network codes and guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, in accordance with Article 23 of the Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 by means of regulations. It shall carry out a public consultation on the proposed provisions in accordance with paragraph 2 before the Regulation procedure.

(2) The regulatory authority may, in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, make


1.		the content and implementation of the common forecast by the transmission system operators for the capacity and burden on the Austrian transmission networks for the next 10 years and the capacity determination in accordance with § 34;
2.		measures to increase the capacity to be expletiable in accordance with Article 35, including the possibility of limiting or unleaping the possibility of agreeing on allocation requirements if they are contrary to the competitive development of the market;
3.		the procedures for the tendering of physical balancing energy and the calculation of the price in accordance with § 87, as well as the determination of minimum bid sizes, as well as those for the calculation and allocation of the balancing energy from market participants, distribution system operators and balance sheet group responsible data;
4.		for the design and application of standard load profiles and for the adjustment of the limits for the use of standard load profiles;
5.		on the non-discriminatory establishment and non-discriminatory operation of the online platform in accordance with § 39 and on the procedures for the provision of capacity on this platform;
6.		on the conditions and the application of the claim for the transfer of capacity pursuant to § 40;

(3) The regulatory authority may make provisions, provided that no rules of the ENTSO for Gas are provided for the facts mentioned below, or where the transmission undertakings do not comply with those guidelines in accordance with their time limit. or implement differently:


1.		Capacity supply according to § 36; in particular, capacity supply can be further differentiated and provisions relating to the share of available capacity allocated to the respective offers of contracts of different duration will be taken and will be taken at different maturities;
2.		interruptible capacity in accordance with § 37; in particular, it may be specified which procedures shall be used to divide the necessary interruptions into the nominations on the basis of interruptible capacity;
3.		at the dates of capacity allocation of the capacities of different maturities in accordance with Article 36 (2);
4.		at the dates of the nomination;
5.		renomination, in particular by providing for remuneration, setting out a different period of time between renomination and fulfilment and limiting or abolitioning the possibility of renominating;
6.		the contents of the network coupling contracts and the network access contracts;
7.		the evidence and security services to which the registration of a network user may be linked;
8.		on the conditions for the provision of compensation in the transmission system, with priority use of the virtual trading point.

(4) The regulatory authority may decide on the conditions for the provision of compensation in the market area, in particular for the duration of the compensation period, the processing of the nomination and the timetable, the exchange of data between the two Market participants and the definition of the guest day. Depending on the outcome of an appropriate consultation process in which all the operators concerned are to be involved, the harmonisation of the compensation rules in the transmission and distribution network shall be harmonised within two years. the entry into force of the Network Code in accordance with Art. 8 (6) lit. (j) to act in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009.

Section 3

Exceptions to network access

New infrastructures

§ 42. (1) The regulatory authority may, upon request, declare that the provisions of § 27, § 31, § 69 to § 84, § 97 to § 104 and § 108 to a large new infrastructure within the meaning of § 7 paragraph 1 Z 50 (connecting line and Storage facilities) or parts thereof for a given period of time are not applicable. In any event, the application shall contain the following documents:


1.	the extent of the restriction of the right to net or storage access as well as its probable duration and the rules applicable in place of the statutory provisions referred to above;
2.	the circle of customers affected by this measure as well as the extent of the restriction of their rights in accordance with § 27, § 31, § 69 bis § 84, § 97 to § 104 and § 108, as appropriate, differentiated according to customer categories, as well as
3.	appropriate evidence to provide credible evidence of the existence of the following conditions:
a)		by investing in the interconnector or storage facility concerned, competition in gas supply and security of supply will be improved;
b)		the risk associated with the investment shall be so high that the investment in the interconnector or storage facility would not be made without exception in accordance with paragraph 1;
c)		the infrastructure is the property of a natural or legal person or registered civil society, which at least in legal form is separate from the network operators in whose networks the infrastructure is created;
d)		the users of such infrastructure shall be subject to system usage charges or storage charges;
e)		the exception referred to in paragraph 1 does not adversely affect competition or the effective functioning of the internal market in natural gas or the efficient functioning of the provisions set out in § 27, § 31, § 69 bis § 84, § 97 to § 104 and § 108 for the Distribution and transmission lines and storage systems connected to the interconnector or storage system;
f)		in the context of the large new infrastructure, long-term contracts are in line with the competition rules.

(2) (1) shall also apply to any increase in capacity of existing interconnectors or storage facilities and to changes in such installations which enable the development of new sources of gas supply.

(3) The award of an exception in accordance with paragraph 1 may be based on a new interconnector or storage facility, a considerably enlarged existing connecting line or storage facility, or the modification of an existing interconnector or line, or A storage facility in its entirety or on parts thereof.

(4) The request shall be amended at the request of the regulatory authority to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions and objectives of this Act.

(5) The regulatory authority may adopt a communication pursuant to paragraph 1, subject to conditions or conditions, in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions and objectives of this Act. Under Section 108, the regulatory authority may grant only temporary and partial exceptions, subject to conditions and conditions.

(6) In the decision referred to in paragraph 1, the regulatory authority shall, in particular, the duration of long-term contracts relating to the major new infrastructure, the new capacity to be created or the modification of the existing the capacity and time limits of the project, as well as the non-discriminatory access to this new infrastructure.

(7) In the case of a derogation from paragraph 1 above, rules and mechanisms for capacity management and capacity allocation may be established, subject to the following minimum criteria:


1.		in the invitation to tender, the overall technical capacity to be awarded, the number and size of the shares (lots) and the allocation procedure should be announced in the event of a surplus of demand;
2.		both fixed and interruptible transport and storage rights are to be offered on a yearly and monthly basis;
3.		Potential customers of the new infrastructure must be given the opportunity, through a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory procedure, to be able to express an interest in the contracting of capacity for the new infrastructure before a decision by the regulatory authority has been taken;
4.		the invitation to tender shall be published in the Official Journal of the Wiener Zeitung and in the Official Journal of the European Communities at the expense of the applicant;
5.		the award procedure has to be carried out in a fair and non-discriminatory manner;
6.		in the event of lots not being issued in accordance with the invitation to tender, the allocation of the capacity shall be repeated in a market-conformant manner.

(8) The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published on the Internet by the regulatory authority.

(9) In the case of a connection line or a storage facility connected to the network of a Member State, the competent regulatory authorities in the other Member States concerned shall be consulted before the derogation is granted. Within six months of the date on which the last regulatory authority has received an application in accordance with paragraph 1, the regulatory authority shall inform the Agency of the agreement reached in the decisions of the national regulatory authorities.

(10) The Agency shall be responsible for exceptional decisions and shall carry out the tasks of this provision if:


1.		there is a joint request from the competent national regulatory authorities, or
2.		the competent national regulatory authorities have not been able to reach an agreement within the meaning of (9) within a period of six months from the date on which the last of those regulatory authorities received the request for an exemption. The competent national regulatory authorities may request, in a joint request, that this period be extended by up to three months.
Prior to the Agency's decision, the competent national regulatory authorities shall be consulted and the applicant shall be consulted.

(11) If the Agency is not competent in accordance with paragraph 10, the regulatory authority shall immediately forward a copy of the application to the European Commission. The regulatory authority shall forward a reasoned draft decision to the European Commission, including all information relevant to the decision, which shall, in particular, include:


1.		a detailed justification of the derogation granted, including financial information, which justifies the need for the exception;
2.		an investigation into the effects of the granting of the exemption on competition and the effective functioning of the internal gas market;
3.		a justification of the period of validity of the derogation and of the share of the total capacity of the natural gas infrastructure for which the exemption is granted;
4.		the outcome of the consultation of the regulatory authorities concerned, in the case of exemptions relating to a connecting line;
5.		an indication of the contribution of infrastructure to the diversification of gas supply.

(12) Within two months of the date of receipt of the notification, the European Commission shall require the decision to amend or repeal the decision, the regulatory authority shall comply with the decision of the European Commission within one month. and to inform the European Commission thereof. The two-month period shall be extended for a further two months if the European Commission requests additional information.

(13) The exception decision shall become ineffective two years after the legal force of the date of the decision, if the construction of the infrastructure has not yet begun. The exception decision shall be ineffective five years after the date of the date of the decision if the infrastructure has not been put into service, unless the European Commission decides that the delay is due to circumstances to which the the applicant has no influence.

(14) The rules laid down in Directive 2003 /55/EC concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 98 /30/EC, OJ L 201, 31.7.2003, p. No. 57., derogations shall apply to the date specified in the relevant communication on the granting of the derogation.

3. Main piece

Training requirements for network operators

Section 1

Requirements

Approval

§ 43. The pursuit of the activities of a transmission system operator or of a distribution system operator shall be subject to the approval of the regulatory authority in accordance with the provisions of this Federal Law. The authorisation shall, if necessary, be granted subject to conditions, conditions or a limited period of time.

Approval requirements

§ 44. (1) The authorisation shall be granted;


1.	if it is to be expected that the approver will be able to do so
a)		Public service obligations imposed in accordance with Section 5, and
b)		obligations imposed in accordance with the provisions of this Act
	, and is capable of carrying out the function of the transport of natural gas through a network, as well as the responsibility for the operation, maintenance and, if necessary, the development of the network.
2.	if the licence holder provides for the conclusion of a liability insurance for an insurer entitled to operate this insurance branch in Austria or another EU or EEA Member State, in which the insurance sum per person is insured The insurance case for personal and property damage is at least 20 million euros, with the sum of insurance being limited to the amount of 40 million euros per year;
3.	if it is a natural person,
a)		is self-justified and the 24. Year of age,
b)		has Austrian nationality or is a national of another EU or EEA Member State,
c)		has its principal place of residence in the home country or in another EU or EEA Member State; and
d)		is not excluded from the exercise of the authorisation;
4.	in the case of a legal person or a registered private company,
a)		has its registered office in the country or in another EU or EEA Member State; and
b)		has appointed a managing director for the exercise.
5.	in the case of a transmission system operator, provided that the certification is in accordance with § 119.

(2) The grounds for exclusion in accordance with § 13 GewO 1994 shall apply mutationally.

(3) If the self-authorization is lost, the approval may be exercised further by a managing director appointed by the legal representative.

(4) The Authority shall have a request from the requirements referred to in paragraph 1 (3) (3). (a) to (c) to provide evidence where the operation of the distribution system is in the public interest for the supply of gas to the population and to the economy;

(5) The requirement of paragraph 1 Z 3 lit. b is omitted if a managing director is appointed.

Technical Operations Manager

§ 45. (1) Network operators shall be obliged to appoint a natural person as the manager of the technical management and supervision of the operation of the networks prior to the establishment of the operation of a network. The appointment of several heads of operations shall be permissible if the areas for which the operations managers are responsible are delimited.

(2) The operating manager must comply with the conditions laid down in § 44 (1) Z 3 and must be technically competent to manage and monitor the operation of a natural gas pipeline system. Section 44 (4) shall apply mutatily.

(3) The professional competence shall be proven by certificates of successfully completed, relevant university studies and at least three years of relevant practice in a company which carries goods in pipelines. This evidence is also provided by certificates of successfully completed maturity examination at a higher technical college or the completion of studies at a relevant university of applied sciences, as well as at least six years of age. relevant practice in a company which carries goods in pipelines.

4. From the requirement of paragraph 3, the Authority may, at the request of the network operator, grant a review if:


1.		may be adopted after the course of education and the activity to date, that the manager provided has the knowledge, skills and experience required to carry out his duties; or
2.		a sufficient level of actual competence can be accepted.

(5) The appointment of the manager shall be notified by the network operator within a period of two months of the authority. This notification shall be submitted in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

(6) If the manager of the network is to withdraw from the undertaking of the network operator, or if his order is withdrawn, the operation of the network may continue until the appointment of a new manager, but at the latest for two months. The operator must immediately notify the network operator in writing of the departure of the manager and the absence of a condition of his/her order.

Managing Director

§ 46. (1) The network operator may appoint a managing director for the performance of his duties, who shall be responsible to the authority for the compliance with the provisions of this law. However, the network operator shall remain responsible in so far as he knowingly tolerates infringements of the law of the managing director or has left it missing in the choice of the managing director in the care required.

(2) The appointment of a Managing Director shall be notified to the Authority by the network operator within a period of two months, subject to the submission of such evidence. The managing director to be appointed shall meet the following conditions:


1.	the conditions laid down in Article 44 (1) (3);
2.	a self-regulatory power of order and
3.	in the case of a legal person or a registered private company,
a)		is part of the body appointed to represent the legal representation; or
b)		is a worker who is employed at least half of the weekly normal working hours in operation in accordance with the employment legislation, or
4.	in the case of a registered personal company, is personally liable partner, who is entitled to the management and representation of the company in accordance with the social contract.
Section 44 (4) shall apply mutatily.

(3) If a legal person is a personally liable partner of a registered personal company, paragraph 2 Z 4 shall also be complied with if a natural person is appointed to the managing director in accordance with paragraph 1 of this personal company, who is a member of the legal representation of the institution of the legal person concerned, or who is a worker who has at least half of the weekly normal working hours in force in accordance with the rules of employment law; is employed.

(4) If a registered personal company is a personally liable partner of another such personal company, paragraph 2 Z 4 shall also be complied with if a natural person is appointed as the managing director in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, who shall is a personally liable partner of the relevant member company and has the position prescribed for the managing director in the second paragraph of the second subparagraph for the managing director within this member company. Within the registered civil society, this member company must provide the position required for the managing director in the second paragraph of the second paragraph of the second subparagraph.

(5) If a legal person is a personally liable partner of a registered personal company and if this registered private company is a personally liable partner of another such personal company, the paragraph shall be 2 Z 4 shall also be complied with if a person is appointed to the managing director in accordance with paragraph 1 of the last-named personal company, who is a member of the legal entity of the legal person, if the legal person is also a member of the legal entity. within the member company, the required number of members required under the second paragraph of the position and, finally, of the member company within its member company shall also be entitled to the position prescribed in paragraph 2 (4) (4).

(6) If there is an obligation to appoint a Managing Director and the Managing Director fails, the appointment of a new Managing Director of the Authority shall be reported within a period of six months.

Operational duty

§ 47. With the granting of the authorisation in accordance with § 43, a network operator shall be obliged to operate the networks operated by it to the full extent. Operating interruptions, operating restrictions and the setting of the operation shall be indicated to the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the clearing house for transactions and price formation and the regulatory authority. In the case of the intended cessation of the operation of a network, this shall also be the case of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth and the regulatory authority three months before the envisaged adjustment in accordance with the respective To preview and publish the facts in advance on the Internet.

Section 2

Liability

§ 48. (1) Network operators shall be liable for the replacement of the damage caused by a damaging operation during the operation of their installations in so far as a person is killed, injured in his body or in his health, or a cause is damaged.

§ 5 (2), § 6 bis § 8, § 10 bis § 14, § 15 paragraph 2, § 17 bis § 20 und § 23 Railway-und Motor ghaftpflichtgesetz, BGBl. No 48/1959, shall apply mutatily.

Liability limits

§ 49. (1) The liability laid down in this Federal Act shall be limited in respect of any harmful operation in the following manner:


1.		in respect of the killing or injury of persons with a capital amount of EUR 1 600 000 or a pension amount of EUR 100 000 per annum for each person injured; this limitation shall not apply to medical and funeral expenses;
2.		in respect of damage to items with an amount of EUR 8 760 000, even if several items have been damaged; if damage to real estate is less than EUR 18 250 000, the additional amount of EUR 9 490 000 shall be increased only to EUR 18 250 000. shall be used for the replacement of such damage.

(2) If, on the basis of the same event, a number of victims are to be paid, which in total exceed the maximum amounts referred to in paragraph 1 (2) (2), the individual rates shall be reduced in proportion to the total amount to which the maximum amount is to be paid is.

(3) Unaffected rules shall remain in force, according to which network operators shall be liable for the damage caused to a further extent, than under the provisions of this Federal Law or after which another is obliged to compensate for damages.

Disclaimer

§ 50. Network operators shall not be liable in so far as


1.		that the injured or killed at the time of the injurising operation has been active in the operation of the plant;
2.		the damaged cause at the time of the injurising operation in the facility where the operation has been carried out, has been transported or taken over for transport in that installation, or
3.		the damaging process has been caused by war, a belligerent company, civil war, riots, insurrection, or terrorist attack.

Proof of the conclusion of a liability insurance

§ 51. (1) Authorisation advertisers in accordance with § 43 shall have to join their application in a written declaration of an insurance undertaking confirming the conclusion of liability insurance in accordance with § 44 (1) (2) (2) and in which the insurance undertaking concerned has the right to Insurance undertakings shall notify the approval authority of any circumstance that has the effect of failing to pass or terminate the mandatory liability insurance.

(2) In the event of a notification of a circumstance which results in the absence or termination of the mandatory liability insurance, the Authority shall, unless the network operator is within a period to be determined by the Authority, shall: proves the existence of a corresponding liability insurance, to withdraw the authorisation in accordance with § 53.

Section 3

Erasing authority to operate a network

Endigungstatstocks

§ 52. The authorisation shall end in accordance with § 43:


1.		by the withdrawal of the authorisation in accordance with § 53;
2.		by rejecting the permit;
3.		by the death of the holder of the permit, if the holder is a natural person;
4.		by the demise of the legal person or by the dissolution of the registered civil society, unless otherwise provided for in Article 54;
5.		by opening the bankruptcy of the assets of the legal entity or by failing to open an insolvency proceedings in the absence of cost-covering assets;
6.		by undersawing of the holding pursuant to § 57;
7.		if a company no longer meets the characteristics described in Section 7 (1) (Z) (20) or (Z) (72).

Withdrawal

§ 53. The regulatory authority shall withdraw the authorisation in accordance with Section 43 if:


1.		the conditions laid down for the granting of authorisation (§ 44) are no longer available;
2.		a transmission or distribution system operator does not comply with its obligation to provide proof of liability insurance in accordance with section 51;
3.		the holder of the authorisation or the managing director has been punished as a result of serious breaches of the provisions of this law and there is a fear of any further irregular conduct.

Spin-off

§ 54. (1) In the case of the transfer of undertakings and subcontractors by means of reformation (in particular by means of mergers, conversions, transfers, mergers, realizations and divisions), the necessary continuation of the operation shall be carried out. Licences shall be issued to the legal successor in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 above and the rights required for the operation. The mere spin-off does not constitute a state of deprivation, in particular it does not justify any withdrawal.

(2) The authorisation for the further exercise of the authorisation within the meaning of paragraph 1 arises with the date of the registration of the re-establishment in the company register, if the legal successor fulfils the conditions of approval pursuant to § 44. The legal successor has the authority to transfer from the company's book to the transfer, following a company book extension and the documents submitted in order to accompany the registration in the company's register, within six months of the entry in the company's book. .

(3) The legal successor shall be entitled to the right after six months from the registration of the re-establishment in the Company Book if within this period he has not indicated the transfer of law or in the case of § 44 paragraph 1 Z 4 lit. b no managing director has been appointed within this period.

Dissolution of a registered partnership

§ 55. The right of exercise (authorization according to § 43) of a registered partnership shall be terminated if there is no liquidation, with the dissolution of the company, otherwise at the date of termination of the liquidation; the approval of a Registered civil society does not enlist if the company continues. The liquidator shall indicate the termination of the liquidation within two weeks of the authority.

Withdrawal of authorisation

§ 56. The withdrawal of the authorisation shall take effect on the date on which the written notification of the withdrawal shall be submitted to the Authority, unless the holder of the authorisation indicates the withdrawal for a later date. A conditional reversion is not permitted. The notification shall be irrevocable to the Authority after the date of its entry.

Measures to secure the supply of natural gas

§ 57. (1) Where a network operator does not comply with the obligations imposed on him under this Federal Act, the regulatory authority shall bear the responsibility of the regulatory authority to remedy the circumstances within a reasonable period of time.

(2) In so far as this is necessary for the elimination of a danger to the life or health of humans or to the defence of serious economic damage, the Authority may-except in the case of a defaulting company-be involved in the Transmission system operators shall, in whole or in part, use another network operator for the purpose of temporarily fulfilling the tasks of this undertaking (instruction).


1.		Are the circumstances in such a way that a complete fulfilment of the legal obligations imposed on the company is not to be expected, or
2.		the undertaking shall not follow the instructions of the regulatory authority for the elimination of the hindering circumstances,
the company shall be wholly or partly subject to the operation of the undertaking and another network operator shall be obliged to take over the operation of the network.

3. The network operator committed under paragraph 2 shall enter into the rights and obligations arising from the contracts of the company which is affected by the undersaation.

(4) The network operator engaged in accordance with paragraph 2 shall, at the request of the regulatory authority, authorise the use of the undertakings of the undertaking which is affected by the undersac against appropriate compensation to the extent that it is intended to fulfil the obligations of the network operator. of its tasks.

(5) In accordance with the legal force of the decision referred to in paragraph 2, the regulatory authority shall, at the request of the network operator, have to expropriate the network which has been used for the benefit thereof against adequate compensation.

(6) The provisions of the railway expropriation act are to be applied mutagenously to the expropriation procedure and to the determination of the compensation.

4. Main piece

Operation of networks

Section 1

Distribution networks

Obligations of distribution system operators

§ 58. (1) Distribution system operators shall carry out the following tasks and obligations;


1.		to operate the systems they operate safely, reliably and efficiently in accordance with the rules of the technology, to be able to optimally dimension them for sustainable use, or , as well as to ensure the provision of all necessary ancillary services;
2.		to ensure the technical conditions necessary for the operation of the network;
3.		to operate, maintain and develop the installations in accordance with environmental protection requirements, safety reports with systematic risk analysis, and plans for measures to prevent accidents, to limit or eliminate (i) to create disruptive measures (planning of measures) and to inform the public authorities and the public concerned in the event of serious incidents and accidents;
4.		to provide sufficient information to the operator of management or storage facilities connected to their own facilities, in order to ensure the safe and efficient operation, the coordinated development and interoperability of the networks and systems to ensure and conclude agreements with the operator of the linked installation on the transfer and transfer arrangements;
5.		without prejudice to the information, notification and disclosure requirements in force under this Federal Act, and the obligations laid down in Article 10 to grant access to the business records, commercially sensitive information, of which they become aware in the performance of their business shall be treated confidentially;
6.		to refrain from any discrimination against network users or the categories of network users, in particular in favour of their affiliates;
7.		to grant access to their facilities for access to their facilities under the approved general conditions and to the system use charges determined by the regulatory authority on non-discriminatory basis;
8.		conclude contracts with the distribution area manager to give the right of access to the network to access the upstream natural gas pipelines (Article 27 (1));
9.		follow the instructions of the distribution area manager in the use of networks to meet the requirements of network access authorised access to network access, in particular for the handling of roadmaps;
10.		to connect producers of biogenic gases which comply with the quality requirements laid down in the General Network Conditions to their natural gas network for the purpose of customer supply;
11.		conclude contracts for the exchange of data with other network operators, the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the balance sheet group coordinator and the balance sheet group coordinator and other market participants in accordance with market rules;
12.		to set up a special balance sheet group for the determination of network losses and self-consumption, which only has to meet the necessary criteria for a balance sheet group;
13.		to coordinate their general distribution network conditions within the market area and to submit them for approval by the regulatory authority;
14.		to provide information on exchange of supply in accordance with the market rules in order to ensure that the market area manager or the distribution area manager can fulfil its obligations;
15.		to participate in the preparation of long-term planning and network development plan and to implement projects of approved long-term planning, which relate to plants operated by them;
16.		comply with the quality standards set out in the Regulation of the Regulatory Authority in accordance with Section 30 for the network service performance of the services provided to network users and other market participants;
17.		to transmit to the regulatory authority the data required to verify compliance with the quality standards for the network service as laid down in the Regulation of the regulatory authority in accordance with Article 30, and the relevant data to the regulatory authority, publish review results;
18.		to provide the distribution area manager with data relating to the current pressure situation, as well as the flow of quantities of essential input and exit points of the distribution system, in electronic form;
19.		to take out liability insurance in respect of an insurer entitled to operate this insurance branch in Austria or another EU Member State or the EEA State Party, in respect of which the insurance sum per insurance case applies to: Personal and property damage is at least EUR 20 million, with the sum of EUR 40 million per annum being limited to the amount of the sum insured and the amount of the insurance being shown to the regulatory authority.

(2) Distribution system operators operating one or more distribution line systems in accordance with Appendix 1 shall be obliged to do so beyond paragraph 1 of this Annex;


1.		In accordance with the rules of the distribution area manager, the management systems are safe, reliable and efficient to operate, maintain and develop, and to provide all necessary ancillary services in accordance with the regulations of the distribution area manager;
2.		to carry out the needs-based capacity extensions according to the approved long-term planning of the distribution area manager itself. If the distribution system operator does not comply with this obligation, the procedure laid down in Article 23 shall apply;
3.		carry out the management of the piping systems operated by them, in accordance with the distribution area manager's specifications;
4.		to make measurements at the grid area boundary, including data exchange with the distribution area manager;
5.		to ensure the knowledge of network utilization at any time, in particular with regard to rivers and pressure and the communication to the distribution area manager;
6.		according to the specifications of the distribution area manager, to set a contractual maximum power per flow direction and per network coupling point.

(3) The balance sheet group referred to in paragraph 1 Z 12 may be set up together with other distribution system operators.

General obligation to attach

§ 59. (1) Distribution system operators shall be obliged to enter into the general network conditions within the area covered by their distribution network with end-users of private-law contracts for connection to the gas distribution network and to the use of the network complete (general obligation). The system of the network user shall, in principle, be connected with the system of the distribution system operator at the technically appropriate point, taking into account the economic interests of the network user. However, in the elaboration of the connection concept, the technical requirements, in particular the avoidance of technical overcapacity, the quality of supply and the economic interests of all network users, are necessary in view of the the distribution of network costs to all network users, as well as the legitimate interests of the network user that advertisers them, as well as the legal requirements for the distribution system operator in respect of expansion, operation and the security of its network.

(2) The General Connection obligation does not exist, insofar as the connection to the operator of the distribution network is not economically reasonable in individual cases, taking into account the interests of the customers as a whole.

