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27 FEBRUARY 2003. - An Act to amend the Act of 12 April 1965 on the carriage of gaseous and other products by pipelines, the Act of 8 August 1980 on budgetary proposals 1979-1980 and the Act of 29 April 1999 on the organization of the electricity market (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - General
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - Amendment of the Act of 12 April 1965 on the transport of gaseous and other products by pipelines
Art. 2. Article 1^er of the Act of 12 April 1965 on the carriage of gaseous and other products by pipelines, the 29th is repealed.
Art. 3. Article 15/6, § 3, paragraph 1^er, from the same law, inserted by the law of April 29, 1999, the words "that they provide proof, according to the terms defined by the King," are deleted.
Art. 4. In section 15/10 of the Act, inserted by the Act of 29 April 1999, the following amendments are made:
§ 1^er and 2 are replaced by the following:
« § 1^er. After notice of the commission and deliberation in the Council of Ministers, the federal minister who has the economy in his powers can set maximum prices for the supply of natural gas to final customers and for the part of the supply of natural gas to distribution companies intended for the supply of end customers who do not have the quality of eligible customers.
§ 2. After advice from the commission and consultation with the regions, the federal minister who has the economy in his or her powers can, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, set maximum prices by kWh, valid throughout the territory, for the provision of natural gas to residential protected customers with modest income or precarious situation. These maximum prices do not include any lump sum or royalty.
Gas companies provide the supply of residential protected customers at the maximum prices set out in paragraph 1^er and maintain a separate accounting of this activity.
The net real cost resulting from this activity is financed by overloads applied on the rates referred to in section 15/5 or by sampling on the whole, or objectively defined categories of energy consumers or operators on the market.
On the proposal of the commission, the King sets out the rules of determining this cost and intervention for its care for the benefit of the operators of the market concerned. Its funding is organized by a fund, to be managed by the commission, in accordance with the terms set out by decree deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
Any order establishing an overload or sampling referred to in paragraph 3 shall be deemed to have never produced any effects if it has not been confirmed by law within twelve months of its effective date.
The provisions of the Act of 22 January 1945 on economic regulation and prices are applicable, except for Article 2, § 4, last paragraph, and § 5, for the setting of the maximum prices referred to in § 1^er and paragraph 1^er. »
2° § 3 is completed as follows:
"5° to guarantee, where natural gas networks exist or can economically reasonably be developed, the right to access to energy, of prime necessity, by ensuring, inter alia, that, in the context of the opening of the natural gas market to competition, the continuity of the social benefits applicable to certain categories of residential consumers in connection with and tariff matters;
6° ensure that end consumers benefit from the benefits that will result from the depreciation policy in the regulated system;
7° ensure transparency of tariff terms and promote rational consumption behaviours. »
Art. 5. In section 15/11 of the Act, inserted by the Act of 29 April 1999 and amended by the Act of 16 July 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° to the current text which becomes § 1^erthe following modifications are made:
A. Paragraph 1^er, 1°, is replaced by the following provision:
"1° impose on holders of an authorization to transport public service obligations in respect of investment, in favour of customers who do not have the capacity of eligible customers, on the basis of a pre-study of the capacity of the natural gas transport network and to the extent that these investments are economically justified; »
B . in paragraph 2, the word "six" is replaced by the word "twelve";
C. the text is supplemented by the following paragraph:
"As part of what is determined in paragraph 1^er, the King takes into account the investment programme contained in the indicative procurement plan referred to in Article 15/13, § 2, 3°. »
2° it is added a § 2, written as follows:
“§2. Transport authorization holders use the capabilities of existing storage facilities by priority in favour of a distribution undertaking or a customer who is not eligible to be a customer. »
Art. 6. Article 15/13, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, from the same law, inserted by the law of April 29, 1999 and amended by the law of December 30, 2001, the words "of the Control Committee" are deleted.
Art. 7. In section 15/14 of the Act, inserted by the Act of 29 April 1999 and amended by the Act of 16 July 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 2, it is inserted a 3bis and an 8bis written as follows:
(a) "3bis . shall provide the secretariat of the mediation service in accordance with Article 27;"
(b) "8bis . in accordance with section 23bis of the Act of 29 April 1999, ensures that the pricing for the supply of natural gas is oriented in the sense of the general interest and, where applicable, controls the maximum prices applicable to final customers and distribution undertakings providing end customers who do not have the quality of eligible customers; "
2° in § 2, the 10° is replaced by the following provision:
"10° verifies the absence of cross-subsidies between categories of customers who do not have the eligible customer quality and between these categories of customers and eligible customers;"
3° in § 2, 11°, the word "liberalized" is deleted;
4° § 3