(3) If no agreement can be reached on the existence of a connection obligation between a network operator and a final consumer, a decision shall be taken at the request of one of the parties to the Landeshauptmann.

Load profiles

§ 60. (1) Distribution system operators shall be obliged, without prejudice to the following provisions, to measure the references and load profiles of the network users and to check their plausibility.

(2) The regulatory authority has to require distribution system operators by Regulation, for network users whose installations are connected to a distribution system whose operating pressure is less than a certain amount and whose annual consumption and Meter size falls below a certain level, create standardized load profiles, and assign them to each network user. The determination of the respective extent has to be based on the economic representability of the measurement effort.

(3) This Regulation also provides for the establishment, number and adjustment of standardised load profiles, in the interests of a uniform and comparable approach. In this case, it is intended to take care of ease of handling and the ability to make the process easier to follow. Distribution system operators shall only be allowed to leave in duly substantiated cases where this is necessary from geographical, climatic or technical circumstances. In any case, load profiles between distribution system operators shall be matched to one another, so that identical load profiles are used under the same conditions.

(4) The standardised load profiles shall be transmitted to the balance sheet group coordinator for administration (§ 87). The distribution system operator may use the displayed load profiles as long as the regulatory authority does not prohibit the use of such profiles.

(5) Where the distribution system operator does not comply with its obligation in accordance with the above provisions, it shall be informed by the regulatory authority, within a reasonable period to be determined by the Authority, on its The costs are to be obtained from the subdefined allocation.

Information requirements

§ 61. Distribution system operators shall be required to provide end-users with a network connected to their network through energy-saving measures in general and on ways of saving and efficient use of gas in particular. advice.

Section 2

Transmission networks

Obligations of transmission system operators

§ 62. (1) Transmission system operators shall carry out the following tasks and duties:


1.		the transmission systems are safe, reliable and efficient in accordance with the rules of technology, to be maintained and to be developed on demand and to ensure the provision of all essential ancillary services;
2.		to provide sufficient information to the operator of management or storage facilities connected to their own facilities in order to ensure the safe and efficient operation, the coordinated development and interoperability of the networks to ensure and conclude agreements with the operator of the linked installation on the transfer and transfer arrangements;
3.		without prejudice to information, notification and disclosure requirements in accordance with the provisions of this Federal Act, and the obligations laid down in Article 10 to grant access to the business records, commercially sensitive information of to whom they become aware in the performance of their business, to treat confidentially;
4.		to refrain from any discrimination against network users or the categories of system users, in particular for the benefit of their affiliates;
5.		Control of the transmission systems operated by them, taking into account the coordination function of the market area manager;
6.		the maintenance of the transmission system, which will minimise the impact on the network users, while respecting the coordination function of the market area manager;
7.		Measurements at the grid area limit including data exchange with the market and/or the distribution area manager;
8.		the knowledge of network utilization at any time, in particular with regard to rivers and pressure and communication to the market area manager;
9.		operate the network on the basis of environmental protection requirements, safety reports with systematic risk analysis, and plans for measures to prevent accidents, to limit or eliminate incidents (planning of measures) , and to inform the authorities and the public concerned in the event of serious incidents and accidents;
10.		to immediately deal with network access requests and to grant access to network access authorised access to the approved general conditions and to the system use charges determined by the regulatory authority on non-discriminatory basis;
11.		the participation in the preparation of a joint forecast by the market area manager for the capacity requirements and the burden on the networks of the market area for the next ten years;
12.		to conclude contracts with the distribution area manager at the points of exit to the distribution networks in the market area by which the network access authorized (the distribution network) has a right of access to the virtual trading point pursuant to section 31 (3) ;
13.		to take out liability insurance in respect of an insurer entitled to operate this insurance branch in Austria or another EU Member State or the EEA State Party, in respect of which the insurance sum per insurance case applies to: the sum of EUR 20 million shall be at least EUR 20 million, and the sum of EUR 40 million per annum shall be limited to the amount of the sum insured and the amount of the sum insured against the regulatory authority;
14.		to conclude contracts for the exchange of data with other network operators, the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the accounting group responsible and other market participants, in accordance with the market rules;
15.		Participate in the preparation of long-term planning together with the distribution area manager;
16.		comply with the quality standards for network service laid down in the Regulation of the Regulatory Authority in accordance with Section 30;
17.		to transmit to the regulatory authority the data required to verify compliance with the quality standards for the network service as laid down in the Regulation of the regulatory authority in accordance with Article 30, and the relevant data to the regulatory authority, publish review results;
18.		to communicate to the market manager data on the respective current input and output capacity at the input and exit points of the market area in electronic form;
19.		to carry out needs-based capacity extensions in accordance with the approved network development plan;
20.		to draw up a network development plan each year, or to participate in the preparation of the coordinated network development plan and to submit them for approval to the regulatory authority
21.		to set up a special balance sheet group for the determination of network losses and self-consumption, which only has to meet the necessary criteria for a balance sheet group. This balance sheet group may be set up in conjunction with other network operators;
22.		to cooperate with the Agency and the regulatory authority in order to ensure the compatibility of the regional regulatory frameworks, and thus the creation of a single market in competition for natural gas;
23.		have, for the purposes of capacity allocation, congestion management and the verification of network security at regional level, one or more integrated systems that extend to two or more Member States;
24.		Coordinate regional and national calculations of cross-border capacities and their allocation in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009;
25.		-measures to ensure market transparency to be coordinated across borders;
26.		a regional assessment, in cooperation with other transmission system operators, the forecast of security of supply;
27.		carry out regional network development planning, in cooperation with other transmission system operators, in exchange of the necessary data;
28.		to coordinate their general conditions for network access to transmission networks within the market area and to submit them for approval by the regulatory authority;
29.		conclude contracts with the market area manager on the cooperation which will enable him to carry out his duties;
30.		implement the rules governing the settlement of balancing energy in the transmission system;
31.		the settlement of the Supply of network users nominated amounts of energy with the corresponding nomination of network users with upstream and downstream transmission system operators.

Where a transmission system operator, which is part of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, shall be involved in a joint undertaking established for the implementation of regional cooperation, this joint undertaking shall have: to set up and implement the same treatment programme. This list sets out the measures to ensure that discriminatory and anti-competitive practices are excluded. This equal treatment programme shall specify the specific obligations of the staff to achieve the objective of avoiding discriminatory and anti-competitive behaviour. The programme shall be subject to approval by the Agency. Compliance with the programme shall be controlled by the equal treatment officers of the transmission system operator.

Network Development Plan Coordinated

§ 63. (1) The market area manager shall, in coordination with transmission system operators and taking into account the long-term planning of the distribution area manager, once a year after consulting all relevant stakeholders, shall: be able to draw up a coordinated network development plan based on the current situation and forecasts in the supply and demand sector. The minimum planning period is ten years.

(2) The transmission system operators in a market area shall submit the coordinated network development plan jointly to the regulatory authority for approval. The market area manager has party status in the approval process. Before the application is submitted for approval of the network development plan, the market area manager shall consult the network development plan with all relevant market participants and shall publish the result of the consultations.

(3) The purpose of the network development plan is in particular:


1.		to provide market participants with information on which major infrastructure needs to be built or expanded over the next ten years;
2.		to list all the investments already agreed and to identify the new investments that will have to be made over the next ten years, and
3.		to set a timetable for all investment projects.

(4) The objective of the network development plan is, in particular,


1.		meeting the demand for line capacity to supply end-users, taking into account emergency scenarios,
2.		the achievement of a high level of availability of management capacity (security of supply of infrastructure),
3.		the coverage of transport requirements and
4.		The obligation to comply with the infrastructure standard referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 in the market area
,

(5) The development of the network development plan shall be based on appropriate assumptions on the development of the extraction, supply, consumption and gas exchange with other countries, taking into account the investment plans for regional networks, in accordance with Article 12 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 and of Community-wide networks as referred to in Article 8 (3) (3). (b) to lay down Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, as well as investment plans for storage facilities and LNG regasification plants. The network development plan shall include effective measures to ensure the adequacy of the network and the achievement of a high level of availability of capacity (security of supply of infrastructure).

(6) In the preparation of the network development plan, the technical and economic objectives, the interests of all market participants and the consistency with the Community-wide network development plan and the long-term planning shall be: consideration.

(7) All market participants shall have the market area manager or the transmission system operator, at its written request, the data necessary for the preparation of the network development plan, in particular basic data, measured values and technical, economic and other project documents To provide, within a reasonable period of time, line installations and storage facilities that are to be constructed, expanded, modified or operated, provided that they have an impact on the management capacity of the transmission system. The market area manager or The transmission system operator may, independently of this, also use other data which are appropriate for the network development plan.

(8) In the explanatory statement of the application for approval of the network development plan, in particular in the case of competing projects for the establishment, extension, modification or operation of line installations, the technical and economic reasons for the application shall be: To show support or rejection of individual projects and to present the documentation of the decision at the request of the Authority.

Network Development Plan Approval

§ 64. (1) The regulatory authority shall approve the network development plan. The prerequisite for the approval is the proof of the technical necessity, adequacy and cost-effectiveness of the investments by the transmission system operators. The authorisation may be granted under conditions and conditions to the extent that such conditions and conditions are necessary to fulfil the objectives of this Act.

(2) The regulatory authority shall consult the network development plan with the interests of the network users prior to the application of the decision. It has to publish the outcome of the consultations and, in particular, to refer to possible investment needs.

The regulatory authority shall, in particular, examine whether the network development plan covers the total investment needs identified during the consultations and whether the Community-wide network development plan is consistent with the Community-wide network development plan in accordance with Article 8 (3) (3) (3). (b) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, and the measures presented appear to be appropriate, Section 63 (3) to (6) shall be complied with. Where there are doubts as to the consistency with the Community-wide network development plan, the regulatory authority shall consult the Agency.

(4) The reasonable costs associated with the implementation of measures provided for in the network development plan shall be recognised in the determination of the system usage fees.

(5) The regulatory authority may, at any time, require the transmission system operator to modify its already submitted and unapproved network development plan. Requests for modification of the recently approved network development plan shall be admissible, provided that substantial changes to the planning principles make a new assessment necessary.

Network development plan monitoring

§ 65. (1) The regulatory authority shall monitor and evaluate the implementation of the network development plan and may require the transmission system operators to modify the network development plan.

(2) Where the transmission system operator has not carried out an investment which had to be carried out in accordance with the network development plan in the following three years, the transmission system operator has not carried out an investment which has to be carried out in accordance with the network development plan in the following three years. Regulatory authority-if the investment is still relevant on the basis of the latest network development plan-undertakes to take at least one of the following measures to ensure the implementation of the investment concerned:


1		the regulatory authority shall require the transmission system operator to carry out the investment in question;
2		the regulatory authority shall initiate a tendering procedure for the implementation of the investment in question, open to all investors, with the regulatory authority being able to appoint a third party to carry out the tender procedure;
3.		The regulatory authority shall require the transmission system operator to agree to a capital increase with a view to financing the necessary investments and to allow independent investors to participate in the capital.

(3) The regulatory authority shall require a tendering procedure in accordance with paragraph 2 (2) (2), which may require the transmission system operator to accept one or more of the following measures:


1.		Financing by third parties,
2.		Establishment by third parties,
3.		Establishment of the new installations concerned by the transmission system operator itself,
4.		Operation of the new installations concerned by transmission system operators themselves.

The transmission system operator shall provide investors with all necessary documentation for the implementation of the investment, shall establish the connection of the new installations to the transmission system and shall do everything possible to ensure the implementation of the investment. To facilitate investment projects. The relevant financing agreements shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority.

(5) In accordance with Article 82, the appropriate costs of the investments shall be taken into account by the regulatory authority in respect of its powers in accordance with paragraph 2 (1) to (3).

Capacity for load flows in both directions

§ 66. The regulatory authority shall decide on the applications for authorisation of proposals and exceptional applications of the transmission system operators in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010. The authorisation may be granted under conditions and conditions to the extent that such conditions and conditions are necessary to fulfil the objectives of this Act.

Section 3

Common provisions

Network Coupling Contract

§ 67. (1) Network operators shall be obliged to conclude uniform network coupling contracts with each other for all network coupling points that connect their line installations. The network coupling agreements at the network coupling points shall be concluded with the inclusion and according to the requirements of the market area manager, on the one hand, and the distribution area manager, on the other hand. Network coupling agreements with operators of foreign networks as well as with operators of storage and production facilities shall be sought in a corresponding manner. Insofar as these agreements are concluded with foreign networks or Operators of storage and production facilities will have an impact on the management of the distribution system, and the conclusion should be sought in accordance with the requirements of the distribution area manager.

(2) Network coupling contracts shall lay down the technical conditions for the connections of the networks, while respecting the objectives of this Act. Network coupling contracts shall contain at least information on the following items:


1.		technical specifications relating to the operation of the network coupling point and the networks connected to the network coupling point, in particular pressure and gas characteristics;
2.		designation of the necessary data and information on the technical control of the network coupling points;
3.		the procedure for exchange of data and information;
4.		procedures for the treatment of occurring deviations, in particular in the case of stagnation stoppages, measurement inaccuracies and differences between nominated and allocated gas quantities;
5.		Procedures and conditions for the mutual provision of network buffering (Linepack) in accordance with paragraph 3.
The network coupling contracts shall be notified to the regulatory authority. The regulatory authority shall be empowered to require notification of the modification of network coupling contracts if they do not comply with the provisions of this Act.

(3) Each transmission system operator shall establish balance accounts for the adjacent transmission system operators and downstream distribution system operators at the network coupling points, which shall be used for the mutual retrieval of network buffering (Linepack) can be. The balance sheet accounts shall be as large as technically possible and economically reasonable to agree. The limit of the balance accounts of a network coupling point can be of different sizes for different networks.

(4) To the extent that timetables or nominations are to be submitted at a network coupling point, the contracts shall be designed in such a way that the network users can, as a rule, proceed from the exact implementation of the same.

Part 4

Virtual trading point

Tasks and duties of the operator of the virtual trading point

§ 68. (1) The virtual trading point shall be a virtual point allocated to the market area where natural gas can be traded by market participants, including without access to the network for the relevant market area. Access to the virtual trading point is based on the operational regulations of the market area manager and the transmission companies in accordance with the market rules. The virtual trading point is not associated with any physical entry or exit point, and allows buyers and sellers to buy or sell natural gas even without booking a capacity.

(2) The market area manager shall designate the operator of the virtual trading point with respect to the regulatory authority.

(3) The operator of the virtual trading point shall be independent in terms of legal form, organisation and decision-making authority, in particular from the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking. The following shall also apply:


1.		it must be carried out in the legal form of a public limited liability company and shall be endowed with a share capital of at least EUR 2 million;
2.		Persons in the management of the company may not directly or indirectly hold professional positions or perform professional tasks in other parts of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or in the case of its majority share-owners, or Maintain interest or business relationships with them;
3.		The operator of the virtual trading point shall immediately have all the names and conditions relating to function, contract period and termination as well as the reasons for the order or for the termination of the contract of persons of the company management. of the regulatory authority.

(4) The operator of the virtual trading point shall be assigned the following tasks for the purpose of concentration of the gas trade at the virtual trading point:


1.		The independent operation of the virtual trading point in cooperation with the market area manager;
2.		the provision of commercial hub services, in particular "Title Tracking", to demonstrate the transfer of ownership of natural gas at the virtual trading point;
3.		electronic logging and the accounting of the amounts of energy from trading operations at the virtual trading point;
4.		the handling of trade nominations in continuous operation (168 hours per week) in relation to market participants in the virtual trading point;
5.		the provision of an electronic "Back-up/Back-down" platform for the best possible maintenance of trading transactions in the case of sub-and/or lower-level trading. Deliveries to the Virtual Trading Point;
6.		the provision of a cross-regional connection to neighbouring market areas in cooperation with neighbouring network operators;
7.		cooperation with stock exchanges and settlement offices for stock exchange transactions, with regard to the settlement of stock-market ominations on behalf of the clearing house (clearing house) in relation to the virtual trading point;
8.		the provision of a cross-regional balancing platform in cooperation with the network operators concerned, in accordance with the provisions of the European Parliament and the European Parliament.

(5) In addition, the operator of the virtual trading point is entitled to offer all other tasks and functions which are necessary and useful for the operation of the virtual trading point within the meaning of this law, provided that this means: the tasks referred to in paragraph 4 shall not be affected.

(6) The operator of the virtual trading point is obligated to actively conduct consultation processes with market participants and the regulatory authority The regulatory authority is also entitled to implement the implementation of services that are in the This consultation process will require market participants to demand from the operator of the virtual trading point. This applies under the condition that these services comply with international standards according to EASEE Gas, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) as well as the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) and can be carried out from an economic and legal framework.

(7) The operator of the virtual trading point shall comply with the following obligations and conditions:


1.		The operator of the virtual trading point shall be prohibited from discriminating against those persons who use or intend to use his/her services, in particular in favour of vertically integrated natural gas undertakings. treat.
2.		The operator of the virtual trading point is obligated to document the operation and, if the regulatory authority so requests, to review the operation of the virtual trading point in a proper manner and to inspect the operation of the virtual trading point. Documentation to be granted.
3.		Without prejudice to legal obligations, the operator of the virtual trading point shall keep confidential commercially sensitive information, as well as business and trade secrets, of which he becomes aware in the course of carrying out his business operations. ,
4.		In particular, the operator of the virtual trading point shall ensure that bilateral price data are treated strictly confidentially, provided that this does not violate other legal obligations. Special confidentiality obligations apply to its shareholders.
5.		The shareholders of the operator of the virtual trading point refrain from any action that would impede or endanger the performance of the obligations of the operator of the virtual trading point. All contractual relationships between the operator of the virtual trading point and the contractors or Service providers must be secured with appropriate confidentiality obligations.
6.		In addition, the operator of the virtual trading point ensures through appropriate compliance measures that the confidentiality is also maintained with respect to its functions in stock exchange transactions and off-exchange transactions.
7.		Persons responsible for the operator of the virtual trading point and those responsible for the OTC trade must not be responsible for the stock exchange operation at the same time. The confidentiality area of the "middle office" established by the operator of the virtual trading point shall apply to all OTC activities and physical hub services, whereas the "Market Operations" confidentiality area shall be subject to the following conditions: to ensure legal requirements for activities related to the gas exchange. A compliance officer to be appointed by the operator of the virtual trading point, monitors compliance with these regulations. A report to be published annually by this compliance officer shall be submitted to the regulatory authority.
8.		For the purpose of transparency, the operator of the virtual trading point regularly publishes general market information in an anonymized and aggregated form, on the Internet. Furthermore, the operator of the virtual trading point, potentially market-influencing information, provided that it becomes aware of it, is not available in a discriminatory manner and in a suitable form without undue delay.
9.		§ 9 bis § 11 shall also apply to the operator of the virtual trading point.

Part 5

System Usage Fee

1. Main item

Procedure for setting the system use charges

Determination of the Cost Base

§ 69. (1) The regulatory authority shall periodically inform the costs, targets and quantities of distribution system operators of the costs of such system.

The regulatory authority shall, at the request of the transmission system operator or on its own account, periodically authorise the methods submitted by the transmission system operator in accordance with Article 82. The approval is on a temporary basis.

(3) The Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Agriculture of Austria, the Federal Chamber of Labour and the Austrian Trade Union Confederation shall be given an opportunity to comment before the conclusion of the investigation procedure. The regulatory authority shall provide its representatives with information and shall grant access to the act of the procedure. Commercially sensitive information obtained by the representatives in the exercise of their rights of view shall be treated confidentially. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Chamber of Labour are entitled to appeal against decisions of the regulatory authority pursuant to para. 1 and 2 for infringement of the provisions of § 73 bis § 82 of the complaint in accordance with § 9 para. 2 E-ControlG as well as in further consequence to the Administrative Court in accordance with Art. 131 B-VG.

System use charges and compensation payments

§ 70. (1) The system usage fees in the distribution network shall be determined on the basis of the costs and the volume scaffolding with the regulation of the regulatory authority, taking into account a cost shift according to § 83. The system usage fees in the transmission system, determined on the basis of the method in accordance with § 82, shall be entered into force by the regulatory authority with a regulation.

(2) If necessary, compensation payments shall be made in the Regulation between network operators of a network area or Market area. The nature of the determination of compensation payments between transmission system operators shall be an integral part of the methods referred to in Article 82.

(3) The authorisation of a Regulation shall be preceded by an opinion procedure which shall, in particular, enable the network operators, network users concerned and the stakeholders referred to in § 69 (3) to deliver an opinion within a reasonable period of time ensures.

(4) After the conclusion of the opinion procedure, all documents shall be submitted to the Regulatory Advisory Board on request. The Chairman may also consult experts in the Regulatory Advisory Board. In the event of a risk of default, the hearing by the Board of Regulators may be omitted. It shall, however, be subsequently referred to the matter without delay.

(5) The regulatory authority and the network operator shall submit to the regulatory advisory board all the documents necessary for the assessment of the draft regulation and shall provide information.

Regulatory Account

§ 71. (1) In determining the costs, the difference between the actual revenue and the revenue actually incurred by the Regulation shall be taken into account in determining the cost base for the next period of payment. Differential amounts shall be activated in the context of the annual accounts, taking into account the applicable accounting rules. passivating.

(2) A measure of exceptional income or expenses may be distributed through the regulatory account over a reasonable period of time.

(3) If a notice of costs has been lifted, a different cost determination in the replacement notification is to be found in the determination or To take into account the approval of the cost base over a reasonable period of time.

(4) If a statement of costs has been amended by the Board of Regulators, a different cost determination in the decision of the Board of Regulators shall be made in the case of the determination or To take into account the approval of the cost base over a reasonable period of time.

(5) If the system usage fee regulation is repealed by the Constitutional Court or the Constitutional Court has issued a statement that a regulation was unlawful, and the result is a minimum or multiple proceeds, these are in the case of the determination of the or To take into account the approval of the cost base over a reasonable period of time.

2. Main piece

De-Parts Components

Determination of system usage charges

§ 72. (1) In order to provide all services provided by the network operators in the performance of the obligations imposed on them, the network users shall pay a system usage fee. The system use fee shall be consistent with the principle of equal treatment for all users of the system, the facilitation of efficient gas trading and competition, the cost-orientation and the most extensive causation justice, and shall be ensure that natural gas is used efficiently and that the volume of distributed or transported energy is not unnecessarily increased. The system usage fee in the distribution network shall consist of the components referred to in paragraph 2 (1) (1) to (5). A settlement exceeding the charges referred to in section 2 (1) to (5) in direct connection with the network operation is inadmissible, without prejudice to separate provisions of this Federal Law. The system usage charge in the transmission system shall consist of the components referred to in paragraph 2 (1) (1) to (3). The collection of charges in the context of market-based capacity-setting procedures is permitted.

(2) The system usage fee shall be determined from the


1.		Network usage fee;
2.		Network entry fee;
3.		Network provision remuneration;
4.		Remuneration for measurement services as well as
5.		Remuneration for other services.
The charges for the distribution system referred to in z 1, 3, 4 and 5 shall be determined by regulation of the regulatory authority, with the charges in accordance with Z 1, 3 and 5 being determined as fixed prices. The charge in accordance with Z 4 shall be determined as the maximum price. The remuneration in accordance with Z 1 to 3 for the transmission system shall be determined for the input and exit points concerned in accordance with a method to be approved by the regulatory authority in accordance with Article 82 on a proposal from the transmission system operators and by Regulation in accordance with § 70. The charges are in euro and/or Cents per clearing unit.

The regulatory authority shall, in any event, determine system-use charges for network users of the distribution system by means of a Regulation which, on the one hand, shall apply to the relevant input and exit points and, on the other hand, to the network area and to the network level. on which the installation is attached. The relevant input and exit points of the distribution system shall be laid down in the Regulation. The requirements for the network level allocation of the installations and of the settlement arrangements shall be laid down in this Regulation.

Network usage fee in the distribution network

§ 73. (1) The network use charge shall pay the network operator the costs, in particular, of the establishment, development, maintenance and operation of the network system, including the costs associated with the establishment and operation of counting devices including the calibration and data readout of points of entry and exit, with the exception of customer facilities, as well as the pro-rata costs for the distribution area manager according to § 24. The regulatory authority may design network usage charges in a time-variable and/or load-variable manner, taking into account uniform charging structures. Charges for guaranteed and interruptible capacity bookings can be provided and adequately reflect the likelihood of interruptions. The performance-related share of the network usage fee is to be related to a period of one year and can be determined as a lump sum. If the accounting period is shorter or longer than one year, then the flat-rate amount prescribed for the performance-related net-use tariff is to be aliquoted on a daily basis. The determination of minimum benefits and charges for overruns is permissible. For a shorter use than one year as well as in the case of complete or partial non-continuous use of the network system, different network usage charges can be prescribed.

(2) The network usage fee in the distribution network shall be paid by end users per counting point of the respective network level and of network operators within network areas per network coupling point. The network usage charge of the network level 1 must not be less than that of the network level 2. It is work-related and performance-related to be determined and regularly billed. In order to determine the basis for the calculation of the performance-related share of the net use charge, either the arithmetic mean of the maximum hourly output measured monthly in the accounting period or the contractual agreement shall be the Maximum power to be used.

(3) The network usage fee in the distribution network at the network coupling points between the network areas in accordance with § 84 paragraph 2 Z 3 is related to the work and/or the contractually agreed maximum power from the network operators per network coupling point and/or by means of cost management in accordance with § 83 (3) per network area.

(4) The network usage fee in the distribution network at the market area limit is to be paid in relation to the contractually agreed performance per entry and exit point of feed-in and entreprents.

(5) The network usage fee in the distribution network for the discharge from the distribution network in storage facilities shall be consistent with respect to the contractually agreed performance per exit point from the storage companies managing natural gas storage systems to be paid.

(6) The network use charge in the distribution network for the supply to the distribution network from production or production. Production of biogenic gases is based on the contractually agreed performance per feed-in point from the producer and/or to be paid by the producer of biogenic gases.

(7) If a calculation of the consumption is necessary for the settlement, it shall be transparent and traceable at counting points without load profile counters by the network operator exclusively on the basis of the standardized load profiles. , If a calculation of the consumption value differs from the actual values, a free invoice correction shall be carried out.

Network usage fee in the transmission system

§ 74. (1) The network use charge shall pay the network operator the costs, in particular, of the establishment, development, maintenance and operation of the network system, including the costs associated with the establishment and operation of counting devices including calibration and data readout, as well as the pro-rata costs for the market area manager. The network use charge in the transmission system shall be divided into the distribution area of the market area in relation to the contractually agreed service per entry and exit point, and per exit point from the transmission system. , and is defined by the feed-in and/or Borrowers or to be paid by the distribution area manager for the exit points in the distribution network. In any case, charges should be provided for guaranteed and interruptible capacity bookings. Capacity with limited jurisdiction and load flow commitments shall be taken into account in the determination of the fee. Fees for contracts with a maturity of more than one day shall not be significantly less than the sum of the charges for daily contracts within the term of the contract. The determination of minimum benefits and charges for overruns is permissible.

(2) The network usage fee in the transmission network for the transmission from the transmission system in storage facilities shall be based on the contractually agreed performance per exit point from the storage companies managing natural gas storage systems to be paid.

(3) The network use charge in the transmission system for the supply to the transmission system from production or production Production of biogenic gases is based on the contractually agreed performance per feed-in point from the producer and/or to be paid by the producer of biogenic gases.

Network entry fee

§ 75. (1) The network entry fee shall pay to the network operator all reasonable expenses corresponding to the normal market prices which are incurred by the first-time manufacture of a connection to a network or the modification of a connection. as a result of an increase in the access power of a network user. The network entry fee shall be paid once and shall be presented to the network user in a transparent and comprehensible manner. If the network connection costs are borne by the network user itself, the amount of the network access charge should be reduced accordingly.

(2) The network access fee is to be offset in an effort-oriented way, whereby the network operator may provide for a flat-rate for comparable network users of a network level.

Network Delivery Rate

§ 76. (1) The network provision fee shall be paid to network users in connection with the production of the network connection or in the event of an increase in the contractually agreed maximum performance as a benefit-related flat-rate amount for the already completed and necessary expansion of the network. Network is charged to enable the connection. It is measured according to the agreed level of network usage. It is on the occasion of the conclusion of the network access contract or in the event of an increase in the contractually agreed maximum performance, to be charged once.

(2) In the event of a request from the network user within 15 years from the date of payment after a reduction of the contractually agreed maximum performance, which is continuous for at least three years, network provision charges are subject to the request of the network user; three years after decommissioning of the network user's network connection, in proportion to the extent of the reduction in the contractually agreed maximum performance. It is not possible to reimburse the network delivery charges for the minimum performance.

(3) If the contractually agreed maximum performance is reduced for December 31, 2008, the contractually agreed maximum performance shall not be subject to a network provision fee for any subsequent increase in the contractually agreed maximum performance. .

(4) The calculation of the network provision fee has to be based on the average cost of expansion for new and for the extension of existing networks.

(5) The network provision fees actually collected shall be resolved over a reasonable period of time, with reference to the respective network levels, so that they will have a cost-reducing effect on the network usage fee.

(6) The network provision charge for the transmission system shall be set out separately in the methods referred to in Article 82. The provisions of paragraphs 2 to 5 shall apply exclusively to the distribution network.

Remuneration for measurement services

§ 77. (1) The charges for measurement services to be paid by the network user shall give the network operator those costs which are directly applicable to the installation and operation of counting devices, including calibration and data readout are connected. Measurement services in connection with infeeds and spokes in or from storage systems or Feed-in from production plants are in the network usage charges according to § 73 para. 5 and 6.

(2) The fixed charges for measurement services are maximum prices and shall apply to the type of measurement used in each case. The remuneration for measurement services is to be calculated on a regular basis and in principle in a cost-oriented way. To the extent that measuring equipment is provided by the network users themselves, it is to be reduced accordingly.

(3) The remuneration for measurement services shall be based on a period of one month and shall be aliquots on a daily basis in the course of a non-monthly settlement.

(4) A Ab- Read out of the counting device-with the exception of load profile counters, which are read out by the network operator at least monthly at least-at least once a year. At least every three years has a Read out by the network operator himself. If the reading and the transmission of the measurement data are carried out by the network user, the network operator is obliged to carry out a plausibility check of the transmitted data. A calculation of the measured values shall only be permitted in those cases where the network user has not made use of the possibility offered to him for the self-reading and transmission of the data to the network operator, and Read-out search by the network operator, for a reason that is to be assigned to the area of responsibility of the network user, has not been unsuccessful.

Remuneration for other services

§ 78. The network operators shall be entitled to charge a separate fee to network users for the provision of other services which are not covered by the charges in accordance with § 72 (2) (1) to (4) and are directly caused by the network user. The charges for other services shall be determined by the regulatory authority at an appropriate level by means of a regulation, taking into account the social compatibility of the principles laid down in Article 72 (1). Charges for other services shall be laid down, in particular, for mall charges and changes in the measuring equipment which have been caused by the network user. The fee to be paid for the disconnection pursuant to § 127 (3) and the restoration of the network access may not exceed a total of 30 euros.

3. Main piece

Principles of cost and quantity determination

Cost determination for distribution system operators

§ 79. (1) The costs underlying the charges shall be in accordance with the principle of cost trueness and shall be determined in a differentiated way by network level. The reason and the amount shall be taken into account at reasonable cost. The network security, security of supply, taking into account quality criteria, market integration and energy efficiency, must be taken into account. The determination of the costs on the basis of an average consideration emanating from a rationally managed, comparable enterprise is permitted. Investments shall be taken into account in an appropriate manner on the basis of the historical acquisition costs and the financing costs. Extraordinary expenses or income may be distributed proportionally over a period of several years. The costs incurred in an efficient implementation of new technologies shall be duly taken into account in the charges, taking into account the principles described and the use of synergy effects. The costs of the distribution system operator for the network use charge in the transmission system in accordance with § 74 shall be taken into account as the cost of the network level 1.

(2) The calculation of costs shall be based on targets based on the savings potential of the enterprises, the structural development of the supply task and the market share in the respective network area. In this context, the identified costs will be adjusted both for general targets based on productivity developments and for the rate of inflation specific to the network operator. Individual targets can be taken into account due to the efficiency of the network operators. The methods to be applied shall be in accordance with the state of science. In the determination of individual targets, individual sub-processes can also be used in addition to an overall company view in case of objective comparability. In this connection, it should be made clear that there are incentives for distribution system operators to increase efficiency and to carry out the necessary investments appropriately.

(3) The time period for the implementation of the targets (target achievement period) may be divided into one or more years of regulatory periods by the regulatory authority in the respective cost statement. At the end of a regulatory period, the company's individual efficiency progress can be evaluated. After a regulatory period, an efficiency comparison or an alternative regulatory system corresponding to the state of science can be implemented again in order to determine the network usage charges.

(4) In the case of vertically integrated natural gas undertakings, the network operator shall have sufficient evidence to influence the costs of the network operator by means of invoices. At the request of the regulatory authority, the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking shall submit the calculation basis for the settlement of the accounts.

(5) A network operator price index shall be taken into account in order to cover the network-operator-specific Teuerungsrate. This is made up of published sub-indices, which represent the average cost structure of the network operators.

(6) The objectives referred to in paragraph 2 as well as the rate of inflation in accordance with paragraph 5, which are specific to the network operator, shall act exclusively on the costs which the company can be affected by. Costs which cannot be influenced are, in particular, costs:


1.		for the use of functionally connected networks in the country as well as for the distribution area manager;
2.		for land levies on the use of public land (use levy);
3.		to cover network losses on the basis of transparent and non-discriminatory procurement;
4.		as a result of legal provisions in the context of breakdowns, which are based on the fact that the natural gas market is fully liberalised by 1. October 2002. The more detailed cost categories shall be determined by a regulation of the regulatory commission no later than 3 months from the date of entry into force of this Act.

(7) The costs for the determination of the network usage fees in accordance with § 73 are based on the respective network levels on the basis of the determined total costs minus the combined measurement fees, charges for other services as well as the proportionate To determine the resolution of passivated network delivery and network access charges. The overall costs are to be reduced in order to reduce subsidies and subsidies.

Financing costs for distribution system operators

§ 80. (1) Financing costs shall include the reasonable cost of the interest in equity and debt, taking into account the conditions of the capital market and the cost of income taxes. Funded financing should be duly taken into account.

(2) The financing costs shall be determined by multiplying the appropriate financial cost set by the capital base which is to be galvanic. In this case, the interest-bearing reserve is to be reduced in cost, taking into account the financing rods, which are accounted for in terms of personnel costs.

(3) The financing cost rate shall be determined from a weighted average cost of capital based on a standard capital structure and income tax. The standard capital structure has to take into account both general cross-sectoral and also significant company-specific factors, which fall below the equity share by more than 10%. A market-oriented risk premium for equity and debt capital, the framework conditions of the capital market and a risk-free interest rate must be taken into account. A multi-annual average can be used in determining the risk-free interest rate.

(4) The interest-bearing capital base shall be determined by the balance sheet underlying the fixing of costs within the meaning of section 8 for the distribution activity. It derides from the property and intangible assets necessary for the operation of the network, minus passivated network access charges and network delivery charges (construction grants) and any company values. In the case of mergers of network operators, an increased capital base may be recognised, provided that the synergy effects obtained from this concentration directly lead to a reduction in the total cost.

Determination of the volume framework for distribution system operators

§ 81. (1) The quantities on which the charges are based shall be based on the quantities of supply and feed in kWh, the arithmetic mean of the monthly rate of the observation period, and/or the amount of the quantities in question. to determine the highest hourly rates measured in kWh/h and the number of counting points of the most recently available financial year per network level. Current or expected significant effects in the volume development as well as structural developments with effects on the natural gas market can be achieved in both the quantity and power components as well as the number of counting points. shall be considered.

(2) The underlying performance of the cost shift per network level shall be determined from the highest hourly output, the sum of the settlement performance or the sum of the contractually agreed maximum performances.

Cost and quantity of transmission for transmission system operators

§ 82. (1) The tariffs of the transmission system operator shall be determined on the basis of a method to be approved by the regulatory authority, which shall comply with the requirements of Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009. The costs and quantity scaffolding underlying the calculation of the tariffs shall be included in the communication. In doing so, it is necessary to ensure that the transmission system operators have incentives to increase efficiency and to carry out the necessary investments appropriately. The treatment of proceeds from market-oriented capacity allocation procedures should be taken into account in the preparation of the method. § 80 shall apply mutatily. The method shall be amended or re-created at the request of the regulatory authority. The tariffs resulting from the approved method shall be determined by regulation of the regulatory authority and shall be published on the Internet.

(2) The quantity structure shall be determined on the basis of the contractually commented capacities and shall be compared with the maximum technical capacity.

(3) The amount of the costs determined by the use of the method by the transmission system operator shall be established by the regulatory authority and shall be verified by the submission of all the calculation bases. The quantity structure shall be proven and to be substantiated by the submission of appropriate documents. The amount of the costs and the quantity structure shall be approved if the requirements of the method have been complied with in the determination of the costs and of the quantity scaffolation. The regulatory authority shall recommit the costs if the transmission system operator has failed to comply with the method in determining the costs.

(4) In any event, the authorisation shall be approved if the conditions set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 are met and the tariffs resulting from these methods are not significantly higher than the average transmission rate of the transmission tariffs (transmission charges) which are to be submitted to the regulatory authority simultaneously with the method to be approved, for comparable transport services on comparable management systems in the European Union.

4. Main piece

Principles of remuneration

Payment of charges and cost-management

§ 83. (1) The system usage charge of the distribution network shall be on the network area and the network level at which the installation is connected, per counting point, or refer to the entry and exit points. The identification shall be based on the recorded costs and the quantity scaffolded detected.

(2) In the case of a number of network operators within a network area, the estimated costs and the fixed quantity framework of these network operators per network level shall be combined for the purpose of determining the system usage fees. Differences between the identified costs and the revenues resulting from the established quantity framework per network operator shall be compensated within the network area. Corresponding compensation payments between the network operators of a network area shall be fixed in the Regulation in accordance with Section 72 (3). The basis for the determination of the compensation payment is the costs and the quantity structure which form the basis for the determination of the system usage fees.

(3) The costs of the network level 1 of a network operator shall be based on the determination of the network use charge in accordance with § 73. The costs of the network level 1 of a network area are to be overwhelmed, taking into account the revenues of the network level 1, to the network level 2 and the network level 3. The costs of the network level 2, taking into account the revenues of the network level 2, are to be overwhelmed to the network level 3. The method of cost-management to be used shall be determined by the regulatory authority in accordance with Article 72 (3) of the Regulation. In this case, the costs are to be distributed in an appropriate ratio between transported power (net output, kWh/h) and after used work (gross work, kWh) in the network area.

Network levels and network areas

§ 84. (1) As network levels which are expected to be used in the formation of the system usage fees, the following shall be determined:


1.		Transmission systems according to Appendix 2;
2.		Network level 1 distribution line systems in accordance with Appendix 1;
3.		Network-level 2 distribution line systems with a pressure > 6 bar;
4.		Distribution line systems of the network level 3 with a pressure ≤ 6 bar.

(2) As network areas, provision should be made for:


1.	for the transmission systems referred to in Appendix 2: the transmission line: the transmission lines referred to in Appendix 2.
2.	for network level 1:
a)		East Austrian territory: the distribution line systems listed in Appendix 1; in addition, those lines are to be included in level 1, which connect the entry and exit of a network area or a market area. A continuation of a distribution line shall then be included in level 1 if it establishes a new connection to another distribution or transmission network or to another market area;
b)		Tyrolean area: the section of all lines in Tyrol that exceeds the market area limit;
c)		Vorarlberg region: the cross-border section of the line from Germany to Vorarlberg;
3.	for the other network levels, the respective areas covered by the networks in the network levels referred to in paragraph 1 (1), (2) to (4) of the undertakings referred to in Appendix 3, the networks of different network operators having the registered office within the same network. Federal states are combined into a network area.

(3) The enumerations of the transmission systems, distribution line systems and natural gas companies contained in Appendixes 1, 2 and 3 shall be determined by Regulation of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth in accordance with the actual conditions if necessary, to amend. Before the regulation of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has been issued, an opinion of the regulatory authority shall be obtained.

Part 6

Balance group system

1. Main item

Clearing house for transactions and price formation for balancing energy (balance group coordinator)

Concession

§ 85. (1) The operation of a settlement unit for transactions and price formation for balancing energy in distribution network (balancing group coordinator) requires a concession from the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth. A concession is generally granted for a market area. However, for reasons of appropriateness and cost savings, the concession may be granted for several market areas.

(2) The concession shall be issued in writing and may be provided with the conditions and conditions necessary to ensure the tasks, taking into account the provisions of paragraph 5.

(3) The applicant shall attach the following documents to the application for a concession:


1.		the information on the seat and the legal form;
2.		the Articles of Association or the Social Contract;
3.		the business plan, which will result in the organizational structure of the company and the internal control procedures; furthermore, the business plan shall include a budget preview for the first three financial years;
4.		a description of the accounting and pricing system available for balancing energy in technical and organisational terms;
5.		the amount of the initial capital freely available to the business leaders in the country and without any burden on the free available capital;
6.		the identity and the amount of the ownership of the owners holding a qualifying holding in the undertaking and the disclosure of the group structure, provided that such owners belong to a group;
7.		the names of the designated managing directors and their qualification for the operation of the company.

(4) In the case of a market area, there are several requests for concession, the concession is to be granted to the concessionaire who is responsible for the concession conditions and the economic interest in a functioning natural gas market. in the best possible way.

(5) After the harmonisation of the compensation rules in the transmission and distribution network, in accordance with the regulation referred to in Article 41 (4), the clearing house for transactions and price formation for the balancing energy in the relevant Distribution network area, the market area manager and the operator of the virtual trading point, through joint technical and organisational measures as well as through cooperation, a system of balancing energy management in the market area to .

Exercise Requirements

§ 86. (1) A concession pursuant to § 85 may only be granted if:


1.		the concessionaire is able to perform the tasks referred to in § 87 in a cost-effective and secure manner; at any rate, a cost-effective errand of the tasks shall be assumed if the cost base for the clearing house is determined for the purposes of the the determination of the methods and principles to be applied for system-use charges;
2.		no concession holder is present for the distribution network for which the concession is requested;
3.		the persons holding a qualifying holding in the undertaking which, in the interests of sound and prudent management of the undertaking, meet the requirements to be met;
4.		by close links of the undertaking with other natural or legal persons or registered partnerships, the supervisory authorities shall not be prevented from the proper performance of their duty of supervision;
5.		Provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in a third country to which a natural or legal person or registered private company is closely associated with the undertaking, or difficulties in the application of such Rules shall not prevent supervisory authorities from properly complying with their obligation to monitor;
6.		the initial capital amounts to at least EUR 3 million and is free of charge to the business leaders and is free of charge, and the material and personnel equipment of the company and the management and administration of the clearing house shall be ensured in the best possible way;
7.		in the case of none of the managing directors, there is no grounds for exclusion within the meaning of Section 13 (1) to 6 (6) of the Regulation;
8.		has not been initiated against any managing director of a judicial preliminary investigation on the grounds of an intentional act threatened with more than one year of imprisonment, until the legal force of the decision which ends the criminal proceedings;
9.		the CEOs are technically suitable due to their educational background and have the necessary characteristics and experience for the operation of the company. The professional competence of a Managing Director requires that he has sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge in the accounting of balancing energy and management experience; the professional suitability for the management of a the accounting authority shall be accepted if at least three years of managerial activity in the field of tarification or accounting is demonstrated;
10.		at least one managing director is at the centre of his life interests in Austria;
11.		the company has at least two managing directors and in the statutes is excluded the individual representation power, a single prokura or a single-hand power of action for the entire business operation;
12.		no managing director has any other main profession outside the company that is likely to cause conflicts of interest;
13.		the seat and the head office are located in the territory of the country;
14.		if the settlement system at its disposal meets the requirements of a timely billing system;
15.		the neutrality, independence and data confidentiality are guaranteed to market participants.

(2) The network operators in the market area may acquire company shares in the balance sheet group coordinator.

Tasks

§ 87. (1) The tasks of the balancing group coordinator are:


1.	the management of balance sheet groups operating in the distribution network, both in terms of organisation and accounting;
2.	the calculation, allocation and settlement of the balancing energy in the distribution networks;
3.	conclusion of contracts
a)		with balance-group managers, network operators, natural gas traders, producers, storage companies and the distribution area manager, the operator of the virtual trading point and the market area manager;
b)		with facilities for the exchange of data for the creation of an index;
c)		with the operator of the virtual trading point on the transfer of data;
d)		with natural gas distributors, producers and storage companies, through the transfer of data;
e)		with natural gas or storage companies or other suitable persons operating in the upstream foreign management network, by means of the provision of balancing energy in the network areas of Tyrol and Vorarlberg (paragraph 1). 4).

(2) The management of the balance-sheet groups operating in the distribution network shall include, in particular, the organisational and accounting aspects of the distribution network, in particular:


1.		the allocation of identification numbers of the balance sheet groups in coordination with the market area manager;
2.		the provision of interfaces in the field of information technology;
3.		the clearing of the clearing payment (§ 89) to the balance sheet group responsible;
4.		the acquisition of the measurement data transmitted in a given form by the distribution system operators, their evaluation and transfer to the relevant market participants and other accounting groups responsible in accordance with the rules laid down in the Treaties Preferences;
5.		the adoption of the roadmaps of the accounting group responsible and the transfer to the market participants concerned, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaties;
6.		the creditworthiness of the accounting officers with regard to the activity in the distribution network;
7.		cooperation in the elaboration and adaptation of regulations in the area of supply exchange, settlement and settlement;
8.		the settlement in the distribution network at the dissolution of balance sheet groups;
9.		the allocation and allocation of the difference resulting from the use of standardised load profiles to the market participants connected to the network of a network operator, in accordance with transparent criteria, in accordance with the measurement values.

(3) The balance group coordinator shall have natural gas for the application of physical balancing energy in accordance with a transparent, non-discriminatory and market-based procedure involving all the appropriate application possibilities for the To obtain the distribution network to the extent that the procurement via the virtual trading point in accordance with § 18 (1) Z 22 is not sufficient. The procedure to be applied shall be determined in accordance with Article 41 (2) (3) by regulation of the regulatory authority.

(4) In the context of the calculation, allocation and settlement of the balancing energy for the distribution network, the balancing group coordinator


1.		the difference between timetables and Take over nominations for measurement data and calculate the balancing energy from this;
2.		determine the prices for balancing energy in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Regulation in accordance with Article 41 (2) (3) of the Regulation, and to publish it in an appropriate form;
3.		calculate the charges for balancing energy and to calculate the balance sheet group responsible in the distribution network and distribution system operators (Article 58 (1) (12));
4.		take special measures where there are no compensatory energy offers for the distribution system;
5.		to record, archive and publish the standardised load profiles used in a suitable form.

General conditions

§ 88. (1) The balance group coordinator shall conclude the contracts referred to in § 87 (1) (3) on the basis of general terms and conditions. The General Terms and Conditions shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority.

(2) The General Terms and Conditions shall include in particular:


1.		a description of the method to be used for the calculation of the balancing energy applicable to each market operator and distribution system operator;
2.		the criteria used for the formation of the order for retrieval, including the procurement provided for in Article 18 (1) (22);
3.		the method used to determine the price of balancing energy in the distribution system;
4.		the principles according to which the accounting groups are managed in organisational terms;
5.		the data to be supplied by market participants, distribution system operators and balance sheet groups;
6.		the essential market rules applicable to the performance of the tasks of the balance sheet coordinator, including the obligation of the contracting parties to comply with them, and
7.		the obligation of balance-group managers of balance-sheet groups operating in the distribution network for security performance (cash security, bank guarantee, deposit of non-vinkulated savings books) at an appropriate level, in so far as the circumstances of the Individual cases are to be expected that the balance sheet group responsible does not meet its payment obligations or does not comply with time.

(3) This authorisation shall be granted, subject to conditions or limits where appropriate, where the general conditions correspond to the economic interest in a functioning natural gas market and to the fulfilment of the conditions set out in § 87 Tasks are suitable. The duration shall not be less than a period of three years.

(4) The balance group coordinator shall be obliged to amend or re-create the General Conditions at the request of the Regulatory Authority.

Clearing fee

§ 89. For the performance of the performance of the tasks of a balance group coordinator, the regulatory authority shall have to determine a fee by regulation. This fee shall be based on the expenses incurred in the performance of the tasks, including a reasonable profit margin. The principles of the calculation of costs in accordance with § 79 and § 80 shall apply in a reasonable way. The basis for the assessment is the turnover of natural gas from the respective balance sheet group in the distribution network and the degree of utilization of the performance of the balance sheet group coordinator by the respective balance sheet group. Excluded from the payment of a clearing fee is the special balance group for net losses and self-consumption.

2. Main piece

Balance groups

Summary of Network Users in Balance Sheet Groups

§ 90. (1) Network users are obliged to join a balance sheet group or to form their own balance sheet group.

(2) Network users shall be obliged to comply with their legal and contractual obligations


1.		Data, counter values and other data to determine their consumption and/or consumption their transport requirements to market area managers, distribution area managers, network operators, balance sheet group managers and the balance sheet group coordinator in accordance with the obligations arising from the contractual agreements , to the extent that this is necessary to maintain a competitive gas market and to safeguard consumer protection.
2.		to comply with the technical specifications of the network operators when using own counting devices and installations for data transmission;
3.		Submit reports for supplier and balance group changes, as well as meet the deadlines set for this;
4.		to report contract data to bodies responsible for the creation of indices;
5.		the technical need for roadmaps to the network operator and the distribution area manager or market area manager;
6.		Contracts for the exchange of data with other network operators, the accounting group responsible and the balance sheet group coordinators, the market area manager, the distribution area manager and other market participants in accordance with the market rules complete.
Balance sheet groups can be formed within a market area or for several market areas. The formation and alteration of balance sheet groups is carried out by the balance sheet group responsible. It shall indicate whether the balance sheet group is also active in the distribution network or exclusively in the transmission system.

(3) The activity of a group responsible for the balance sheet group of a balance sheet group operating in the distribution network may be a natural or legal person or a registered private company with a principal residence or registered office in the territory of the country or another EU Member State or EEA State Party

(4) If a network user does not comply with his obligations under paragraphs 1 and 2, § 24 E-ControlG shall apply on the condition that the obligated network user is to be requested within a reasonable period of time to be determined by the authority of the network user. the obligation to comply. If the network user does not comply with this request within the set time limit, the lawful condition shall be established by the end users who are customers of this network user being assigned to a balance sheet group (§ § § § 4). 95).

Tasks and duties of the accounting group responsible

§ 91. (1) The accounting officer is responsible for the performance of his duties and duties as well as for compliance with the market rules. The group responsible for balance sheet groups has the following tasks:


1.		the drawing up of timetables and their transmission to the balance sheet group coordinator and market area manager; Distribution Area Manager;
2.		Nomination at the input and exit points of the transmission system to the transmission system operator, with the exception of the discharge points of the transmission networks to the distribution networks;
3.		the adjustment of the application and delivery of its balance-sheet groups per defined period of measurement by appropriate measures, with all the information known to the balance-sheet group responsible in the preparation of timetables and/or the nominations must be taken into account;
4.		the conclusion of agreements concerning the reserve holding and the supply to customers of those suppliers assigned by the regulatory authority to the balance sheet group in accordance with Article 95;
5.		the reporting of certain information and consumption data for technical purposes;
6.		the notification of the application and acceptance schedules of large-scale purchasers and feed-in users in accordance with defined rules for technical purposes;
7.		the payment of the planned fees (fees) to the balance sheet group coordinator;
8.		the payment of compensation for balancing energy to the balance sheet group coordinator and the resettlement of the charges to the balance sheet group members;
9.		the nomination of trade transactions with the operator of the virtual trading point.

(2) The accounting group responsible shall be obliged to:


1.		to conclude accounting group contracts with the market area manager on the establishment of balance sheet groups and the collection, compensation and settlement of differences between the application and delivery of their balance-sheet groups per defined period of measurement;
2.		to conclude contracts with the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the balance sheet group coordinator, the network operators and the balance group members on the exchange of data;
3.		conduct an evidence of the balance sheet group members;
4.		to pass on data to the balance sheet group coordinator, the market area manager, the distribution area manager, the network operators and the balance sheet group members, in accordance with the market rules;
5.		to manage the sum of the capacities allocated to the immediate group members at the points of exit of the transmission networks to the distribution networks in the market area and to submit requests for access to the network or requests for capacity expansion of the transmission networks in the market area; to forward accounting group members to the distribution area manager;
6.		to obtain compensation for the members of the balance-sheet group-in the sense of a supply with the balance-group;
7.		to comply with the approved general network conditions of the network operators;
8.		provided that the balance sheet group operates in the distribution network, submit to the regulatory authority general conditions for approval and, at the request of the regulatory authority, amend or re-create them in so far as this is necessary for the achievement of a competitive market is required.

(3) A member of the balance sheet group shall change the balance sheet group or the supplier, the data of the balance group member of the new balance sheet group or the new supplier and the distribution area manager shall be passed on.

General terms and conditions of the accounting groups responsible

§ 92. (1) The General Terms and Conditions for Accounting Group Managers pursuant to § 91 (2) (8) and their amendments shall require the approval of the regulatory authority. The authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions or for a limited period if it is necessary to comply with the provisions of this Act. The duration shall not be less than a period of three years. Accounting group managers are obliged to amend or re-create the general conditions filed for approval at the request of the regulatory authority.

(2) The General Conditions may not be discriminatory and shall not contain any abusive practices or unjustified restrictions. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		the performance of the tasks assigned to the balance sheet group is ensured;
2.		the performance of the balance sheet group members with the performance of the balance sheet group responsible in a factual context;
3.		the mutual obligations are allocated in a balanced and responsible manner;
4.		the obligation of the contracting parties to comply with the market rules is guaranteed;
5.		they are clearly and clearly defined;
6.		they contain definitions of the terms which are not generally understood.

(3) The General Terms and Conditions shall contain in particular:


1.		the more detailed provisions on the formation of balance sheet groups;
2.		the essential characteristics of the members of the balance sheet group for which the consumption of natural gas is to be determined by a load profile meter;
3.		the tasks and duties of the accounting group responsible;
4.		the principles of road planning;
5.		the time limit within which the timetables or timetables are Nominations of a balance sheet group to the distribution area manager and to the transmission system operator are known.

Approval of accounting group leaders

§ 93. (1) The activity of a group responsible for the balance sheet group shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority. The following documents shall be attached to the application for authorisation:


1.	agreements with the balance sheet group coordinator, the distribution area manager and the market area manager, who are responsible for fulfilling the tasks and obligations laid down in this law, in particular in administrative and commercial terms, shall be required;
2.	Proof of registration in the company register (company book extract) or of an equivalent register and of the registered office (main residence);
3.	Evidence that the applicant and its bodies responsible for the external representation of the applicant
a)		be self-entitled and the 24. Have completed their life year;
b)		have Austrian citizenship or are nationals of another EU Member State or of the EEA Contracting State;
c)		are not excluded from the exercise of the authorisation in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 7;
4.	Evidence that the balance sheet group responsible, at least one shareholder or Complementary or at least one managing director or a management board or a senior staff member is technically suitable;
5.	Proof that the group responsible for the performance of his business as a balance-sheet group responsible has a liability capital of at least EUR 50 000, for example, in the form of a bank guarantee or equivalent insurance, without prejudice to any higher capital endowment required on the basis of the nature and scope of the business, in accordance with the agreement to be provided in accordance with Z 1;
6.	an up-to-date extract from the criminal record or an equivalent certificate issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin of the marketing authorisation holder (the natural persons who have a significant influence on the marketing authorisation holder) ), which indicates that there is no grounds for exclusion within the meaning of (4) and (5).

(2) Professional competence shall be given if, to a sufficient degree, theoretical and practical knowledge of the conduct of natural gas operations or in a managable activity in the field of natural gas, in particular in the natural gas trade, shall be provided in the natural gas logistics, in the production of natural gas or in the operation of a network or a storage facility.

(3) The authorisation shall, if necessary, be granted subject to conditions where all the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are met. The regulatory authority must decide within two months from the receipt of the complete application documents, otherwise the applicant shall be entitled to provisionally exercise the activity as the accounting group responsible. The activity shall be underserved in accordance with § 94.

(4) It is excluded from the performance of the activities of a group responsible for the balance sheet who has been sentenced by a court to a custodial sentence exceeding three months or to a fine of more than 180 daily rates if the Conviction is neither repaid nor subject to the restriction of the information from the criminal record. This shall also apply if similar facts have been achieved abroad with the above-mentioned exclusion reason.

(5) Those who, on account of the financial verging of smuggling, the evasion of entry or exit taxes, the Abgabhehlerei according to § 37 para. 1 lit. a of the Financial Criminal Law, the evasion of monopoly income, the intentional intervention in a state monopoly law or the monopoly hehlery in accordance with § 46 para. 1 lit. a of the financial criminal law has been punished, is excluded from the performance of the activity of a balance sheet group responsible if, on account of such a financial offence, a fine of more than 7 300 euros or in addition to a fine a custodial sentence has been imposed, and if not five years have passed since the punishment. This also applies if similar facts have been carried out abroad with the above-mentioned exclusion reasons.

(6) Legal entities over whose assets have already opened insolvency proceedings or have not been legally opened in the absence of cost-covering assets are excluded from the activities of the accounting group responsible. This also applies if similar facts have been carried out abroad with the above-mentioned exclusion reasons.

(7) A natural person shall be excluded from the activities of the balance-sheet group responsible if a debt-regulatory procedure has been opened on its assets, or if it has a decisive influence on the operation of the business of another A legal entity is, or is granted, a legal entity to which the provisions of paragraph 6 have been or have been applied.

Revocation and deletion of the permit

§ 94. (1) The regulatory authority may revoke the authorisation granted to the balance sheet group responsible if it:


1.		it does not take up its activity within six months of the granting of the permit; or
2.		he does not carry out his activity for more than one month.

(2) The regulatory authority shall revoke the authorisation granted to the balance sheet group responsible if:


1.		a condition laid down in section 93 (1) is not available or is no longer available, or
2.		at least three times for breach of his duties and obligations (§ 91) he has been legally punished and the revocation in respect of the transgressions is not disproportionate.

(3) The case in accordance with paragraph 2 is, in any case, unstoppable measures within the meaning of Section 57 (1) of the AVG.

(4) The authorisation shall expire if insolvency proceedings are opened on the assets of the accounting officer or, in the absence of cost-covering assets, a final insolvency proceedings are not opened up.

(5) If the approval of a balance sheet group is revoked or is cancelled or if the accounting group responsible is to dissolve the balance sheet group, the suppliers of the balance sheet group shall be informed by the regulatory authority of another Assign balance group (§ 95). The resolution of the balance sheet group shall not be allowed until after the legal force of the assignment.

Allocation of suppliers to balance sheet groups

§ 95. (1) The allocation of network users,


1.		that do not belong to a balance group or
2.		that do not form their own balance sheet group,
to a balance sheet group shall be made by a decision of the regulatory authority. Contractual agreements which shape the relationship between the assigned suppliers and their customers shall not be affected by the act of assignment. The General Conditions of the Accounting Group Responsible are considered to be an integral part of the legal relationship of direct membership to the balance sheet group, which is constitutively established by the Act of Assignment. The customers who are at the time of the assignment in contractual relations with the suppliers do not have a party position in the proceedings.

(2) The supply of the customers of the suppliers assigned to a balance sheet group in accordance with paragraph 1 by the accounting group responsible shall be carried out at normal market prices.

Physical settlement point for gas exchange transactions

§ 96. (1) For the purpose of physical fulfilment of the gas exchange operations, a physical settlement point for gas exchange operations shall have the necessary criteria for a balance sheet group in accordance with the General Conditions of the Market Area Manager. .

(2) In addition, the physical settlement point for gas exchange operations with the market area manager or the settlement office for transactions and price formation for balancing energy in the distribution network, if necessary, to conclude agreements. It is to ensure that all balancing needs and activities that are caused by the network user's stock exchange activities and that can be influenced by nominations are to be concentrated at the virtual trading point.

(3) The regulatory authority shall be responsible for supervising the compliance with the applicable rules applicable to accounting group managers by the physical settlement unit for gas exchange transactions. This shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of the stock exchange views.

Part 7

Storage Companies

Access to storage facilities

§ 97. (1) Storage undertakings which manage natural gas storage shall have access to their facilities for access to their facilities on non-discriminatory and transparent conditions.

(2) Storage access may be refused for the following reasons:


1.		Accidents;
2.		lack of storage capacity;
3.		where the holder of the storage access or a company connected to the storage access authorized person who exercises a dominant influence has its registered office in a Member State of the European Union in which a legal claim of the storage access authorized for storage access is not granted, or storage access is not possible for the actual reasons;
4.		if the technical specifications cannot be brought into line with each other in a reasonable manner;
5.		because of economic unacceptability.
The storage company has to justify the refusal of the storage access to the storage access authorized in writing.

(3) In the event of a lack of physical storage capacity, input and output in the context of the provision of balancing energy shall take precedence over all other eligible persons, as well as input and output, on the basis of existing and their place of contractual contractual obligations in time-series.

(4) The regulatory authority shall, at the request of the person claiming to have been infringed by denial of the access to the storage in its legally granted right of access, determine whether the conditions for the access to the storage for the refusal of a storage access in accordance with paragraph 2. The time limit within which the regulatory authority has to decide shall be one month from the date of receipt of the application.

(5) The storage undertaking shall demonstrate the existence of the refusals pursuant to paragraph 2. The regulatory authority shall, in any circumstances of the proceedings, seek to reach an amicable agreement between storage access authorised and storage undertakings.

(6) Where the regulatory authority determines that the right to grant access has been infringed, the storage company shall immediately grant access to the applicant for storage after notification of the decision of the regulatory authority.

Procedures relating to access to storage facilities

§ 98. (1) On the basis of the evaluation of the storage market carried out in accordance with the criteria laid down in paragraph 2, access to storage facilities shall be granted on a negotiated basis. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth can determine with a regulation whether the access to storage is based on a regulated procedure. In doing so, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth may decide that:


1.		the methods of setting the storage usage fees are subject to authorisation by the regulatory authority and/or
2.		the general conditions for the access to storage of a permit by the regulatory authority shall be subject to the general conditions and/or
3.		require the methods and procedures for the allocation of capacity by the regulatory authority.
The decision on the regulated access regime shall be made public.

(2) When assessing which procedure is used, the regulatory authority shall report on the situation on the Austrian flexibility and flexibility scheme before the Regulation of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has been issued. Create and publish storage market. In doing so, the regulatory authority shall be subject to the intensity of competition on the storage market based on price comparisons, product offering and its use, market concentration (supply and demand), taking into account the availability of alternative sources of supply and demand. To assess flexibility sources and the availability of storage capacities in relation to demand. In the case of price comparisons mentioned above, the costs incurred by the storage companies pursuant to Article 73 (5) and Section 74 (2) shall be deducted. The storage companies concerned shall have the right to comment on this report. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has to take this report into account in his decision pursuant to Section 1 and of his decision pursuant to paragraph 1 to be based on whether a multiple infringement of the provisions of § 101 bis § § § 101 bis § § 101 bis § § 101 bis § § 101 bis § § 101 bis 105 has been established by the regulatory authority.

The regulatory authority shall have a report referred to in paragraph 2, at least every three years, or on a reasoned request from a storage company or to create and publish a storage access authorized user.

Storage usage charges for negotiated storage access

§ 99. (1) Storage undertakings shall be obliged to agree to the principle of equal treatment with storage rights on the basis of the general conditions for access to storage of storage charges, in accordance with good faith. The principles underlying the determination of the remuneration for storage are to be published once a year and after each amendment.

(2) The storage usage charges published by a storage company for a storage service requested by customers shall be more than 20% higher than the average of published charges for comparable services in the Member States of the European Union shall, in order to ensure the comparability of storage usage fees, inform the regulatory authority of the cost base to which the storage undertakings are based on the basis of paragraph 1. are laid. This is based on the principles of cost causation and cost orientation. In the case of the comparison of the storage usage fees, the costs incurred by the storage companies pursuant to Article 73 (5) and Section 74 (2) shall be deducted.

(3) At the request of the applicant for storage, the regulatory authority shall inform the applicant whether the conditions on which the storage use contract is based are in accordance with the principle of equal treatment. In the event that the principle of equal treatment is not complied with, the storage undertaking shall immediately establish the state in which it is based.

(4) Changes in the storage use charges shall be notified before the regulatory authority enters into force.

Storage usage fees for regulated storage access

§ 100. (1) If the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has decreed in accordance with Section 98 (1) (1) (1) that the access to storage must be granted on the basis of a regulated procedure, the methods for calculating the storage usage fees shall be subject to the following conditions: Approval of the regulatory authority. The methods shall be amended or re-created at the request of the regulatory authority.

(2) Methods for the calculation of these storage usage charges shall apply to:


1.		the cost base, consisting of reasonable costs for operation, maintenance, expansion, management and marketing, as well as a capital interest rate on the basis of a weighted capital cost set, with the interest-bearing capital base of the operational assets, where the passivated stocks are to be deducted from construction grants, as well as the findings of the regulatory authority.
2.		the other provisions of the fee calculation, which shall be based on the contractual capacity utilisation at the time of the calculation. In the case of new installations, the calculation is based on planning assumptions to be approved by the regulatory authority. A summary of individual storage facilities for the calculation of the storage usage fees is permitted.

(3) The methods may also provide that storage usage fees can also be determined by means of market-based procedures such as auctions. The methods must facilitate efficient gas trading and competition and avoid cross-subsidies between the storage users. At the same time, they must provide incentives for investment and for the maintenance or production of interoperability. The methods must also be designed in such a way that the necessary investments in the storage facilities can be carried out in such a way that the economic viability of the storage facilities is ensured at any rate.

(4) The regulatory authority shall, prior to authorisation, subject the methods to a consultation of the storage access authorised. The authorisation shall be issued if the requirements set out in paragraph 2 are met and the storage use charges resulting from these methods are not more than 20% above the average of published storage usage fees, which are the In the case of comparable storage services for comparable storage facilities in the European Union, the Authority shall be presented with the method to be approved at the same time. In the case of the comparison of the storage usage fees, the costs incurred by the storage companies pursuant to Article 73 (5) and Section 74 (2) shall be deducted. The approved methods shall be published on the Internet site of the storage company.

(5) At the request of the regulatory authority, compliance with the approved methods shall be demonstrated in the calculation of the storage usage charges and shall be verified by the submission of all the calculation bases. The regulatory authority shall require the storage company to calculate the storage use charges in accordance with the methods.

Presentation of contracts

§ 101. The storage companies shall submit all the contracts concluded for the provision of the storage capacity of the regulatory authority immediately after the conclusion of the contract and shall, if necessary, explain them.

General conditions for storage access

§ 102. (1) The general conditions for access to storage must not be discriminatory and do not contain abusive practices or unjustified restrictions and do not jeopardise security of supply or service quality. In particular, they shall be designed to:


1.		the performance of the tasks assigned to the storage undertaking is ensured;
2.		the performance of the storage rights persons with the performance of the storage company in a factual context;
3.		the mutual obligations are allocated in a balanced and responsible manner;
4.		contain provisions relating to technical requirements for storage and storage;
5.		they contain rules on the allocation of storage usage charges;
6.		they are clearly and clearly defined;
7.		they contain definitions of the terms which are not generally understood;
8.		they are not in conflict with existing legislation.

(2) The general conditions for access to storage shall include in particular:


1.		the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, in particular in order to comply with the other market rules applicable to access to storage;
2.		the technical minimum requirements for access to storage;
3.		Regulations for measuring the data transferred to the storage company or the quantity of natural gas supplied;
4.		Arrangements concerning the location of the acquisition or Transfer of natural gas;
5.		the quality requirements which apply to the storage and storage of natural gas;
6.		the various services to be made available in the context of the access to storage;
7.		the procedure and the modalities for access to storage;
8.		the data to be supplied by the storage access rights;
9.		the arrangements for the storage of storage;
10.		a period of not more than 14 days from the date on which the storage undertaking has to respond to the access to storage;
11.		the basic principles for the settlement;
12.		the nature and form of accounting and payment;
13.		the way in which technical raids and incidents are reported and how they can be remedied;
14.		the obligation of storage eligible for advance payment or security (cash security, bank guarantee, deposit of non-vinkulated savings books) at an appropriate level, to the extent that the circumstances of the individual case are to be expected, that the person entitled to storage does not meet his or her payment obligations or does not meet in time;
15.		provisions on the criteria and the manner in which unused commented storage capacities are made available to third parties;
16.		an indication of the dispute settlement procedure provided for by law.

(3) In the preparation of the General Conditions for the negotiated storage access, the storage company shall consult the storage access authorized persons. The general conditions for access to storage are to be followed by the storage users via request and published on the Internet.

(4) If the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has determined, in accordance with § 98 (1), that storage access to a storage facility must be granted on the basis of a regulated procedure, the General Conditions and their conditions shall be subject to the following conditions: Amendments to a permit by the regulatory authority. This authorisation shall be granted subject to conditions or for a limited period to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act. The duration shall not be less than a period of three years. Storage companies are required to modify or re-create the General Terms and Conditions for Storage Access at the request of the Regulatory Authority , to the extent necessary for the fulfilment of the provisions of this Act . By way of derogation from paragraph 3, the regulatory authority shall, prior to authorisation, subject the general conditions to a consultation of the storage access authorised.

(5) If new general conditions for access to storage are approved, the storage company shall notify the storage users in a suitable manner within four weeks of the approval of the storage user.

Capacity allocation procedures

§ 103. (1) Storage undertakings shall publish and apply non-discriminatory, transparent capacity-allocation procedures. The capacity allocation process must provide for reasonable time limits for the announcement of the capacity allocation and the duration of the procedure. Depending on the respective capacity requirements, this mechanism should be selected, which ensures non-discriminatory and transparent capacity allocation. If the capacity requirement exceeds the capacity available in the capacity allocation process, the capacity allocation shall be effected by auction. Storage products can then be forgiven after the time of the anbots, if the capacity offers are small compared to the total capacity.

(2) For investments in new storage facilities as well as for substantial investment in the expansion of existing storage facilities, a capacity demand survey shall be made to determine the capacity requirement before the capacity allocation procedure ,

(3) All planned capacity-setting procedures shall be notified to the regulatory authority in good time. The conditions for the allocation of capacity are to be amended or re-created at the request of the regulatory authority.

(4) If the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth has determined in accordance with section 98 (1) (3) that the storage access to a storage facility must be granted on the basis of a regulated procedure, the capacity allocation procedure shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) to (3) of the approval of the regulatory authority. The capacity-setting procedure shall be amended or re-created at the request of the regulatory authority.

Bottleneck management

§ 104. (1) Storage undertakings shall enable a transparent and efficient trading of secondary capacity in a higher-level trading platform for secondary market capacity or cooperate in the establishment of a common trading platform.

(2) Contracts for the provision of storage capacity shall include measures to avoid capacity of capacity. In cases of contractually induced bottlenecks, the storage user is obliged to sell the contracted capacity not used by him via a secondary market platform to third parties.

(3) The storage company shall immediately provide the unused storage capacity at least on a "day-ahead" basis (for the following day of the day) and at least as interruptible capacity on the primary market.

Obligations of storage companies

§ 105. (1) Storage undertakings shall be obliged to:


1.		without prejudice to information, notification and disclosure requirements in accordance with the provisions of this Federal Act, and the obligations laid down in Article 10 to grant access to the business records, commercially sensitive information of which they become aware of in the performance of their business, to treat confidentially and to prevent information on their own activities which may bring economic benefits from being disclosed in a discriminatory manner ,
2.		Network operators whose networks are connected to their own facilities shall provide sufficient information to ensure the safe and efficient operation, the coordinated development and interoperability of networks and systems, and to ensure that the network operators are able to provide adequate information and information to the network. the operator of the linked plant shall conclude agreements on the transfer and transfer modalities;
3.		the general conditions applicable to the use of its installations and the storage use charges once a year, or to publish after each change;
4.		publish numerical information on the contracted and available input and storage capacity, as well as the contracted and available volume on a daily basis on the Internet, in a user-friendly standardised manner;
5.		provided that data from the downstream network operator are not supplied to the distribution area manager and the market area manager in any case, the downstream network operator shall provide it with data on the respective current pressure situation at the same time as the downstream network operator as well as the flow of quantities of transfer points to storage facilities in the market area in electronic form;
6.		Participate in the preparation of long-term planning and network development plans and projects of approved long-term planning and/or the network development plan relating to installations operated by them;
7.		to maintain, maintain and develop the storage facilities they operate in a safe, reliable and efficient way, and to ensure that the necessary resources to meet the service obligations are available .

(2) The obligations of the storage undertakings pursuant to Article 15, Article 17 and Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 shall remain unaffected.

8. Part

Unbundling

1. Main item

Unbundling of distribution system operators

Requirements

§ 106. (1) Distribution system operators shall be vertically integrated natural gas undertakings with regard to legal form, organisation and decision-making irrespective of the activities of supply, sale, supply and extraction of natural gas. This provision does not give rise to an obligation to separate the ownership of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking in assets belonging to the network.

(2) The independence of the distribution system operators shall be ensured on the basis of the following criteria:


1.		in a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, the persons responsible for the management of a distribution system operator shall not be part of the company ' s operating facilities directly or indirectly responsible for day-to-day operation in the fields of: the acquisition of natural gas, purchase or delivery;
2.		ensure that the professional interests of the persons responsible for the management of a distribution system operator are taken into account in such a way as to ensure their independence of action, and in particular the reasons for: the convocation of a company organ of the distribution system operator must be clearly rewritten in the company statutes of the distribution system operator;
3.		the distribution system operator shall have effective decision-making powers, independently of the integrated undertaking, in respect of assets necessary for the operation, maintenance or development of the network. In order to be able to carry out this task, the distribution system operator must have all the resources in terms of personnel, technical, material and financial resources. This shall not preclude the appropriate coordination mechanisms to ensure that the economic powers of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking and its supervisory rights are exercised through the management of the Distribution system operators shall be protected with regard to profitability. This shall enable the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking to approve the annual financial plan, or an equivalent instrument of the distribution system operator, and to establish general limits on the distribution of the distribution system operator. Instructions relating to day-to-day operations or individual decisions relating to the construction or upgrading of lines which do not exceed the framework of the approved financial plan or an equivalent instrument shall be inadmissible. The Supervisory Board of distribution system operators belonging to a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking shall be members of at least two members, independent of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking;
4.		the distribution system operator shall establish a compliance programme which shall indicate the measures taken to ensure that discriminatory conduct is excluded and shall ensure adequate monitoring of compliance with this The same treatment programme. The equal treatment programme must set out the specific obligations of the staff with regard to this objective. For the monitoring of the compliance programme, the distribution system operator shall designate a person or body responsible (the equal treatment officer). The Equal Treatment Officer shall have access to all the information available to the distribution system operator and any associated undertakings. The Equal Treatment Officer shall submit an annual report to the regulatory authority on the measures taken, which shall be published. The Equal Treatment Officer shall be completely independent in the exercise of this function and shall not be bound by instructions. He shall receive suggestions from the management of the distribution system operator and, where appropriate, justify why he does not support them. With regard to the protection of dismissal and dismissal, the Equal Treatment Officer is a security professional for the duration of his order, if he is an employee of the distribution system operator (Article 73, Section 1 of the German Employees ' Protection Act, BGBl. No 450/1994). The appointment of the Equal Treatment Officer shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of the management of the distribution system operator for the compliance with the provisions of this Federal Law.

(3) The distribution system operator shall ensure that its communication activities, as well as in its trade mark policy, ensure that there is confusion with regard to the identity of the supply division of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking is excluded.

(4) Subsection 1 to 3 shall apply only to vertically integrated distribution system operators whose network has more than 50 000 domestic connections.

(5) Companies which have already taken unbundling measures at the time of the entry into force of this Federal Act may not reverse these unbundling measures already carried out.

2. Main piece

Unbundling of storage companies

Requirements

§ 107. (1) The storage undertaking which is part of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking shall, at least as regards its legal form, organisation and decision-making authority, be independent of the other areas of activity which are not covered by the Transmission, distribution and storage.

(2) The independence of the storage company shall be ensured on the basis of the following criteria:


1.		in a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, the persons responsible for the activities of a storage undertaking shall not be part of the company ' s premises directly or indirectly responsible for the day-to-day operation of the undertaking in the fields of: gas extraction and supply;
2.		ensure that the professional interests of the persons responsible for the management of a storage undertaking are taken into account in such a way as to ensure that they are capable of acting as a function of their action;
3.		Storage undertakings shall have effective decision-making powers in respect of assets that are necessary for the operation, maintenance or development of storage facilities, irrespective of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking. This shall not preclude the appropriate coordination mechanisms to ensure that the economic powers of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking and its supervisory rights through the management of the storage undertaking are in terms of profitability. This shall enable the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking to approve the annual financial plan or an equivalent instrument of the storage company and to set general limits on the debt of the storage company. Instructions relating to day-to-day operations or to individual decisions relating to the construction or modernisation of storage facilities which do not exceed the framework of the approved financial plan or equivalent instrument shall be inadmissible;
4.		Storage undertakings shall establish a compliance programme which shall indicate what measures are taken to exclude discriminatory conduct and shall ensure adequate monitoring of compliance with this Directive. The same treatment programme. The equal treatment programme must set out the specific obligations of the staff with regard to this objective. In order to monitor compliance with the compliance programme, the storage company shall designate a person or body responsible (the equal treatment officer). The Equal Treatment Officer shall submit an annual report to the regulatory authority on the measures taken, which shall be published. The Equal Treatment Officer shall be completely independent in the exercise of this function and shall not be bound by instructions. With regard to the protection of dismissal and dismissal, the Equal Treatment Officer is a security professional for the duration of his order, if he is a employee of the storage company (Section 73, Section 1 of the Employees ' Protection Act, BGBl. No 450/1994). The appointment of the Equal Treatment Officer shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of the management of the storage company for compliance with the provisions of this Federal Law.

3. Main piece

Unbundling of transmission system operators

Section 1

Ownership unbundling of transmission system operators

Requirements

§ 108. (1) The transmission system operator shall be the owner of the transmission system.

(2) One and the same person is not authorized


1.		to exercise, directly or indirectly, control of an undertaking performing any of the functions of extraction or supply and, directly or indirectly, to exercise control over a transmission system operator or to exercise rights in respect of a transmission system operator to carry out transmission system operators;
2.		to exercise, directly or indirectly, the control of a transmission system operator and, directly or indirectly, to exercise control over an undertaking performing any of the functions of extraction or supply, or rights in a company which: to perform any of these functions;
3.		to appoint members of the supervisory board or the bodies of a transmission system operator appointed to represent the legal representation and, directly or indirectly, to exercise control over a company which has one of the functions of extraction or supply; , or to exercise rights in an undertaking performing any of these functions;
4.		Member of the Supervisory Board or of the bodies appointed to represent the legal representation of both a company that performs one of the functions of extraction or supply, and a transmission system operator or an owner of a Transmission system.

(3) The rights referred to in paragraph 2 shall include in particular:


1.		the power to exercise voting rights;
2.		the power to appoint members of the Supervisory Board or the bodies appointed to represent the legal representation;
3.		the holding of a majority shareholding.

(4) The obligation laid down in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be fulfilled if two or more undertakings which own transmission networks establish a joint venture which, in two or more Member States, is the transmission system operator for the relevant Transmission networks. No other company may be part of the joint venture, unless it has been approved as an independent network operator in accordance with § 109 or as an independent transmission system operator in accordance with Section 112.

(5) Where the person referred to in paragraph 2 is the Member State or another public body, two separate public service bodies shall apply, on the one hand, and on the one hand, control of a transmission system operator and, on the other hand, on the other hand, through an undertaking performing one of the functions of extraction or supply, not as one person and the same person.

(6) Section 2 (1) and (2) also includes electricity companies within the meaning of Section 7 (1) (11) of the Law on Electricity and Organization for Electricity 2010 (ElWOG 2010), BGBl. I No 110/2010.

(7) Personnel and commercially sensitive information which has been provided by a transmission system operator which was part of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking may not be passed on to undertakings which have one of the functions of extraction or Provide care. § 11 shall remain unaffected.

Section 2

Independent System Operator (ISO)

Requirements

§ 109. (1) In cases where the transmission system has been owned by a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking on 3 September 2009, it is not possible to apply ownership unbundling in accordance with Section 108 and instead to apply the ownership unbundling of the network. Proposal by the owner of the transmission system to designate an independent network operator.

(2) The independent network operator shall provide the following evidence:


1.		it complies with Section 108 (2);
2.		it has the necessary financial, technical, human and material resources;
3.		it commits itself to implement a ten-year network development plan monitored by the regulatory authority;
4.		it must be able to comply with its obligations under Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, including with regard to the cooperation of transmission system operators at European and regional level.
5.		The owner of the transmission system must be able to fulfil its obligations pursuant to section 110 (2). To this end, all agreements, in particular with the independent network operator, shall be submitted.

Obligations

§ 110. (1) Each independent network operator shall be responsible for the granting and regulation of third party access, including the collection of access charges and the taking of bottlenecks, for the operation, maintenance and expansion of the transmission system , as well as ensuring the long-term ability of the network to meet reasonable demand through investment planning. In the expansion of the transmission system, the independent network operator is responsible for the planning (including approval procedures), construction and commissioning of the new infrastructure. To this end, the independent network operator shall act as a transmission system operator in accordance with the relevant provisions. The transmission system owner shall not be responsible for the granting and regulation of third party access or investment planning.

(2) The owner of the transmission system shall be obliged to:


1.		it shall cooperate to the extent necessary with the independent network operator and shall assist it in the performance of its tasks, in particular by providing all relevant information;
2.		It shall finance the investments decided by the independent network operator and approved by the regulatory authority, or grant its consent to the financing by another interested party, including the independent network operator. The relevant financing agreements shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority. Prior to its approval, the regulatory authority shall consult the owner of the transmission system and the other interested parties;
3.		ensure that the liability risks relating to the net assets are secured, with the exception of those liability risks relating to the tasks of the independent network operator;
4.		establishes the guarantees necessary to facilitate the financing of any network expansion, with the exception of those investments in which it is financed by an interested party, in accordance with Z 2, including the independent network operator, has agreed.

Independence of the transmission system owner

§ 111. (1) The transmission system owner, which is part of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, must, at least in terms of its legal form, organisation and decision-making authority, be independent of any other activities which are not covered by the Transmission line or distribution.

(2) The independence of a transmission system owner shall be ensured on the basis of the following criteria:


1.		in a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, the persons responsible for the management of the transmission system owner may not include in-company facilities of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, directly or indirectly, for the ongoing operations in the fields of natural gas extraction, distribution and supply;
2.		appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that the professional interests of the persons responsible for the management of the transmission system owner are taken into account in such a way as to ensure that they are capable of acting as a function of their action;
3.		the transmission system owner shall establish a compliance programme which shall indicate the measures taken to exclude discriminatory behaviour and shall ensure sufficient monitoring of compliance with this programme. The equal treatment programme shall specify the specific responsibilities of the staff in achieving these objectives. Each year, the person or body responsible for monitoring the compliance programme (the Equal Treatment Officer) shall submit a report to the regulatory authority on the measures taken, which shall be published. With regard to the protection of dismissal and dismissal, the Equal Treatment Officer is a security professional for the duration of his order, if he is an employee of the transmission system operator (Section 73 para. 1 of the German Employees ' Protection Act, BGBl. No 450/1994).

Section 3

Independent transmission system operator (ITO)

Assets, Independence, Services, likelihood of confusion

§ 112. (1) In cases where the transmission system has been owned by a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking on 3 September 2009, there is a possibility of not applying the ownership unbundling in accordance with Section 108 and instead to designate an independent transmission system operator.

(2) The independent transmission system operator shall have all the human, technical, material and financial resources necessary for the performance of its obligations and for the operation of the transmission system. Without prejudice to the decisions of the Board of Supervisors, adequate financial resources shall be allocated to the independent transmission system operator for future investment projects and for the replacement of existing assets, subject to appropriate requirements. to provide the independent transmission system operator in good time with the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking. In particular, the following shall be required for the operation of the transmission system:


1.		The independent transmission system operator shall be the owner of the transmission system and of the assets. The operation of foreign upstream pipeline networks shall be permitted.
2.		the staff must be employed by the independent transmission system operator. The independent transmission system operator must, in particular, have its own legal department, bookkeeping and its own IT services.
3.		the provision of services, including personnel leasing, by the vertically integrated undertaking for the independent transmission system operator is prohibited. An independent transmission system operator may provide services, including personnel leasing, for the vertically integrated undertaking, provided that it is not discriminated against between users who provide services to all users under the the same terms and conditions, and the competition in the extraction and supply is not restricted, distorted or prevented.

3. subsidiaries of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking performing the functions of extraction or supply shall not directly or indirectly hold shares in the undertaking of the independent transmission system operator. The independent transmission system operator shall not directly or indirectly hold shares in subsidiaries of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking performing the functions of extraction or supply and shall not be entitled to any dividends or any other financial contributions from these subsidiaries. The entire administrative structure and the corporate statutes of the independent transmission system operator shall ensure its effective independence. The vertically integrated undertaking shall be entitled to take account of the competitive behaviour of the independent transmission system operator in relation to its current operations and the management of the network, or in relation to the activities necessary to establish the Do not directly or indirectly influence the network development plan.

(4) The independent transmission system operator must ensure, in its entire external presence and communication activities and in its trademark policy, that there is a confusion with the identity of the vertically integrated Natural gas undertaking or any part thereof is excluded. The independent transmission system operator may therefore use only signs, figures, names, letters, numbers, shapes and arrangements which are suitable for the transmission of the activity or service of the transmission system operator from those of the vertically Integrated natural gas undertakings.

(5) The independent transmission system operator shall refrain from the sharing of IT systems or equipment, office premises and access control systems with any part of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking.

(6) The independent transmission system operator shall ensure that it does not cooperate with the same consultants and external contractors as the vertically integrated undertaking in relation to IT systems or equipment and access control systems.

(7) The accounts of independent transmission system operators shall be audited by auditors other than those carrying out audits in the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or in its parts of the undertaking. To the extent necessary for the issuance of the Group confirmation note in the context of the full consolidation of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or other important reasons, the auditor of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking may: Inspect parts of the books of the independent transmission system operator, unless the regulatory authority objects to it for reasons relating to the maintenance of independence. The important reasons shall be notified in advance in writing to the regulatory authority. In this respect, the auditor has the obligation to treat commercially sensitive information confidentially and, in particular, not to communicate to the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking.

(8) The activities of the independent transmission system operator shall include, in addition to the duties and duties listed in § 62, at least the following activities:


1.		the representation of the independent transmission system operator and the function of the third party contact person and the regulatory authorities;
2.		the representation of the independent transmission system operator within the ENTSO (gas);
3.		the granting and regulation of third party access in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination between network users or categories of network users;
4.		the levying of all transmission net-related charges, including access charges, compensatory charges for ancillary services such as the acquisition of benefits (compensation costs, energy consumption for losses);
5.		the operation, maintenance and development of a secure, efficient and economic transmission system;
6.		investment planning in order to ensure the long-term ability of the network to meet reasonable demand and security of supply;
7.		the creation of appropriate joint ventures, including with one or more transmission system operators, gas exchanges and other relevant actors, with the aim of promoting the creation of regional markets or the process of liberalisation; . In the case of co-operations involving the gas trade, the operator of the virtual trading point is to be included in the cooperation accordingly.

(9) As independent transmission system operators, only companies may be designated in one of the types of legal forms referred to in Article 1 of Directive 2009 /101/EC.

Independence of the transmission system operator

§ 113. Without prejudice to the decisions of the Board of Supervisors, the independent transmission system operator shall be effective in relation to assets or resources required for the operation, maintenance and development of the transmission system; decision-making powers which it exercises independently of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking and which have the power to raise money on the capital market, in particular by taking up loans or capital increase.

(2) The independent transmission system operator shall ensure that it has at all times the resources it needs in order to properly and efficiently manage the transmission system business and to provide a powerful, secure and economic To establish and maintain the transmission system.

(3) For the commercial and financial relations between the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking and the independent transmission system operator, including the granting of credit by the independent transmission system operator to the Vertically integrated undertakings shall be subject to normal market conditions. The independent transmission system operator shall keep detailed records of these commercial and financial relations and shall make them available to the regulatory authority on request. It shall also submit to the regulatory authority all commercial and financial arrangements with the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking for approval. The regulatory authority shall, in the presence of normal market conditions and non-discriminatory conditions, authorise it within four weeks. Upon expiry of this period, the consent shall be deemed to have been granted

(4) The independent transmission system operator shall notify the regulatory authority of the financial resources referred to in Article 112 (2), which shall be available to it for future investment projects or for the replacement of existing assets and resources.

(5) The vertically integrated undertaking shall refrain from any action which would impede or endanger the fulfilment of the obligations of the independent transmission system operator, and shall not require the independent transmission system operator to take the necessary steps to: To meet these obligations to obtain the consent of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking.

Independence of management and employees

§ 114. (1) People in the management of the company must be professionally independent. In particular, the following shall apply:


1.		in other parts of the business of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or in the case of its majority share owners, they may not directly or indirectly hold professional positions or carry out professional tasks or interests, or Maintain business relationships with them.
2.		they may not, in the last three years, either directly or indirectly, before placing an order in the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, one of its parts of the undertaking or in the case of other majority investors, as the independent transmission system operator, have held professional positions or have experienced professional or business relations with them. This deadline is for orders to be applied after 3 March 2012.
3.		they may, after termination of the contractual relationship with the independent transmission system operator, for at least four years in the case of other parts of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking other than the independent transmission system operator, or the majority of whom do not hold professional positions or carry out professional tasks, or have an interest or business relationship with them.
4.		they may not directly or indirectly participate in any part of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, nor shall they receive any financial contribution from it. Their remuneration shall not be subject to the activities or operating results of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, in so far as they do not concern the independent transmission system operator.

(2) The independent transmission system operator shall immediately have all the names and conditions relating to function, contract period and termination as well as the reasons for the order or termination of the contract of persons of the company management of the regulatory authority.

(3) The regulatory authority may raise objections with regard to persons of the company management by means of a decision of its own motion or at the request of a person of the management or of the equal treatment officer within three weeks,


1.		where there are doubts as to the professional independence referred to in paragraph 1 of the present order, the conditions of employment, including remuneration, or
2.		if there are doubts about the entitlement of an early termination of the contract. An early termination of the contract is unlawful if the premature termination of the contract is due to circumstances which were not in accordance with the requirements relating to independence from the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking . An action of a person of the management may not be brought before the decision of the regulatory authority in the dispute settlement proceedings pursuant to Section 12 (4) E-ControlG or after the decision-making period of the regulatory authority has expired. .

(4) (1) (2) shall apply to the majority of the persons of the management of the independent transmission system operator. The persons of the management of the independent transmission system operator, for which paragraph 1 (1) (2) does not apply, shall not have any management or other management activity in the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking over the last six months prior to their appointment. has been engaged in this activity.

(5) Paragraph 1 Z 1 shall apply equally to all employees of the independent transmission system operator.

(6) (1), (1), (3), (4) and (3) (2) shall apply equally to persons directly subordinated to the management of the network in the areas of operation, maintenance and development of the network.

Independence of the supervisory body

§ 115. (1) The task of the supervisory body of the independent transmission system operator shall be to take decisions which have a significant impact on the value of the assets of the shareholders in the independent transmission system operator, in particular: decisions relating to the approval of the annual and long-term financial plans, the level of indebtedness of the independent transmission system operator and the amount of dividends to be paid to the shareholders. Decisions relating to the appointment, re-appointment, conditions of employment, including remuneration and termination of the contract of the persons of the management of the independent transmission system operator, shall be taken by the Board of Supervisors of the the transmission system operator shall, unless otherwise specified by other legal provisions, determine otherwise. The Board of Supervisors shall have no power of decision in relation to the running operations of the independent transmission system operator and the management of the network and in relation to the activities necessary for the establishment of the network development plan.

(2) Section 114 (1) to (3) shall apply to half of the members of the Board of Supervisors, less a member of the Supervisory Board. Employees ' representatives within the meaning of the Labour Constitution Act in the supervisory body of the parent company of the transmission system operator are among those members of the supervisory body of the transmission system operator who are subject to the requirements of § 114 Par. 1 to 3 for half of the members of the supervisory body minus a member.

Equal treatment programme and equal treatment officer

§ 116. (1) The independent transmission system operators shall establish a compliance programme which shall indicate the measures to be taken to exclude discriminatory behaviour. The equal treatment programme shall specify the specific obligations of the staff to achieve these objectives. The programme shall be subject to approval by the regulatory authority. Compliance with the programme shall be controlled by an equal treatment officer.

(2) The Equal Treatment Officer shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors, subject to confirmation by the regulatory authority. The regulatory authority may refuse to confirm the appointment of the equal treatment officer for reasons of lack of independence or lack of professional competence. The Equal Treatment Officer may be a natural or legal person or a registered personal company. Section 114 (1) to (3) shall apply equally to the Equal Treatment Officer.

(3) The tasks of the Equal Treatment Officer are:


1.		continuous monitoring of the implementation of the equal treatment programme;
2.		the preparation of an annual report setting out the measures for the implementation of the equal treatment programme and the transmission thereof to the regulatory authority;
3.		reporting to the Board of Supervisors and making recommendations on the equal treatment programme and its implementation;
4.		information to the regulatory authority on significant infringements in the implementation of the compliance programme;
5.		Reporting to the regulatory authority on commercial and financial relations between the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking and the transmission system operator.

(4) The Equal Treatment Officer shall forward the proposed decisions on the investment plan or on individual investments in the network to the regulatory authority. This shall be done at the latest when the management of the independent transmission system operator sends these documents to the Board of Supervisors.

(5) In the Annual General Meeting or by a vote of the members of the Board of Supervisors appointed by the vertically integrated undertaking, the vertically integrated undertaking shall prevent the adoption of a decision, which shall result in net investment in the network following the network development plan. the following three years should be carried out, stopped or delayed, the Equal Treatment Officer shall report this to the regulatory authority, which shall then act in accordance with Section 65.

(6) The rules on the mandate and the conditions of employment of the Equal Treatment Officer, including the duration of his mandate, shall be subject to authorisation by the regulatory authority. These arrangements must ensure the independence of the equal treatment officer and ensure that he has the resources necessary to carry out his duties. During the term of office of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or its majority share owners, the equal treatment officer shall not directly or indirectly hold professional positions or professional positions in the case of business units of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking or its majority share owners. To perform tasks or to maintain a relationship with them.

(7) The equal treatment officer shall report regularly orally or in writing to the regulatory authority and shall be entitled to report regularly orally or in writing to the Board of Supervisors of the transmission system operator.

(8) The equal treatment officer shall be entitled to attend all meetings of the management of the independent transmission system operator and of the supervisory body and of the general meeting, respectively. The General Assembly. The Equal Treatment Officer shall attend all the meetings dealing with the following questions:


1.		Network access conditions in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009, in particular system usage charges, benefits related to third party access, capacity allocation and congestion management, transparency, compensation and secondary markets;
2.		projects relating to the operation, maintenance and development of the transmission system, including investments in new transport links, capacity expansion and the optimisation of existing capacity;
3.		Sale or purchase of energy for the operation of the transmission system.

(9) The Equal Treatment Officer shall monitor compliance with § 11 by the independent transmission system operator.

(10) The Equal Treatment Officer shall have access to all relevant data and to the business premises of the independent transmission system operator, as well as to all the information required for the performance of his duties. The Equal Treatment Officer shall have access to the business premises of the independent transmission system operator without prior notice.

(11) The Board of Supervisors may, after prior approval by the regulatory authority, discontinue the appointment of the Equal Treatment Officer. A dismise shall also be made on the basis of a modest request from the regulatory authority for reasons of lack of independence or lack of professional competence.

(12) With regard to the protection of dismissal and dismissal, the Equal Treatment Officer is a security professional for the duration of his order, if he is an employee of the transmission system operator (Section 73 (1)). Workers ' Protection Act, BGBl. No 450/1994).

Section 4

More effective independence of the transmission system operator

Requirements

§ 117. In those cases where the transmission system has been owned by a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking on 3 September 2009, and where there are rules which clearly ensure a more effective independence of the transmission system operator as the provisions relating to the independent transmission system operator (§ 112 bis § 116), there is the possibility of not applying the unbundling regulations of § 108.

Section 5

Combined network operator

§ 118. The regulatory authority may, by means of a communication, authorise the simultaneous operation of networks for electrical energy, natural gas and other line-linked divisions in a company and the exercise of other activities, provided that: The independence of the network operators will not be affected. The simultaneous operation of a transmission system and a distribution system and of the operation and management of a storage facility shall be authorised by the regulatory authority, provided that the criteria laid down in Articles 108 to 117 are met .

(2) The first sentence of paragraph 1 shall apply only to vertically integrated distribution system operators whose network has more than 50 000 domestic connections.

Procedures with regard to transmission system operators

Procedures for the certification and designation of transmission system operators

§ 119. (1) The regulatory authority is responsible for the constant monitoring of compliance with the unbundling requirements (§ 106 to § 118). It has to certify a transmission system operator by means of a notice of arrest


1.		as the owner-legally unleased transmission system operator within the meaning of § 108 or
2.		as an independent network operator within the meaning of § 109 bis § 111 or
3.		as an independent transmission system operator within the meaning of § 112 bis § 116 or
4.		as a transmission system operator within the meaning of section 117.

(2) A certification procedure shall be initiated


1.	on the application of a transmission system operator pursuant to paragraph 3 (1);
2.	on its own account, if:
a)		a transmission system operator does not make a request for certification pursuant to paragraph 3 (1) (1), or
b)		the regulatory authority becomes aware of a planned change which requires a re-evaluation of the certification and may or has already led to a breach of the unbundling rules;
3.	by the European Commission.
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 shall apply to the certification procedure.

(3) The transmission system operator shall be obliged to:


1.		a request for certification, provided that the transmission system operator has not yet been certified, and
2.		the regulatory authority shall immediately notify any proposed changes which require a re-evaluation of the certification.
The transmission system operator shall include its inputs to the regulatory authority and, at the request of the latter, all the documents necessary for the assessment of the facts.

(4) The regulatory authority shall have a reasoned draft decision within four months from the initiation of a procedure for the certification of a transmission system operator or for the full documentation of the transmission system operator, to be transmitted to the European Commission. If the regulatory authority leaves this deadline, it shall be consistent with a positive draft decision. The opinion of the European Commission shall be taken into account as far as possible by the regulatory authority in the certification procedure referred to in paragraph 1 (1) (1) and (3). The regulatory authority shall, after having received the opinion of the European Commission, decide within two months to decide on the application for certification. Certification may be granted subject to conditions and conditions, to the extent that these are necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives of this Act.

(5) By way of derogation from paragraph 4, the following shall apply:


1.		in the case of the certification procedure referred to in paragraph 1 Z 2, the regulatory authority shall comply with the decision of the European Commission.
2.		in the case of the certification procedure referred to in paragraph 1 (4), the regulatory authority and the European Commission shall examine whether the existing rules clearly ensure a more effective independence of the transmission system operator than the provisions relating to: independent transmission system operators (§ 112 bis § 116); the regulatory authority shall comply with the decision of the European Commission.

(6) The regulatory authority shall fully document all contacts established with the European Commission under the procedure laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009. The documentation is to be brought to the attention of the company which requested the issuing of the certificate as well as the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth. The notice of determination shall be published together with the statement of reasons by the regulatory authority, but where the economically sensitive information is discernable, bodies containing commercially sensitive information shall be unrecognizable. The opinion of the Commission shall also be published, in so far as it is not reproduced in the explanatory memo of the statement of reasons for the decision.

(7) Transmission system operators and undertakings performing any of the functions of extraction or supply shall be required to provide the regulatory authority and the European Commission with all the information relevant to the performance of their tasks. without delay.

(8) The appointment of a transmission system operator after the certification in accordance with paragraph 1 has been carried out by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth in the Federal Law Gazans. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth shall notify the appointment of a transmission system operator to the European Commission as soon as the regulatory authority has notified the certification of a transmission system operator noted. The appointment of an independent network operator pursuant to paragraph 1 (1) (2) and (4) shall be subject to prior approval by the European Commission. If the regulatory authority determines that the requirements for certification due to a breach of the unbundling regulations are no longer available, the appointment by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and the Family shall be and youth by way of a customer's revocation.

(9) The transfer of one or more normally to the


1.		Ownership unleased transmission system operators within the meaning of section 108 or
2.		independent network operators within the meaning of § 109 bis § 113 or
3.		Independent transmission system operators within the meaning of § 112 bis § 116 or
4.		the transmission system operator within the meaning of § 117
Functions assigned to a body or legal entity within the meaning of Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 shall be admissible in accordance with the provisions of Union law. Entities or entities to which such functions are delegated shall be subject to certification in accordance with this section. The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 7 shall also apply to the legal personality or body within the meaning of Article 1 of the last paragraph of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009.

Procedures for the certification of transmission system operators with respect to third countries

§ 120. (1) For a transmission system operator, which is controlled by one or more persons from one or more third countries, requests a certification, § 119 shall apply with subsequent deviations.

(2) The regulatory authority shall immediately inform the European Commission and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth


1.		the application for the certification of a transmission system operator controlled by one or more persons from one or more third countries;
2.		any circumstance which would result in one or more persons from one or more third countries receiving control of a transmission system operator;

(3) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth has to ensure that the granting of certification by the regulatory authority does not endanger the security of the energy supply of Austria and the Community. When considering whether the security of energy supply in Austria and the Community is at risk, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth shall take into account


1.		the rights and obligations of the Community with regard to that third country, which is under international law, including an agreement with one or more third countries to which the Community is a party and in the matters relating to the security of energy supply is being treated;
2.		the rights and obligations of the Republic of Austria to that third country which are derived from the agreements concluded with that third country, in so far as they comply with Community law;
3.		other specific circumstances of the individual case and of the third country concerned.

(4) After considering whether the security of the energy supply of Austria and the Community is at risk, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth shall notify his assessment of the regulatory authority. The regulatory authority has to take into account the evaluation of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth in their draft decision and in their decision.

Part 9

Gas dealers and suppliers

Obligations

§ 121. (1) The inclusion of the activity of a natural gas trader shall be notified in advance to the regulatory authority. The regulatory authority shall publish an up-to-date list of these natural gas dealers.

(2) Natural gas traders and suppliers who sell natural gas to final consumers, to which the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act apply, shall in any case have the possibility to conclude non-interruptible gas supply contracts.

(3) Providers supplying final consumers shall be obliged to supply all price-relevant data for end users supplied with standard products without delay in accordance with their availability to the regulatory authority in any of the above electronic form for entering into the tariff calculator. In the regulatory authority's tariff calculator, all competitors shall be treated equally and all the conditions made available to the regulatory authority shall be published in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.

(4) Natural gas traders and suppliers, with the exception of those natural gas dealers acting exclusively at the virtual trading point, shall participate in the preparation of the long-term planning and the network development plan.

(5) Suppers who supply protected customers with natural gas pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010 are obliged to ensure the supply standard in accordance with Art. 8 of Regulation (EU) No 994/2010.

(6) The conclusion of natural gas supply contracts with a duration exceeding one year and a volume of more than 250 million m 3 in the year, in relation to the normal condition relating to the supply of natural gas from the territory of the European Union or from third countries, the regulatory authority shall be notified of the duration and the agreed scope of the supply. The regulatory authority has signed these gas supply contracts.

(7) The regulatory authority has to prohibit a natural gas trader from carrying out its activities in a modest manner if it has been punished for serious breaches of the provisions of this Federal Law and if it fails to comply with the rules of law is to be feared, or measures have been taken or imminent in respect of a gas trader as a result of insolvency or over-indebtedness.

Part 10

Obligations to customers

Network Access Permission

§ 122. (1) Customers shall be entitled to conclude contracts with producers, natural gas distributors and natural gas undertakings for the supply of natural gas to meet the needs of domestic end users and to request network access in respect of these natural gas quantities.

(2) Natural gas undertakings may wish to have access to the network on behalf of their customers. Producers of biogenic gases (bio-and wood gas) may request network access on behalf of their customers, provided that this does not affect the interoperability of the networks.

Change of supplier or balance sheet group and resignation process

§ 123. (1) The duration of the procedure applicable to the exchange of the supplier and the balance sheet group may not, without prejudice to existing civil law obligations, be three weeks, calculated from the date on which the network operator is aware of the exchange of supply, and not . The regulatory authority shall be empowered to regulate in more detail the procedure applicable to the exchange of the supplier and the balance sheet group and to the procedures applicable to the re-registration of end-users. In the design of the procedures, the technical and organisational measures to be taken in connection with a change from the network operator, the accounting group responsible and the distribution area manager, shall be in particular the compatibility of the method. the deadlines and deadlines for accounting for the balance sheet group system, ensuring security of supply as well as the enforcement of customer wills.

(2) The supply change is not associated with any separate costs for the end user.

(3) The network operator shall have the data to be determined by the regulatory authority with a regulation, i.e. data necessary for the reconciliation of the procedures referred to in paragraph 1, ie. in particular the name, address and name of the counting point, via a platform to be operated by the clearing house in a decentralised manner in a non-discriminatory manner to all suppliers and accounting group managers in a standardised, electronic form structured form on request. The operation of the platform shall be carried out with due regard for data protection; the unauthorised disclosure of the data shall be subject to the sanction in accordance with § 168. The regulatory authority is also empowered to regulate the form of data transmission from the network operator to suppliers and balance-group managers via the platform operated by the clearing house, in more detail.

(4) The ordinary termination of the consumer within the meaning of Section 1 (1) (1) (2) of the KSchG or small business with respect to the supplier is possible with due regard for a period of two weeks. If binding deadlines are contractually agreed, the ordinary termination of the contract is possible at the end of the first year of the contract and subsequently at the end of the respective month's last year. The ordinary dismissal of the supplier to consumers within the meaning of Section 1 (1) (1) (2) of the KSchG or small business can only take place within a minimum period of eight weeks.

Supplied Last Instance

§ 124. (1) Natural gas dealers and other suppliers whose activities include the supply of consumers within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (2) of the KSchG have their general tariff for the supply in the final instance of consumers within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (1) (2) (2) of the German Act on the Wholesale of Gas (KSchG). KSchG should be published in a suitable manner (e.g. Internet). They are obliged to supply natural gas to their applicable General Terms and Conditions and to this tariff to consumers within the meaning of Section 1 (1) (1) (2) of the German Basic Law (KSchG), and to small businesses that rely on them for basic services (mandatory to basic services). The regulatory authority is empowered to lay down detailed provisions on the reasonableness of a basic supply and on the design of tariffs for consumers within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (1) (2) of the Basic Law (KSchG) and small enterprises for the supply of last resort by Regulation.

(2) The general tariff of basic services for consumers within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (1) (2) of the KSchG may not be higher than the tariff to which the largest number of customers, which are consumers within the meaning of § 1 (1) (1) (2) of the KSchG, are provided for. The general tariff of basic services for small enterprises must not be higher than the tariff which is applicable to comparable customer groups. The consumer within the meaning of Article 1 (1) (1) (2) of the KSchG, who is based on the basic supply, must not be required in connection with the receipt of the delivery of the security or advance payment, which shall be the amount of a partial amount payment for exceeds a month.

(3) if the consumer is not in late payment for a period of six months, he shall be reimbursed for the security and shall be dismissed from an advance payment unless a delay in payment occurs again.

General terms and conditions for the supply of natural gas

§ 125. (1) Gas dealers and suppliers shall have general terms and conditions for supplying natural gas to customers whose consumption is not measured by a load profile meter. The General Terms and Conditions and their amendments shall be notified to the regulatory authority in electronic form before they enter into force and shall be published in a suitable form.

(2) Changes to the General Terms and Conditions and the contractually agreed fees are only in accordance with the general civil code and the Consumer Protection Act, BGBl. No 140/1979. Such changes are to be communicated to the customer in writing in a letter addressed to them personally or at their request electronically. In this letter, the changes to the General Terms and Conditions shall be reproduced in a comprehensible way. If the contractual relationship is terminated in the event that the customer opposes the changes to the terms and conditions or the charges, the contractual relationship shall end with the last month following a period of three months following the date of the contract.

(3) General terms and conditions of business or contract form between suppliers and customers shall contain at least:


1.		the name and address of the natural gas dealer; Supplier;
2.		the services provided and the quality levels offered, as well as the expected date for the commencement of supply;
3.		the manner in which up-to-date information on the applicable contractual fees is made available to the customer;
4.		the duration of the contract, the conditions for the renewal and termination of the services and the contractual relationship, the existence of a right of withdrawal;
5.		any compensation and refund schemes in the event of non-compliance with the contractually agreed performance quality, including incorrect and late settlement;
6.		an indication of the possibilities of appeal available;
7.		the modalities for which the customer is obliged to pay partial amounts, in which case payment is at least ten times a year;
8.		the price of energy in cents per kWh, including any surcharges and charges;
9.		the conditions to which a supply is made within the meaning of section 124.

(4) The suppliers have been shown to inform their customers of the essential contract contents before the conclusion of a contract. For this purpose, an information sheet is to be handed out to the customer. This shall also apply if the conclusion of the contract is made by an intermediary.

(5) The regulatory authority may prohibit the application of the delivery conditions referred to in paragraph 1 within two months in so far as they are contrary to a statutory prohibition or to the good mores. The responsibilities for the review of General Terms and Conditions under other legislation remain unaffected.

(6) The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5 shall be without prejudice to the provisions of the KSchG and the ABGB.

Minimum requirements for invoices and information and promotional material

§ 126. (1) Information and promotional material, as well as invoices, which are directed towards the end user shall be made transparent and friendly to consumers. To the extent that the system usage fee and the price of natural gas (energy price) are jointly informed, jointly advertised or the conclusion of a common contract is offered, or where such a contract is to be settled, the components of the System use charges, taxes and charges as well as the price of energy should be clearly separated in a transparent manner. In any case, the indication of the energy price must be made in Cent/kWh and under the guidance of an all-due basic price. An electronic transmission of invoices is permissible on the customer's request, but the customer's right to invoice in paper form may not be excluded in the contract. No additional costs may be charged to the customer for invoicing in paper form.

(2) End consumers shall be subject to an under-annual accounting upon request.

(3) On invoices relating to the use of the system, the individual components of the system usage fee, as well as taxes, levies and surcharges are to be disclosed separately on the basis of federal or state regulations. In addition, the following information shall be given in particular:


1.		The allocation of the customer assets to the network levels according to § 84;
2.		in the case of power-measured customers, the contractually agreed maximum power in kilowatt-hours per hour (kWh/h);
3.		the counting point designations;
4.		the meter readings that have been used for the settlement;
5.		Information about the type of meter reading. It must be stated whether a reading of the meter by the network operator, a self-reading by the customer or a computational determination of meter readings has been carried out;
6.		the amount of energy transported in the billing period per tariff period, and in the case of power-measured customers, the performance used for invoicing, as well as a comparison with the same period of the previous year;
7.		the conversion calorific value kWh/m³. which is used to calculate the amount of energy used in the calculation and the conversion factor under which the amount of gas in the operating state is converted into the energy quantity;
8.		the possibility of self-reading by the customer;
9.		Telephone contact information for incidents.

(4) Supplies shall be obliged to base their accounts on the offset calorific value specified by the regulatory authority in the Regulation in accordance with Article 72 (3), with the exception of a measurement of the fuel value on the spot.

(5) The network operator shall have the information referred to in paragraph 3 and all the stored data relating to him/her in the last twelve months on request to the network user, on request, to the network user. in the case of an express instruction to a third party, free of charge. § 129 shall remain unaffected.

Disconnection of network connection and information of customers

§ 127. (1) Network operators shall provide end-users with the following information easily and directly on the Internet, as well as in the context of an information sheet to be provided on the invoice, free of charge:


1.		the name and address of the undertaking;
2.		the services provided and the quality levels offered, as well as the date for the initial conclusion;
3.		the nature of the maintenance services offered;
4.		the manner in which up-to-date information on all applicable charges is available;
5.		the duration of the contract, the conditions for renewal and termination of benefits and of the contractual relationship, rights of withdrawal;
6.		any compensation and refund schemes in the event of non-compliance with the contractually agreed performance quality, including incorrect and late settlement;
7.		Approach to the initiation of dispute settlement procedures;
8.		any statement by the European Commission on the rights of energy consumers.

(2) Providers shall provide end-users with the following information easily and directly on the Internet, as well as in the context of an information sheet to be provided on the invoice, free of charge:


1.		the name and address of the undertaking;
2.		the manner in which up-to-date information on all applicable prices is available;
3.		the duration of the contract, the conditions for renewal and termination of benefits and of the contractual relationship, rights of withdrawal;
4.		Approach to the initiation of dispute settlement procedures,
5.		on the right to supply in accordance with § 124,
6.		any compensation and refund arrangements in the event of non-compliance with the contractually agreed performance quality, including inaccurate and late accounting,
7.		any statement by the European Commission on the rights of energy consumers.

(3) In cases of breach of contract for the physical separation of the network connection, the network operator shall be entitled only if a two-time reminder, including at least two weeks of grace period, has been preceded by a two-week reminder. The second reminder shall also contain information on the consequence of a disconnection of the network access after the two-week grace period has been lost and the associated estimated costs of any disconnection. The last warning has to be done with the letter written.

(4) Suppers shall be charged to the customer at the latest six weeks after the completion of the change of supply or after the termination of the contract.

(5) A Prepaymentmeter shall be uninstalled if the final consumer has paid his invoices for a period of six months.

Smart meters

§ 128. (1) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth may, after carrying out a cost/benefit analysis, determine the introduction of intelligent measuring devices. This shall be done after consultation of the regulatory authority and the consumer protection representative by regulation. In the event of the authorisation of this Regulation, the network operators shall be required to provide intelligent measuring instruments to those end users whose consumption is not measured by a load profile meter.

(2) The regulatory authority shall determine those requirements by means of a regulation to which these intelligent measuring instruments have to comply and in accordance with § 79 in the determination of the cost basis for the determination of the remuneration in approach. The operation of intelligent measuring instruments shall be carried out with due regard for data and consumer protection; the regulatory authority shall involve the representatives of consumer protection as well as the Data Protection Commission as far as possible.

Measurement data of intelligent measuring instruments

§ 129. (1) Network operators shall be obliged, at the latest six months from the date of installation of an intelligent measuring device to the respective end user, daily for the consumption-specific meter readings for the purpose of billing, customer information and energy efficiency. Network operators are also obliged to provide all consumption data free of charge at the latest one day after their first processing on the Internet to those end users whose consumption is measured by means of an intelligent measuring instrument. .

(2) Network operators shall be obliged, unless the customer contradicts, to transmit monthly measurements to the suppliers of the final consumer, whose consumption is measured by means of an intelligent measuring instrument. Suppliers shall be obliged to send to end-users, free of charge, information on consumption and gas produced on the basis of the measured values within two weeks of the transmission of the measured values. The final consumer should be given the option of receiving the information on request free of charge in paper form.

(3) End consumers whose consumption is not measured by means of an intelligent measuring instrument shall be provided with detailed consumption information with the invoice. In addition, the network operator shall be able to give all end-users the opportunity to announce once a quarter of a meter reading. In the event of a notification of the meter reading, the network operator shall be obliged to provide the final consumer with timely consumer information within a period of two weeks.

The regulatory authority may, by means of a regulation, determine the data to be transmitted by the network operator to the supplier in accordance with paragraph 2, the level of detail and the form of the provision of the information provided in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3. In doing so, it has to take into account the comprehensibility and the suitability of the information for the effect of efficiency gains.

Designation of origin (Labeling)

§ 130. (1) Providers supplying final consumers with natural gas and/or biogas, landfill gas or sewage gas in Austria shall be obliged to designate, on or as an annex to their gas bill (annual accounts) for end users, the supply mix which shall cover the whole of the The supply of gas to the final consumer is taken into account. This obligation also exists with regard to the advertising material which is subject to labelling requirements for end users in accordance with Article 7 (1) (27).

(2) The labelling shall be based on a percentage breakdown in biogas, landfill gas, sewage gas and natural gas, on the basis of the total gas supplied by the supplier to the final consumer via gas pipelines (kWh).

(3) The labelling on the gas bill shall be based on the total quantities of gas supplied to the final consumer during the preceding calendar or marketing year via gas lines.

(4) If a supplier makes a product differentiation with different energy mixes in the course of the sale to end users, the same applies to these products as well as to the remaining energy mix (residual mix) (1) and (2). In doing so, the products offered with different energy mixes and the respective residual mix in total have to yield the supply mix. The obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall remain unaffected.

(5) Suppers have to document the basics of labelling. In the documentation, the application of the quantities of gas supplied by them to final consumers, broken down by biogas, landfill gas, sewage gas as well as natural gas, must be shown conclusively. The evidence must contain information on the quantities of biogas, landfill gas or sewage gas, on the quantities of energy, on the site and on the period of support, and on the name and address of the support operation. They are from a according to the Accreditation Act, BGBl. No 468/1992, approved testing, monitoring or certification body. § 3 Accreditation Act applies analogously.

(6) The documentation shall be reviewed by an auditor or an appropriate, generally appointed and court-certified expert. The result is to be published in a clear form and confirmed by the examiner in an annex to the supplier's annual report.

(7) The result of the documentation, which must be drawn up not later than four months after the end of the calendar year or marketing year, shall be available for the duration of three years for the benefit of the end user at the place of the supplier's seat.

(8) Supplies, at the request of the regulatory authority, shall, within a reasonable time limit, submit the evidence in accordance with paragraph 5 and all the necessary documents necessary to verify the accuracy of the information. In the event of incorrect information, the supplier concerned shall be required to inform him/her to correct the labelling.

(9) The regulatory authority may adopt detailed rules on gas labelling by means of a Regulation.

(10) The obligation to label according to paragraph 1 to 4 shall consist only of an annual quantity of biogas, landfill gas and sewage gas fed into the natural gas network as a whole in the previous two calendar years of 30 million m 3 has exceeded. This shall be without prejudice to the obligation to identify, in accordance with paragraphs 5 to 8, those suppliers who already carry out product differentiations with different energy mixes before the threshold value is reached in this paragraph.

11. Part

Monitoring tasks

Section 131. (1) In the context of its monitoring function relating to the natural gas market, the regulatory authority shall each have the task of:


1.		security of supply in terms of the reliability and quality of the network and the commercial quality of the network services;
2.		the degree of transparency in the natural gas market, with particular reference to wholesale prices,
3.		the degree and effectiveness of market opening and the extent of competition at the wholesale and retail level, including any distortions of competition or restrictions;
4.		any restrictive contractual practices, including exclusivity provisions, which may prevent performance-based large commercial customers from concluding contracts with a number of providers at the same time, or limit their possibilities;
5.		the duration and quality of the reconnection, maintenance and other repair services carried out by transmission and distribution system operators;
6.		compliance with the rules relating to the tasks and responsibilities of transmission system operators, distribution system operators, market area managers, distribution area managers, clearing centres, supply undertakings and customers, and others market participants in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009;
7.		the conditions for access to storage facilities, network buffering and other ancillary services within the meaning of Article 33 of Directive 2009 /73/EEC;
8.		the investment plans of the transmission system operators and distribution system operators;
9.		the implementation of steering measures within the meaning of Section 20a of the Energy Law Act 1982,
continuously to observe.

(2) The regulatory authority is empowered to carry out the tasks referred to in paragraph 1, the mass, units and characteristics of the data, the characteristics of the characteristics, the data format, the frequency, the time intervals and the procedures for the ongoing collection of data, and the determination of the more detailed rules for the provision of information to persons responsible for providing information by regulation. In any case, the Regulation has to determine the collection of the following data:


1.		of network operators: number of new connections, including time required for each of them; maintenance and repair services carried out, including fees charged for this purpose and time required; number of planned supply interruptions including the number of final consumers affected and the duration of the planned supply interruptions separately according to network levels; number of unplanned supply interruptions including the cause, number of end users and duration of the supply the unplanned supply disruptions, separated by network levels as well as by external or external debt; or the number of applications for network access and access to the network and the average duration of the applications;
2.		Transmission system operators: number of interruptions per transfer point; method of calculation of capacity offered on a interruptible basis to third parties;
3.		of distribution system operators: total number of final consumers; number of changes in supply by network level and supplier, as well as switched volumes (kWh); switching rates with separate disconnection of shutdowns in case of suspension or suspension Termination of contract due to breach of contractual obligations or; number of new registrations and registrations; number of prepayment counters used Number of changes initiated, which were made known to the network operator, including number of non-cash transactions successfully completed change; number of final invoices and proportion of invoices sent out later than six weeks after the end of the contract; number of customer complaints and requests including item (zB invoice and invoice level) or counter, reading and consumption) and the the average processing duration of the complaints;
4.		from suppliers: calculated energy prices in Cent/kWh per defined customer group Number of supply changes as well as changed quantities (kWh), in each case separately according to customer groups; number of complaints received, together with grounds of appeal; number of complaints supplied end-users, including the quantity of a defined customer group;
5.		of feed-in: average import prices in Cent/kWh without taxes and import duties, in each case separately according to the contractual transfer points; average purchase prices in Cent/kWh and quantities of domestic producers;
6.		by the operator of the virtual trading point: aggregated transaction data (OTC volumes and market concentration data separately after purchase and sale);
7.		The operator of the virtual trading point: aggregated trading volumes of the commodity and futures exchanges on which natural gas is traded (transaction data and market concentration data, in each case separately after purchase and sale);
8.		of balance-group coordinators: quantities of physical and balance-of-balance balancing energy by balancing energy providers or Balance group; balancing energy offers and balancing energy calls for balancing energy providers; clearing price; supplier and demand structure;
9.		by market area managers and distribution area managers: network utilization in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 715/2009; network buffering (linepack); points of entry and exit of the market area; weighted average value of the total calorific value in a Market area fed gas (with the exception of storage) by the market area manager;
10.		of storage companies: information on the input and the storage capacity and the volume of work gas (in particular whether fixed, interruptible, used, contractually not bound); on the basis of Article 17 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 sold Day Ahead storage capacity, separated by interruptible and fixed capacity.

(3) Natural gas traders shall be obliged to keep transaction data relating to transactions with other natural gas traders and transmission system operators for a period of five years and to be closely regulated by the regulatory authority with a regulation. regulatory authority, the Federal Competition Authority and the European Commission, in order to carry out their duties, at any time, in a form specified by the regulatory authority, if necessary. In any event, the Regulation shall determine the retention and transmission of the following data: characteristics and product specifications for each financial and physical transaction, in particular the date of completion of the transaction, contract duration, natural gas exchange or other trading venue on which the transaction was made, first time delivery date, identity of buyer and seller, transaction quantity and price, or Price adjustment clause as well as storage costs and balancing energy costs (as part of the energy price).

(4) In the case of a reporting obligation to report data in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3, the regulatory authority may order the notification of the data.

(5) The regulatory authority may conduct or arrange for independent surveys of customer satisfaction to be carried out in order to evaluate the information provided by the network operators. The network operators are obliged to cooperate and to support these surveys.

(6) The regulatory authority is empowered to conclude data exchange agreements with the regulatory authorities of other Member States and to use data obtained in this way for the purposes of the tasks referred to in paragraph 1. The regulatory authority shall be bound by the data transmitted to the same degree of confidentiality as the information provided by the information authority.

12. Part

Dispute settlement

Procedure

§ 132. (1) In disputes


1.		between network operators and network operators, on the legality of refusal of access to the network,
2.		between storage providers and storage undertakings on the legality of the denial of storage access, and
3.		between suppliers on the legality of denying the transmission of feed-in capacities
decides-unless the Cartel Court has jurisdiction (Section 38 of the Cartel Act 2005, BGBl. I No 61/2005), the regulatory authority.

(2) In all other disputes


1.		between network operators and network operators, on the obligations arising out of this relationship;
2.		between storage providers and storage undertakings over the obligations arising out of this relationship;
3.		between the customer and the operator of the virtual trading point,
4.		between the independent network operator pursuant to § 109 and the owner of the transmission system pursuant to § 111,
5.		between the vertically integrated undertaking and the independent transmission system operator in accordance with Article 112;
6.		on the settlement of balancing energy
the courts decide. A lawsuit filed by a network access entitled in disputes in accordance with Z 1 or In disputes according to Z 2, as well as a claim in disputes according to Z 3 to 6, the person entitled to storage in disputes according to Z 2 can only after the notification of the decision of the regulatory authority in the dispute settlement procedure within the dispute settlement procedure within the shall be submitted. If a process according to Z 1 or In the case of the regulatory authority, until its conclusion on the same matter, no legal proceedings may be brought before the regulatory authority.

(3) Without prejudice to the provision of the second paragraph, an action may be brought on the basis of claims relating to a refusal of access to the network or to the For reasons of storage, the decision of the regulatory authority shall not be brought before the decision of the regulatory authority; if such a decision constitutes a preliminary question for the judicial procedure, it shall be taken up to the legal force of the decision of the regulatory authority.

Part 13

Natural gas pipeline systems and storage facilities outside the mineral raw materials law

Section 1

Nature of natural gas pipeline systems

Minimum technical requirements for piping systems

§ 133. In order to ensure the obligations imposed on the system operators, the rules of technology (§ 7 (1) (53)) must be complied with in the establishment, manufacture and operation of natural gas pipeline systems.

Section 2

Establishment and dismissal of natural gas pipeline systems

Permit requirement

§ 134. (1) Without prejudice to the authorisation or authorisation requirements laid down in accordance with other provisions, the establishment, extension, substantial modification and operation of natural gas pipeline installations shall be subject to a gas-regulatory approval by the Authority in accordance with Section 148 (2).

(2) From the permit requirement, natural gas pipeline systems with a maximum permissible operating pressure up to and including 0.6 MPa shall be excluded, provided that in the case of the owner of the line installation


1.		Location and execution plans, technical descriptions of the management system, and records showing that the line installation is constructed and operated in accordance with the relevant rules of technology, and in which the relevant the rules of technology are described and their compliance is proven, or
2.		the complete certification documents according to ÖVGW PV 200 "Quality requirements for gas grid operators, requirements of tests for the certification of gas grid operators", available in the Austrian Association for the Gas and Water Compartment or according to other suitable certification procedures (e.g. ÖNORM EN ISO 9001 "Quality assurance systems-requirements (ISO 9001:2000)") , all available at the Austrian Institute of Normenwesen, 1020 Vienna, Heinestraße 38, as well as
3.		a security concept pursuant to § 58 (1) Z 3, § 62 (1) Z 9 and § 150 (2) Z 12 as well as the proof of liability insurance in accordance with § 51
on the date of inspection by the Authority pursuant to § 148 (2), and no right of forced rights pursuant to § 145 are to be used. Natural gas pipeline systems with a pressure range above 0.1 MPa shall be reported three months before the planned establishment of the authority in accordance with § 148 (2), following the documents referred to in § 150 (2) (1), (5), (12) and (13). The authority pursuant to § 148 (2) shall prohibit the execution of a request by a network operator within three months if the requirements of section 137 (3) are fulfilled. Section 138 (1) (4) shall apply mutatily. If the display is not enclosed in the documents in accordance with § 150 (2) (1), (5), (12) and (13), and if the documents are not submitted in accordance with § 13 AVG of the Authority pursuant to § 148 (2), the advertisement shall be submitted within a period of three months. to reject.

(3) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth is authorized to amend or supplement those conditions under which natural gas pipeline systems are exempted from the permit requirement under the second paragraph, if after for legally declared rules of technology, no adverse effects on the legal interests protected pursuant to § 135 are to be expected.

(4) Without prejudice to the provision of paragraph 2, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth may, by means of a regulation, take out other natural gas pipeline systems from the permit requirement if, on the basis of their nature, it is to be expected that the § 135 interests are sufficiently protected. This Regulation may also make technical rules applicable to the nature of the gas pipeline systems exempted from the permit requirement.

Requirements

§ 135. (1) Gas piping facilities shall be constructed, expanded, modified and operated in such a way as to:


1.	life or health
a)		the owner of the natural gas pipeline,
b)		which is not the provisions of the Workers ' Protection Act, BGBl. No 450/1994, members of the family who are members of the family, and
c)		the neighbour is not at risk;
2.	the rights of neighbours in rem shall not be jeopardised;
3.	neighbours caused by noise, odour or otherwise are not unacceptably harassed;
4.	the safety regulations are complied with;
5.	the relevant rules of technology are complied with, and
6.	the waste heat during the compression of natural gas is supplied to a usage concept in the technically possible and economically feasible extent.

(2) The possibility of a mere reduction of the traffic value of the property is not to be understood as a risk to the property within the meaning of paragraph 1 Z 2.

Pre-Review

§ 136. (1) The authority referred to in Article 148 (2) may, at the request of the applicant or on its own account, order a preliminary examination procedure if there is a request for the temporary use of foreign land or on the approval of a natural gas pipeline system and it is to be feared that this natural gas pipeline system will significantly affect public interests in accordance with section 137 (5). The authority referred to in Article 148 (2) shall decide on this request within a period of three months.

(2) Within the framework of a preliminary examination procedure, all public authorities and public bodies representing the public interests in contact with the planned natural gas pipeline (Section 137 (5)) must be heard.

(3) After completion of the preliminary examination procedure, it shall be determined whether and under which conditions the planned management system does not object to the public interests in contact with the public sector.

Approval of natural gas pipeline systems

§ 137. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 134 (3), natural gas pipeline systems may only be constructed, extended, amended and operated with the approval of the authority pursuant to § 148 (2).

(2) The authorisation shall be granted, if necessary under the terms of certain and appropriate conditions,


1.		if, according to the state of the art (Section 7 (1) (60)) and the other sciences in question, it is to be expected that, in the first place, or in the event of compliance with certain appropriate conditions which may be required, the following conditions shall apply in accordance with the circumstances of Individual cases of foreseeable hazards within the meaning of Section 135 (1) Z 1 or Z 2 are avoided and harassment, impairments or adverse effects within the meaning of Section 135 (1) (3) are limited to a reasonable degree;
2.		if the installation, extension, modification and operation of the plant is carried out in compliance with the applicable safety and technical legislation and relevant technical rules; and
3.		if there is sufficient evidence of the conclusion of liability insurance and the existence of a safety concept.

(3) The authorisation of a natural gas pipeline system shall be refused if the installation, extension or modification of the installation is incompatible with the objectives of Section 4 or if a system operator would prevent the public service from being imposed on it. Obligations pursuant to § 5, and these grounds of failure cannot be remedied by imposing conditions on them. The regulatory authority shall, at the request of a network operator, make a modest assessment of the existence of at least one of the reasons for the failure to comply within two months from the date of the request. The applicant network operator shall demonstrate the existence of these grounds for failure. Pending the decision of the regulatory authority, the Authority shall suspend the authorisation procedure in accordance with Section 148 (2) of the AVG in accordance with Section 148 (2).

(4) A failure in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be inadmissible if the natural gas pipeline system is constructed and operated exclusively for the supply of a single final consumer.

(5) A vote with existing or approved other energy supply facilities, national culture, forestry, water rights, spatial planning, water management, wild boar and avalanche protection, is subject to conditions. nature and landscape protection, conservation of monuments, soil culture, public transport and defence of the country. In order to safeguard these interests, the authorities and public authorities appointed for this purpose are to be heard.

(6) In accordance with Section 148 (2), the Authority may, for reasons of compliance with which a review is required for safety reasons, first grant approval for the establishment and reserve the right to issue the operating licence.

(7) After the approval of a natural gas pipeline system, it shall be granted that the interests to be observed pursuant to § 135 (1) (1) to (3) shall be held in spite of compliance with the requirements laid down in the gas-legal approval or in a possible operating licence. are not sufficiently protected, the Authority shall, in accordance with Article 148 (2), have the other or other sciences required to achieve this protection in accordance with the state of the art and the state of the medical and other sciences in question, or to impose additional conditions. This also applies to installations which are exempted from the permit requirement in accordance with § 134 (2). The authority pursuant to § 148 (2) shall not impose such conditions if they are disproportionate, in particular if the expenditure associated with the fulfilment of the conditions is disproportionate to the success of the obligations. In particular, the useful life and the technical characteristics shall be taken into account.

(8) After the approval of a natural gas pipeline system, it shall be granted that the interests to be observed pursuant to § 135 (1) (1) to (3) shall also be held without complying with parts of those in the gas-legal approval or in a possible operating licence. , the Authority may, in accordance with Article 148 (2) of this Regulation, repeal, on request, the requirements which are not required in accordance with the rules of the technology to achieve this protection and, where appropriate, impose other conditions.

(9) A change in the person of the owner of a natural gas pipeline system shall not affect the effectiveness of the authorisation to set up the natural gas pipeline system and the operating licence.

Parties

§ 138. (1) In the procedure for the approval of natural gas pipeline systems, party positions are:


1.		the approval advertiser;
2.		all landowners whose land, including the ground or airspace under it, is permanently or temporarily taken into account by measures for the establishment, extension or modification of gas pipeline installations, and the persons entitled to those properties, with the exception of mortgage creditors and those entitled to the mining industry;
3.		the neighbours (para. 2), insofar as their interests protected pursuant to § 135 (1) (1) (1) to (3) are affected;
4.		Network operators who have submitted an application for approval pursuant to section 137 (3) of this Regulation;
5.		the local labour inspectorate, in so far as the proceedings affect matters relating to the protection of workers.

(2) Neighbours shall be all persons who may be threatened or harassed by the establishment, extension, modification, inventory or operation of a natural gas pipeline, or whose property or other rights may be threatened. Neighbours shall not be considered to be persons who are temporarily in the vicinity of the natural gas pipeline system and are not entitled to do so in accordance with the previous sentence. However, as neighbours, the holders of establishments in which, for example, accommodation establishments, hospitals and homes are regularly present, are subject to the protection of such persons, and the holders of schools shall be subject to the same conditions as those in which they are resident. with regard to the protection of pupils, teachers and other persons who are otherwise employed in schools.

(3) The persons referred to in the first sentence of paragraph 2 shall also be treated as neighbours who live abroad on land close to their borders if their neighbours in the State in question are legally or legally resident in the relevant proceedings. are actually enjoying the same neighbor protection.

Notification requirements at the start of operation and the operating end

§ 139. (1) The owner of the plant shall indicate the completion of the natural gas pipeline system or its essential parts of the authority in accordance with section 148 (2). If the authority has not reserved an operating licence pursuant to § 148 (2) on the occasion of the authorisation of the establishment, the owner of the plant shall be entitled to commend the regular operation after notification of the completion.

(2) If the commissioning of the natural gas pipeline system was reserved for an operating licence in accordance with section 137 (6), the inclusion of the regular operation must be approved after the completion of the production display, provided that the conditions of the establishment permit have been met.

(3) The holder of the plant shall indicate the permanent release of an approved natural gas pipeline system of the Authority in accordance with § 148 (2).

Self-monitoring

§ 140. (1) The owner of a natural gas pipeline system shall periodically check or have it checked whether it is in accordance with the provisions applicable to the installation, the notification of approval or any other circumcised pursuant to this Federal Act . Unless otherwise specified in the notification of approval or in any other communication pursuant to this Federal Act or any other provisions applicable to the installation, the time limits for the periodic examinations shall be ten years.

(2) In order to carry out the periodic examinations as referred to in paragraph 1, the owner of the natural gas pipeline systems shall have state-authorized bodies, accredited bodies within the scope of their accreditation, accredited bodies within the scope of their accreditation. an undertaking, a civil engineer or a trader, each within the limits of its powers, to be carried out; periodic tests may also be carried out by the owner of the natural gas pipeline, provided that he is appropriate and competent, and of any other appropriate and professional staff members. Persons must be considered suitable and competent if they have the necessary technical knowledge and experience for the respective examination after their course of education and their previous activities, and also the guarantee of a conscientious To carry out the examination work.

(3) A test certificate shall be issued for each periodic examination, which shall contain, in particular, deficiencies and proposals to remedy the situation. The test certificate and other documents relating to the test shall be the holder of the plant until the next periodic examination of the plant, unless otherwise specified in the letter of approval or in another communication. and, at the request of the Authority, to be kept.

(4) Where defects found in a certificate are recorded during the periodic examination, the holder of the plant shall immediately have a second copy or a copy of that certificate and within a reasonable period of time a presentation the measures taken by the Authority in order to raise the defect must be transmitted in accordance with section 148 (2).

Delete Approval

§ 141. (1) A permit issued in accordance with section 137 shall be issued if:


1.		the establishment is not commenced within three years from the legal force of the permit, or
2.		the completion indication (section 139 (1)) does not take place within five years from the legal force of the granting of the grant.

(2) The operating licence shall be issued if:


1.		the regular operation shall not be carried out within one year from the completion date of the completion of the production, in cases where the commissioning of the natural gas pipeline has been reserved for the granting of an operating licence pursuant to section 137 (6), from the legal force of the same, or
2.		the marketing authorisation holder shall indicate that the natural gas pipeline system shall be taken out of service permanently, or
3.		the operation of the natural gas pipeline system has been interrupted by more than three years after the authority has been established in accordance with Article 148 (2).

(3) The time limits laid down in paragraph 1 and section 2 (1) may be extended by the authority in accordance with section 148 (2) to a total of seven years, if the planning or construction work so requires and therefore is to be inked before the deadline.

(4) After the erection or operating licence has been extinguishing, the last owner of the plant shall immediately remove the natural gas pipeline system by means of a verifiable request from the property owner and, if possible, the former condition , unless this has been ruled out by private-law agreements on the Belassen of the natural gas pipeline system. In this case, it is possible to proceed with the possible protection and possible use of the intended use of the land concerned.

(5) In the event of a complete or partial interruption of the operation, the necessary precautions must be taken in order to avoid any hazards to the protective goods referred to in § 135.

Unapproved natural gas pipeline systems

Section 142. (1) Where an authorisation-subject natural gas pipeline system is established, extended or substantially altered without authorisation, or if an installation for which the authorisation has been reserved is operated without an operating licence, the Authority shall, in accordance with § 148 (2) with a decision to order the measures necessary for the production of the statutory state, such as the cessation of construction work, the cessation of the operation, the disposal of the unapproved plant or parts of the plant. Consideration shall be given to a reasonable period of time to carry out the necessary work.

(2) However, the disposal of installations or parts of equipment shall not be available if, in the meantime, the granting of the necessary authorisation has been requested and the application has not been rejected or dismissed.

Insectary security measures

§ 143. (1) In order to ward off the risk to the life or health of humans or to the property or other rights of their neighbours, caused by a natural gas pipeline system under this Federal Act, or in order to prevent the risk of the life or health of persons or other rights of property or other rights of property, or , in accordance with Article 148 (2), the Authority shall, in accordance with the extent of the endangerment or harassment, notified the common or non-authorized or unauthorised natural gas pipeline system to remedy unreasonable annoyance on the part of the neighbours. partial decommissioning of the natural gas pipeline, the decommissioning of machinery, or any other security measures or arrangements relating to the installation. If, in accordance with Article 148 (2), the Authority has reason to believe that emergency measures are necessary on the spot for the security of the security, it may, after agreement of the owner of the natural gas pipeline, the manager or the owner of the installation, or, where an understanding of such persons is not possible, a person who actually carries out the management shall take such measures on the spot without a prior procedure and before the date of the release of a person; the , however, to issue a written communication within one month, or the measure taken is deemed to be repealed. This decision shall also be deemed to have been issued if, in accordance with Section 19 of the Delivery Act, BGBl. No 200/1982, due to incompatibility with the authority, and since the attack on the office panel by the authority pursuant to § 148 para. 2 two weeks have elapsed. These modesty are immediately enforceable. They shall expire at the end of one year-from the date of their legal force-unless a shorter period has been set in the communication. A change in the person of the holder of the installations, parts of equipment or objects affected by the measure shall not affect the effectiveness of such a case.

(2) The conditions for the release of a foe pursuant to paragraph 1 no longer exist and it is to be expected that, in the future, those provisions whose failure to comply with the measures referred to in paragraph 1 have been determined by the company shall be complied with. , the Authority shall, in accordance with Article 148 (2), at the request of that undertaking, withdraw the measures taken in accordance with paragraph 1 above.

Preliminary work on the construction of a natural gas pipeline system

§ 144. (1) In order to carry out preparatory work for the establishment, extension or modification of a natural gas pipeline, the Authority shall, in accordance with Article 148 (2), authorise the temporary use of foreign land on request.

(2) The application shall indicate the nature and duration of the proposed preparatory work. Furthermore, the application must be accompanied by an overview map at a suitable scale, in which the area touched by the preparatory work is to be seen.

(3) A legal right to a decision shall be made only if the start of the preparatory work is envisaged within a year, calculated as from the date of application.

(4) In the permit, the applicant shall be granted the right to enter foreign land and on these land investigations and other technical work necessary for the preparation of the construction design of the natural gas pipeline system , There is no party position to the landowners and the beneficiaries.

(5) In carrying out the preparatory work, the person entitled shall proceed with the possible protection of existing rights and take care to ensure that the intended use of the land concerned is not impeded as far as possible.

(6) The authorisation shall be limited to a limited period. The time-limit shall be determined on the basis of the nature and scope of the preparatory work and the conditions laid down in accordance with the conditions laid down. It shall be extended to a maximum of three years from the date of notification of the date on which the preparatory work has been approved, in so far as the preparation of the draft design so requires.

(7) In accordance with Article 148 (2), the authorities in which the preparatory work is to be carried out shall submit a copy of the authorisation and a general map as referred to in paragraph 2, which shall immediately be made known by the attack on the office of the office. . The customer notice period shall be three weeks. The preparatory work must be started only after the end of the period of customer service.

(8) Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 7, the person entitled to carry out the preparatory work shall have the owners or the authorized users of the property concerned and any eligible members of the mining industry at least four weeks prior to the intended use of the property. To inform the beginning of the preparatory work in writing.

(9) The person entitled to carry out the preparatory work shall have the owners of the land concerned, the beneficiaries of the land in question, with the exception of mortgage creditors and any eligible mountain farmers for all the preparatory work. to properly compensate directly related restrictions of their existing rights at the time of authorisation. Insofar as no agreement is reached on this, the compensation shall be determined on request by the authority in accordance with Section 148 (2). For the compensation procedure, § 151 shall apply mutatiously.

Section 3

Expropriation

§ 145. (1) An expropriation by the withdrawal or restriction of land ownership or rights shall be permissible if this is necessary for the construction of the remote or distribution management and is in the public interest. The public interest shall be justified at the earliest possible date by the property owners concerned. In any case, a public interest shall be available if the natural gas pipeline system is in the long-term planning or in the network development plan. In this case, the public interest shall be determined by the regulatory authority in the communication. In the case of gas pipeline installations which are not subject to long-term planning or of the network development plan, there is a public interest in any case if the establishment of this facility is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Federal Act, in particular the objectives defined in § 4, § 22 and § 63. For natural gas pipeline systems with a pressure range up to and including 0.6 MPa, private property can only be expropriated if public good is not available in the area concerned or if the use of public good is not available to the public. For economic reasons, natural gas undertakings cannot be expected to be able to do so.

(2) The expropriation shall include:


1.		the granting of immovable property to service;
2.		the assignment of property to land;
3.		the assignment, restriction or cancellation of other rights in rem in immovable property and such rights, the exercise of which is linked to a specific place.

(3) The measure referred to in paragraph 2 (2) (2) may only be used in those cases where the other measures referred to in paragraph 2 are not sufficient.

(4) On the admissibility, the content, the subject matter and the extent of the expropriation, as well as in accordance with § 151 on the amount of the expropriation compensation, the authority which is responsible for the approval of the plant pursuant to § 148 shall decide.

(5) The competent authority shall be the competent authority within the meaning of Section 1 of the Landeshauptmann for natural gas pipeline systems, which are exempted from the permit requirement in accordance with Section 134 (2).

Section 4

Storage facilities outside the mineral raw materials law and measures relating to the control of major-accident hazards

Scope

§ 146. (1) Tubular storage and ball storage require approval under this Federal Act. The provisions of § 133 shall apply to these storage facilities in accordance with the provisions of this Directive.

(2) The operator of a tube storage or ball store falling within the scope of this section and exceeding the volume thresholds of Appendix 5, Part 1, Z 14, shall take all necessary measures in accordance with the state of the art, which are necessary to prevent serious accidents and to limit their consequences for people and the environment. § § 84a to 84e as well as § 84h GewO shall apply to these plants in accordance with the applicable law.

14. Part

Statistics

Arrangement and implementation of statistical surveys

§ 147. (1) The regulatory authority shall be authorized to carry out statistical surveys, including price surveys and surveys of other market data, in particular exchange rates and new customer numbers by customer groups, and other statistical work on gaseous To arrange and carry out energy carriers of any kind, including in particular biogenic gases, which can be used in original or converted form by burning for the purpose of energy production.

(2) The statistical surveys have to be arranged by means of a regulation. In addition to the arrangement of statistical surveys, the Regulation should include in particular:


1.		the survey mass;
2.		statistical units;
3.		the nature of the statistical survey;
4.		Survey characteristics;
5.		Feature extraction;
6.		the frequency and time intervals of the data collection;
7.		the determination of the group of persons who is obliged to provide information;
8.		whether and to what extent the results of the statistical surveys must be published, taking into account the provisions of Section 19 (2) of the Federal Statistics Act 2000.

(3) In the event of a reporting obligation to report data, the regulatory authority may determine the reporting obligation and order the notification of the data with a notification.

(4) The transfer of individual data to the Bundesanstalt "Statistik Österreich" for the purpose of federal statistics is permissible.

(5) The implementation of the surveys and the processing of the data obtained on the basis of these surveys shall be carried out with the appropriate application of the provisions of the Federal Statistics Act 2000.

15. Part

Authorities and procedures

Section 1

Authorities

Responsibility of authorities in gas affairs

§ 148. (1) Insofar as in individual cases, or In accordance with the provisions of this Federal Act, the Authority shall be the regulatory authority in accordance with Section 2 of the E-ControlG.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of para. 1 and 3, the competent authority shall be the competent authority within the meaning of this Federal Law in the first instance:


1.	the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth for
a)		the granting of authorisations for the establishment, modification, extension of transmission systems within the meaning of Article 7 (1) (19) and of network-level distribution systems (1);
b)		the granting of authorisations for the establishment, modification and extension of natural gas pipeline installations exceeding the national borders;
2.	the Governor of the State
a)		for the granting of authorisations for the establishment, modification, extension of all other natural gas pipeline installations;
b)		for the granting of authorisations for the establishment, modification, extension of storage facilities in accordance with section 146;
c)		for the determination of the existence of a connection obligation pursuant to § 59 (3).

(3) Administrative penalties according to § 159 to § 162 shall be imposed by the district administrative authority. The regulatory authority shall have party status in these proceedings. It is entitled to assert, as a subjective right in the proceedings, the observance of legislation which serves to protect compliance with the public interests which it perceivates as a subjective right, and to appeal to the Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Administrative Court) collect.

(4) The regulatory authority may notify obligations under this federal law, indicate and apply to it, to establish the statutory state within a reasonable period of time as determined by the regulatory authority, if reasons for adoption the existence of a legally conformable behaviour even without the knowledge of the criminal law. In doing so, it shall draw attention to the legal consequences of such a request.

(5) Means shall not be punished if they establish the legal status within the time limit set by the regulatory authority.

(6) fines in accordance with § 164 shall be imposed by the Cartel Court.

(7) In administrative matters relating to the approval of the establishment, modification or extension of the natural gas pipeline systems referred to in paragraph 2 (2) (1) (1), or the admissibility, content and subject-matter of an expropriation for the On a case-by-case basis, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth may, on a case-by-case basis, have the locally competent national authorities responsible for the conduct of official acts, in particular also for the release of foes, in whole or in part. authorise, where this is in the interest of expediency, simplicity and simplicity, Cost savings. For the case in question, the country's main men are completely replaced by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth.

Section 2

Pre-examination procedures and procedures for the approval of natural gas pipeline systems

Pre-examination procedures

Section 149. (1) The application for the initiation of a preliminary examination procedure shall be made in writing.

(2) In the context of the preliminary examination procedure, the approval value of the Authority shall submit the following documents:


1.		a report on the technical design of the planned gas pipeline system;
2.		a general plan with the provisionally intended route and the installations which are clearly in contact and serve public interests.

Initiation of the authorisation procedure

§ 150. (1) The granting of the gas-legal authorisation shall be submitted to the Authority in writing.

(2) The following documents shall be attached to the application in two copies:


1.		an overview plan;
2.		a technical report containing information on the purpose, scope, mode of operation and technical execution of the planned natural gas pipeline, in particular through the use of design pressure and operating pressure;
3.		a 1: 2 000 route plan from which the course of the gas pipeline system and the land concerned with their land numbers, as well as the width of the intended working strip and the protection zone, can be seen;
4.		a plan for all plants belonging to the natural gas pipeline system in accordance with Article 7 (1) (15);
5.		a list of foreign installations, such as railways, supply lines and the like, which are in contact with the natural gas pipeline, with the name and address of the owners;
6.		the names and addresses of the owners of the land on which the natural gas transmission system is to be established, including those authorised in rem with the exception of the current land register at the time of application. the mortgage creditor and the owner of the immediately adjacent land which is covered by the working strip and the protection zone of the natural gas pipeline; if these owners are owners of housing in the sense of the Housing Law 2002-WEG 2002, BGBl. No 70/2002, are the names and addresses of the respective liquidator (Section 20 of the WEG 2002);
7.		a section from the legally binding land-use plan, which shows the dedication of the land affected by the line installation and the land immediately adjacent to the plant;
8.		a list of all mountainous areas in which the natural gas pipeline, the working strip and the protection zone are situated or come to lie, together with the names and addresses of the mining authorities;
9.		a justification for the choice of the route, taking into account the actual local conditions;
10.		a description and assessment of the likely hazards and nuisances within the meaning of Article 135 (1) (1) (1), (2) and (3);
11.		a description of the measures intended to eliminate, reduce or compensate for hazards or nuisances of the project;
12.		a security concept, including, in particular, the prospective security reports with hazard analysis and emergency planning;
13.		a confirmation of the liability insurer pursuant to § 51 (1).

(3) The Authority shall refrain from the provision of individual documents referred to in paragraph 2 if they are not necessary for the authorisation procedure.

(4) The Authority shall require the submission of additional copies of all or individual documents required in accordance with paragraph 2 or 3, if this is the case for assessment by other public services or for the assessment by experts. is necessary.

Authorisation procedure and hearing rights

§ 151. (1) The Authority shall, on the basis of an application for the approval of the establishment and operation of a natural gas pipeline, or on the approval of the extension or modification of an approved natural gas pipeline system, to initiate an inspection of the natural gas pipeline. The subject matter, time and place of the trial and the conditions for the justification of the party position are to be made known to the neighbours and to the network operators by attack in the community. The owners of the immediately adjacent properties pursuant to § 150 para. 2 Z 6 and the persons mentioned in § 138 (1) Z 1 and 2 are to be charged in person. If these owners are owner of the property, the information given in the second sentence must be shown to the liquidator in writing with the order to inform the owner of the property immediately, such as by attack in the house, to be known.

(2) If there is a risk of violation of an art, operating or business secret (§ 40 AVG), the neighbours may only participate in the inspection of the natural gas transmission system with the approval of the approval ad, but their to uphold the right to party-related rights.

(3) Where private-law objections are brought against the natural gas pipeline system by neighbours, the negotiator shall have an agreement to reach an agreement; the agreement, for example, shall be included in the minutes of the negotiation. Incidentally, the neighbour is to be referred to the civil rights path with such references.

(4) In so far as the interests of the network operators are affected by the establishment and operation of a natural gas pipeline system, they shall be heard.

(5) The municipality in whose territory a natural gas pipeline system is to be built and operated shall be subject to the procedure for the granting of the gas-legal authorisation to protect public interests within the meaning of Section 135 within the scope of its scope of action listen.

(6) The competent authorities shall act in a coordinated manner and, where possible, to carry out the procedures at the same time, in accordance with a permit, authorisation or notification subject to other federal legislation requiring authorisation.

Process concentration

§ 152. (1) If a natural gas pipeline system, which is subject to approval pursuant to this Federal Act, is also subject to approval under the German Emissions Protection Act for boiler plants (EC K) or must be subject to authorisation in accordance with the provisions of this Federal Act The natural gas piping system shall contain plant parts which are subject to authorisation under the EC Treaty, and shall not be subject to a separate authorisation under the EC K, but shall be subject to the approval of the natural gas pipeline system in accordance with the substantive law of the Community. ,

(2) In addition to paragraph 1, Section 7 (2) and (3) of the EC Treaty shall apply to installations or plant parts of natural gas pipeline systems which have a fuel heat output of 50 MW or more.

(3) The communication for natural gas pipeline systems in accordance with Section 2 has to comply with the requirements of section 8 (3) EC K. The decision to approve it is to be published by applying the provisions of Section 8 (4) EC K.

Granting of authorisation

§ 153. (1) The natural gas pipeline system shall be approved in writing if the conditions laid down in § 135 are fulfilled.

(2) The Authority may allow certain conditions to be complied with until the installation or parts of the installation have been put into service only after the time required for the necessary measures to be determined in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Annex, if: In contrast, there are no objections to the protection of the interests circumscribed in § 135 (1) (1), (2) and (3).

(3) In the case of extensions or amendments to be made subject to authorisation, the authorisation shall also include the already approved natural gas pipeline as far as it is due to the extension or modification in respect of the provisions of Article 135 (1) (1), (2) and (3) of the Regulation Interests in relation to the already approved plant is required.

(4) The agreements reached in the course of a procedure carried out under this Act and related to the provisions of this Federal Law shall be evaluated by the Authority in the notification. The certificates issued and issued pursuant to this Federal Act are documents within the meaning of Section 33 (1) (1) (lit). d of the General Grundbuchgesetz 1955, BGBl. 39/1955. If, after such a decision, the acquisition or the loading, limitation or cancellation of a bookable right depends on the entry of certain conditions, the Authority shall, upon request, state whether these conditions are fulfilled. The sentence shall be binding on the court.

Section 3

Procedures for the execution of expropriations

Expropriation procedure

§ 154. The expropriation procedure and the official identification of the compensation are the provisions of the Railways Enpropriation Compensation Act, BGBl. No 71/1954, subject to the following derogations:


1.		In the course of the expropriation procedure, the owner of the expropriation may the redemption of the unspoiled land or parts of such unbridled land, or parts thereof, against compensation, which are to be used by the service or other rights in rem in accordance with § 145 (2). The owner of the expropriation advertiser is required to pay if he/she loses the appropriate usability due to the load. If a property loses the appropriate usability by the expropriation of a part of it for the owner, the entire property shall be redeemable at the request of the owner.
2.		The authority shall decide on the admissibility, the content, the subject matter and the extent of the expropriation as well as on the compensation after hearing the legal representation of interests responsible for the subject matter of the expropriation.
3.		The amount of the compensation shall be determined on the basis of the estimate of at least one expert in general and of a court certified in the expropriation notice or in a separate communication; in the latter case, without any further information, the amount of the compensation shall be determined. Surveys in the expropriation decision to establish a preliminary amount of seizage.
4.		Each of the two parties may, within a period of three months from the date of release of the decision determining the compensation (Z 3), request the determination of the amount of compensation at that national court, in the course of which the object of the expropriation is situated. The decision shall not be taken into account in respect of the claim concerning compensation with recourse to the court of law. The request to the court for the determination of the compensation can only be withdrawn with the consent of the defendant. Upon withdrawal of the application, the amount of compensation determined in the expropriation notice shall be deemed to have been agreed.
5.		A final expropriation notice shall be enforceable only as soon as the amount of compensation determined in the expropriation notice or in a separate decision or the amount of the provisional amount of the amount of the amount of the amount of compensation determined in the expropriation decision (Z 3) is shall be deposited in court or paid out to the final expropriate.
6.		At the request of the de-dough, compensation may take the form of a similar and equivalent natural benefit in lieu of a payment of the payment of the payment of a person, if the person concerned is to be economically considered for the benefit of the dispossessed of the individual case. can. The Authority shall decide on this in a separate communication according to Z 3.
7.		The opening of an expropriation proceedings relating to notorious properties or notorious rights shall be notified by the Authority to the competent court of the ground. The Court of Appeal has to note the initiation of the expropriation proceedings. The consequence of the remark is that the expropriation notice becomes legally effective against anyone whose benefit is entered in the range according to the note. However, the remark shall be deleted on the basis of a final decision to cease the expropriation procedure in whole or in respect of the property in question or in respect of the notorious right. The Authority has to inform the Court of Appeal of the termination of the expropriation proceedings.
8.		From the extinguishment of the gas-regulatory approval of a natural gas pipeline system, the owner of the affected property shall be notified by the authority which decides on the subject matter of the expropriation. It may request the express cancellation of the duties granted for this facility by way of expropriation at the Authority. The Authority shall, by means of its request, lift the rebate granted to the natural gas pipeline system in the expropriation route, subject to the provision of a refund due to the compensation paid. For the determination of the rebate, Z 3 and 4 shall apply mutatily.
9.		Where the transfer of ownership of a land for the purposes of a natural gas pipeline has been carried out, the Authority shall, on the basis of a period of one year from the removal of the natural gas pipeline, have taken place. The application of the former owner or his successor in his favour to the benefit of the re-appropriation against reasonable compensation. For the determination of this compensation, Z 3 and 4 shall apply.

16. Part

Specific organisational provisions

Appointment of a delivery agent

§ 155. Natural gas undertakings with a registered office abroad who supply domestic end-users shall be obliged to appoint a service representative to the authority in accordance with § 9 of the Delivery Act.

Duty of information and confidentiality

§ 156. (1) The authorities responsible for carrying out proceedings shall have the right to request, through their institutions, the information required pursuant to paragraph 2 above all the information required for the performance of their duties under this Federal Act , and to this end, it should also be included in the economic and business records.

(2) For information, all undertakings and associations and associations of undertakings shall be obliged to provide information. Legally recognised confidentiality obligations are not affected by the obligation to provide information.

(3) There is no right to a replacement of the costs associated with the exchange of information.

(4) Those who participate in proceedings under the provisions of Section 69 (3) of this Federal Act, or as representatives of the authorities, experts or members of the Board of Regulators or of the Energy Council, shall be entitled to officiate, business or Trade secrets which have been entrusted to him or made available to him in this capacity shall not be disclosed or taken into account during the procedure or after the conclusion thereof.

Obligation to pass on tax cuts

§ 157. In the case of taxes, duties or customs duties included in the prices of goods or services in whole or in part, the prices shall be reduced by those amounts.

Automation-supported traffic

§ 158. (1) Personal data required for the conduct of proceedings under this Federal Law, which the Authority requires in the performance of its supervisory activities or which has been brought to the attention of the Authority in accordance with § 10 or § 121 (6), may be determined and processed automatically in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

(2) The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth as well as the regulatory authority are authorized to transmit processed data in the context of proceedings in matters governed by this Federal Act to


1.		the parties involved in this procedure;
2.		Experts who shall be consulted on the procedure;
3.		the members of the regulatory and/or Energy Council;
4.		-requested or commissioned authorities (§ 55 AVG);
5.		the competent authority responsible for the implementation of the gas-regulatory clearance procedure, to the extent that such data are needed in the context of this procedure.

(3) The authorities are empowered to transmit data processed to the institutions of the European Union to the extent that the transmission of such data under the Treaty on European Union or on the basis of legal acts of the European Union is subject to a such an obligation exists.

17. Part

Penal provisions and fines

1. Main item

Administrative transgressions

General criminal provisions

§ 159. (1) Provided that the action does not constitute the offence of a criminal offence falling within the jurisdiction of the courts or a fine of fines pursuant to § § 164 et seq. or is threatened with a stricter penalty under other administrative criminal provisions, an administrative surrender and is punishable by a fine of up to EUR 50 000, who


1.		the obligations laid down in Article 106 (2) (4) do not comply;
2.		does not comply with the obligations laid down in Article 107 (2) (4)
3.		the obligations laid down in Article 111 (2) (3) do not comply;
4.		the obligations laid down in Article 116 (1) are not complied with;
5.		ensure that the exchange period laid down in Section 123 (1) is not complied with.

(2) Provided that the action does not constitute the offence of a criminal offence or a fine of a fine which falls within the jurisdiction of the courts, or is threatened with tighter penalty under other administrative provisions, a Administrative transgressing and punishable by a fine of up to € 75 000


1.		shall not comply with the obligations laid down in Article 8 (1), (2) or (3) or (9);
2.		its obligation to provide information and to grant access to it in accordance with § 10;
3.		does not comply with its obligations as a market area manager according to § 14 bis § 16, § 19 or § 63;
4.		does not fulfil its obligations as a distribution area manager in accordance with § 18 bis § 23, § 25 or § 26;
5.		does not comply with its obligations as network operator in accordance with § 23, § 28 and § 29, § 32, § 34 to § 37, § 43, § 47, § 60 para. 5, § 62 bis § 65 or § 67;
6.		its obligation to appoint a technical manager in accordance with section 45 (1) or (6), or of a Managing Director in accordance with § 44 (1) Z 4 lit. b in connection with § 46 (1) does not comply;
7.		its obligation to indicate pursuant to § 45 (5) or (6), § 46 (2), § 51 (1), § 121 or § 139 (1) or (3) does not comply;
8.		it does not comply with its general obligation pursuant to § 59;
9.		does not fulfil its tasks as a balance-group coordinator in accordance with § 87;
10.		of its obligation as the accounting group responsible in accordance with § 91;
11.		does not comply with its obligations as a storage company in accordance with § 97 or § 100, § 105;
12.		its obligation as a natural gas trader or supplier in accordance with § 121 or § 125 does not comply;
13.		its obligation to transfer data in accordance with Section 123 (3) does not comply;
14.		of its obligation to grant uniform charges in accordance with Section 124;
15.		of its obligation under Section 126;
16.		does not comply with its obligations under Section 127;
17.		does not fulfil its obligations pursuant to section 128 (1);
18.		use intelligent measuring instruments which do not comply with the standards laid down in the regulation in accordance with Section 128 (2);
19.		does not comply with its obligations under Section 129 (1), (2) or (3);
20.		its obligation under Section 133 does not comply;
21.		it does not comply with its obligation under the Regulation adopted pursuant to Section 131 (2) and (3);
22.		does not comply with the provisions of a regulation adopted by the regulatory authority in accordance with Section 30 or Article 41;
23.		is not in accordance with the conditions laid down in Section 134 (3) of the Regulation of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth;
24.		its obligation as a balance sheet coordinator for the submission of general conditions in accordance with § 88 (1) does not comply;
25.		its obligation of self-monitoring in accordance with Section 140 does not comply;
26.		does not comply with its obligations under Section 141 (4);
27.		the statistical surveys arranged pursuant to Article 147 (2) do not comply with the provisions of this Regulation;
28.		of its obligation to provide information in accordance with § 156;
29.		does not comply with the conditions laid down in this Federal Law, as well as the conditions, deadlines and conditions contained therein;
30.		does not comply with the terms and conditions laid down in § 24 (2) and § 12 E-ControlG for the scope of this Federal Act, or the conditions, deadlines and conditions contained therein;
31.		does not comply with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 and of Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 or of the guidelines adopted pursuant to these Regulations;
32.		decisions which are based on the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 or Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 or the guidelines based thereon;
33.		the provisions of the guidelines adopted pursuant to Directive 2009 /73/EC do not comply with the provisions of Directive 2009 /73/EC
34.		Decisions based on guidelines adopted on the basis of Directive 2009 /73/EC do not comply with the Directive.

(3) Provided that the action does not constitute the offence of a criminal offence or a fine of fines falling within the jurisdiction of the courts, or is threatened with tighter penalty under other administrative provisions, a Administrative transgressing and punishable by a fine of up to € 100 000


1.		Contrary to § 11, § 69 (3), § 123 (3), § 129 (1) or § 156 (4), data is unlawfully disclosed;
2.		the obligations laid down for distribution system operators in § 106, with the exception of section 106 (2) (4);
3.		the obligations laid down for storage companies in § 107, with the exception of § 107 (2) (4), do not comply;
4.		does not comply with the obligations laid down in Section 108 for the transmission system operator, which is the owner of the transmission system operator;
5.		the obligations laid down for independent network operators and transmission system owners in § 109 bis § 111, with the exception of section 111 (2) (3), do not comply with the obligations laid down;
6.		the obligations laid down for independent transmission system operators in § 112 bis § 116, with the exception of Section 116 (1), do not comply;
7.		the obligations laid down in paragraph 117 shall not be complied with;
8.		does not comply with the conditions laid down in the notice of determination pursuant to § 119 or § 120;
9.		shall not comply with the notification requirements set out in Section 119 (2) or § 119 (6).

Withholding of tax cuts

§ 160. Any person who is contrary to § 157 or who reduces the prices accordingly to § 157, the effect of the reduction of taxes, duties or duties, however, is circumvated by the fact that it is not caused by corresponding increases in costs, which are The reduction of the above-mentioned input charges by means of a price increase in whole or in part makes it ineffective, is subject to an administrative surrender and is punishable by a fine of up to EUR 50 000.

Consenseless operation

Section 161. An administrative surrender is to be punished with a fine of up to EUR 150 000, who


1.		the activities of a natural gas undertaking without authorisation pursuant to section 43 (1) of this Regulation, or
2.		an authorisation-subject natural gas pipeline system, without authorisation, has been set up, a natural gas pipeline without authorisation has been extended or substantially altered, or an installation for which the permit has been reserved for the operation, without operating licence , or
3.		does not apply for certification pursuant to § 119 para. 2 Z 1 or § 120 as a transmission system operator or after the final rejection of such an application for certification leads to the operation of the transmission system without certification.

Price dispute

§ 162. (1) If the action does not constitute a criminal offence within the jurisdiction of the courts or is punishable under other administrative criminal provisions with a more stringent penalty, an administrative surrender shall be responsible for who shall be responsible for a Net service performance shall be higher than the maximum or fixed price determined by the regulatory authority under this Federal Act, or a lower price than the minimum or minimum price determined by the regulatory authority under this Federal Act, or A fixed price that distinguishes, demands, accepts, or promises to be, and is with to punish fines of up to EUR 100 000.

(2) The inadmissible additional amount shall be declared expired.

Statute of limitations

§ 163. The limitation period (§ 31 para. 2 VStG) for administrative transgressions in accordance with § 159 to § 162 is one year.

2. Main piece

Fines

Discrimination and other fines

§ 164. (1) At the request of the regulatory authority, the Cartel Court, by decision in the proceedings in addition to disputes, has fined up to a maximum of 10% of the annual turnover generated in the previous financial year via network operators, storage companies and the operator of the virtual trading point, if the network operator, the storage company or the operator of the virtual trading point is intentionally or grossly negligently discriminated against in accordance with § 9.

(2) At the request of the regulatory authority, the Cartel Court, by decision in the proceedings in addition to disputes, has fined up to a maximum of 5% of the annual turnover generated in the preceding financial year via network operators, storage undertakings and to the operator of the virtual trading point if he/she is it


1.		obstruct the equal treatment officer in the performance of his duties;
2.		rejecting the connection on the basis of possible future restrictions on available network capacity and not complying with the actual circumstances;
3.		the obligations imposed on him by Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 to provide information or to his reporting obligations;
4.		does not comply with the decisions of the regulatory authority adopted under Regulation (EC) No 715/2009;
5.		its obligations under the guidelines set out in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 are not fulfilled.

(3) The regulatory authority shall have party status in proceedings under (1) and (2).

Participating companies and legal succession

§ 165. (1) Not only the network operator, the storage company or the operator of the virtual trading point is concerned with the fine of fines under Section 164 (1) and (2), but also of any company that is responsible for the execution of the determined or otherwise contributed to the execution.

(2) With regard to the succession of law, § 10 of the Code of responsibility for the Code of responsibility shall apply, BGBl. I n ° 151/2005.

Measurement

§ 166. (1) If it is a network operator, a storage company or the operator of the virtual trading point, the operator or is part of a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking, the fine shall be calculated by the annual turnover of the vertically integrated natural gas undertaking.

(2) In the assessment of the fine, it is particularly relevant to the seriousness and duration of the infringement, to the enrichment achieved by the infringement, to the degree of debt and to the economic performance as well as to the To take part in the Enlightenment of the Violation of the Law.

Statute of limitations

§ 167. A fine shall be imposed only if the application has been lodged within five years from the end of the infringement.

3. Main piece

Judicial acts of criminal law

Revelation or recovery of data

§ 168. (1) Those who, contrary to § 11, § 69 (3), § 123 (3), § 129 (1) or § 156 (4), are unlawfully disclosed or exploited, whose disclosure or exploitation is liable to infringe a legitimate interest of the person concerned, shall be brought by the court of law with Imprisonment for up to one year.

(2) The public in the main hearing shall be excluded from office on its own account or on request if it is necessary for persons not involved in the interests of the parties to the proceedings or in proceedings.

18. Part

Repeal, Transitional and Final Provisions

entry into force

§ 169. (1) This federal law shall enter into force, insofar as paragraph 2 of this article does not specify otherwise, with the day following the customer's presentation. At the same time, the Federal Law, which is to introduce new regulations in the field of natural gas industry (Gaswirtschaftsgesetz-GWG), BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, as amended by the Federal Law BGBl. No 479/2009, except for force.

(2) § 120 shall enter into force on 3 March 2013.

Transitional provisions

§ 170. (1) Restructuring to be carried out in the context of unbundling by means of any type of restructuring shall be carried out by means of a full succession; this shall apply, in particular, to the transfers. The restructuring operations are exempted from all taxes, duties and fees regulated by the Federal Republic of Germany, which are linked to the establishment or transfer of assets. These exemptions also apply to legal relationships established on the occasion of the restructuring, in particular stock contracts, serviceability, and loan and credit agreements. The restructuring operations are considered to be non-taxable transactions within the meaning of the UStG 1994, BGBl. No 663/1994, as amended; the transferee directly enters into the legal position of the transferor in the area of turnover tax. In addition, the provisions of the German Restructuring Tax Act, BGBl, apply. N ° 699/1991, as amended, with the proviso that the Law on the Reformation Tax Act should be applied even if there is no partial operation within the meaning of the Reformation Tax Act.

(2) Transmission system operators shall comply with the provisions of § 108 bis § 119 to 3 March 2012.

(3) Network users who have not previously been a member of the balance sheet group shall be obliged to join a group of accounts by 10 September 2012 at the latest, or to set up their own balance sheet group by no later than 10 September 2012.

(4) The one on the basis of the GWG, BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, regulations adopted before the entry into force of this Federal Act remain in force until the relevant subject-matter has been re-regulated by means of regulations under this Federal Act.

(5) System usage fees in accordance with § § 69 et seq. may not be valid at the earliest with effect 1. January 2013 will be put into effect. Investigation proceedings pursuant to § § 69 ff may be initiated from the entry into force of this Federal Act. The determination of system usage charges before the 1. January 2013 shall be effected in accordance with § 12f, § 23 bis § 23b, § 23d and § 31h Abs. 5 GWG, BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, as amended by the Federal Law BGBl. I No 45/2009, by the Board of Regulators after referral to the Board of Regulators in accordance with Section 19 of the E-ControlG. Section 70 (2), first sentence, shall be applied in these proceedings. The determination of charges for cross-border transport before 1. January 2013 is carried out in accordance with § 31h (1) to (4) GWG, BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, as amended by the Federal Law BGBl. I No 45/2009, with the proviso that the Authority shall replace the Energy Control Commission.

(6) Private-law agreements governing the transport of natural gas shall remain unaffected by the provisions of this Federal Law, with the proviso that:


1.		to replace the booked transport capacity with separate capacity bookings at the entry and exit points at the same level;
2.		the network user, as soon as tariffs have been published in accordance with § 82, have to pay the corresponding entry and exit charges; and
3.		the transmission system operator has to give the network user the opportunity to trade at the virtual trading point, in principle on a guaranteed basis; if this is not technically possible, it shall be on an interruptible basis.
The conversion according to Z 1 to 3 shall be taken into account in relation to contracts which are held by OMV Gas GmbH in favour of AGGM Austrian Gas Grid Management AG at the time of entry into force of this Act. October 2012. At this point, the distribution area manager shall enter into all rights and obligations of OMV Gas GmbH in connection with the output capacities at the network coupling points of the transmission lines with the distribution network. The changeover to Z 1 to 3 also takes place as of 1 October 2012 with regard to contracts relating to cross-border transports. At the request of the transmission system operator, this period may be extended by a decision of the regulatory authority if otherwise negative effects on the overall financing of the transmission system operation, and thus on security of supply, shall be extended. are expected. The applicability of § 38 depends on the date of the changeover. The relevant amendments to existing contracts relating to network access in the transmission system do not entitle them to terminate or partially terminate these contracts.

(7) The feed-in capacities at the market area limit booked by OMV Gas GmbH for the retail supply of the final customer are, by way of the balance sheet group managers, with effect to the suppliers to whom these capacities are allocated. January 1, 2013 to the extent to which they are to be transferred. Care must be taken to ensure that all suppliers can continue to fulfil their contractual obligations in full.

(8) Concessions of the balance sheet group coordinators on the basis of § § 33 ff GWG, BGBl. No 121/2000, the distribution network concerned shall be subject to concessions in accordance with Article 85.

(9) Storage companies are entitled to continue to charge the costs of system usage fees in accordance with § 73 para. 5 and § 74 para. 2 to the storage users. Producers are entitled to further offset the additional costs for system usage fees in accordance with § 73 (6) and § 74 (3) to their customers. The amendments to existing contracts in this respect do not entitle them to terminate or partially terminate these contracts.

(10) Providers shall be entitled to continue to charge the network usage fees borne by them for the supply to the market area in accordance with § 74 as well as the costs further calculated to their customers without notice of change in accordance with paragraph 9. The contrary contractual agreements are invalid.

(11) Market area manager, distribution area manager, balance sheet group coordinators, network operator accounting group responsible, the operator of the virtual trading point and storage company have those legal, organisational and technical Arrangements necessary to provide network access to all network users in accordance with the provisions of this Act, in such a timely manner that this shall be done at the latest by the January 1, 2013 is possible.

(12) The coordinated network development plan according to § 63 shall be submitted for approval for the first time twelve months after the entry into force of this Federal Law.

(13) Network operators who are holders of a permit pursuant to § 13 and Section 76 (1) GWG, BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, do not require any new authorisation in order to carry out their duties as a network operator in accordance with Section 43. Your rights and obligations shall be determined exclusively in accordance with the provisions of this Federal Act.

(14) Existing authorisations and authorisations for the establishment or operation of natural gas pipeline systems pursuant to Section 76 (3) GWG, BGBl. I No 121/2000 shall be deemed to be authorisations under this Federal Law. The provisions of this Federal Act shall be applied to these natural gas pipeline systems to the extent that they are subject to this Federal Act.

(15) The provisions of the GWG, BGBl, shall continue to apply to proceedings concerning administrative transgressions committed before the entry into force of this Federal Law. I n ° 121/2000, in the version applicable at the time of the commission.

(16) For distribution system operators whose network has been owned by a vertically integrated natural gas undertaking on 3 September 2009, and which at a later date satisfy the characteristics of Section 7 (1) Z 20, there is the possibility of: Ownership unbundling according to § 108 and instead § § 109 ff, § § 112 et seq. § 117. § 119 shall apply mutatily. The period laid down in § 114 (1) (2) applies to companies which at a later date fulfil the characteristics of § 7 (1) Z 20 only for orders of persons of the company management who are subject to the certification of the Transmission system operators shall be carried out.

(17) The network expansion agreements agreed upon before the entry into force of this law, on the basis of approved long-term plans between network operators and control zone guides, respectively. retain full capacity for capacity expansion contracts agreed between network operators and customers or regulatory zone guides and customers until they are fully effective. Changes made by this Act do not entitle the person to resign and/or to dissolve the respective contracts. In the event that the regulatory authority makes use of its powers pursuant to Section 23 (5) and is intervened in existing network expansion contracts, the costs incurred on the basis of these existing contracts shall be due to the system usage fees to cover.

(18) As long as the distribution area manager has not been designated in accordance with Article 17 (1), the function of the distribution area manager shall be exercised by that undertaking which, upon the entry into force of this Federal Law, shall be responsible for the operation of the respective manager. The market area was designated as the rule zone leader.

(19) As long as the market area manager has not been designated in accordance with Section 13 (1), the function of the market area manager shall be exercised by OMV Gas GmbH.

(20) Apprentices of a transmission company who have started their training in a training facility run by the vertically integrated undertaking before the entry into force of this law shall be entitled to complete their training in this training workshop end.

(21) Holds of transport rights according to § 6 Z 20 GWG, BGBl. I n ° 121/2000, as amended by the Federal Law BGBl. I n ° 45/2009, shall be deemed to be the transmission system operator in accordance with § 7 (1) (20) and shall be subject to the provisions of this Federal Act for transmission system operators.

(22) Distribution area managers may retain the legal form existing at the date of entry into force of this Federal Act. Distribution area managers who already comply with the entry into force of this Federal Act § 20 para. 2 may not choose any other legal form.

(23) Storage facilities within the meaning of § 146, the establishment of which have been legally approved or approved at the time of the entry into force of this Federal Act, shall be deemed to have been approved in accordance with this Federal Act. The provisions of § 146 shall apply to these storage facilities.

(24) Commercial hub services and the related commercial transactions resulting from the 1.1.2013 of existing contracts shall be transferred to the Virtual Trading Point as the place of performance in the relevant market area and shall be transferred to the operator of the To nominate virtual trading point accordingly.

Enforcement

§ 171. With the enforcement of this federal law are entrusted:


1.		as regards § 8 and § 48 to § 51 of the Federal Minister of Justice in agreement with the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Family and Youth;
2.		as regards § 132 and § 164 to § 168 of the Federal Minister of Justice;
3.		as regards Section 133 of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth, in agreement with the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, the Environment and Water Management;
4.		with regard to section 170 (1) of the Federal Minister of Finance;
5.		the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, the Family and Youth.

Appendix 1

(on § 84)

Network level 1 distribution line systems


1.		the EVN-West, continued up to the memories of Thann and Puchkirchen;
2.		the EVN-Süd, continuing until TAG-Weitendorf;
3.		The Pyhrnleitung, continued in the Styrian network up to the line designated under Z 2;
4.		the line between Reitsham and the connection line of the reservoir Puchkirchen;
5.		the management between WAG-Rainbach and the connection management of the memory Thann and Puchkirchen;
6.		the connecting line Reichersdorf to Eggendorf;
7.		the head EGO between Eggendorf and Lichtenwörth;
8.		the Eastern Direction;
9.		the heading south-east;
10.		the headline Hornstein;
11.		the branch line TAG between Eggendorf OMV and Wr. Neustadt node;
12.		the North line between OMV Laa/Thaya, via the Laa/Thaya West and Laa/State border measuring systems;
13.		the line between the WAG-branch station Bad Leonfelden and Linz;
14.		the primary distribution system 2 (PVS 2), ds. the distribution systems of the primary distribution system for distribution;
15.		the branch stations of OMV Gas GmbH on TAG and WAG;
16.		the connecting line between the WAG branch station Kirchberg and EVN-West

Appendix 2

(on § 84)

Transmission systems


1.		the Trans-Austria-Gasleitung (TAG);
2.		the West Austria gas pipeline (WAG);
3.		the primary distribution system 1 (PVS 1);
4.		the Hungaria-Austria-conduction (HAG);
5.		the south-east management (SOL);
6.		the Penta West;
7.		the Kittsee-Petrzalka gas pipeline (KIP).
The PVS 1 comprises those parts of the control within the meaning of Section 7 (1) Z 15 of OMV Gas GmbH, which establish a connection with the Slovak network or connect the natural gas pipeline systems in the Baumgarten station to one another in order to achieve a coherent Entry/exit zone in the market area, provided that they are not assigned to the TAG or WAG.

Appendix 3

(on § 84)


1.		WIEN ENERGIE Gasnetz GmbH
2.		EVN Netz GmbH
3.		OÖ. Ferngas Netz GmbH
4.		Salzburg Netz GmbH
5.		TIGAS-Erdgas Tirol GmbH
6.		VEG Vorarlberger Erdgas GmbH
7.		BEGAS Netz GmbH
8.		Gasnetz Steiermark GmbH
9.		KELAG Netz GmbH
10.		Stadtwerke Bregenz GmbH
11.		LINZ GAS Net GmbH
12.		Elektrizitätswerke Wels AG
13.		Stadtwerke Steyr, Gaswerk
14.		Energie Ried GmbH
15.		Energie Graz GmbH & Co KG
16.		Stadtwerke Leoben
17.		Stadtwerke Kapfenberg GmbH
18.		Energy Klagenfurt GmbH
19.		EVA-Natural gas supply Extrafern GmbH & Co KG
20.		Market town Veitsch-Gasnetz Veitsch
21.		OMV Gas GmbH
22.		Tauerngasleitung GmbH

Article 2

Gas Act 2011 And Amendment Of The Energy Control Act And The Price Transparency Act

Original Language Title: Gaswirtschaftsgesetz 2011 sowie Änderung des Energie-Control-Gesetzes und des Preistransparenzgesetzes

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Search Translated Laws of Austria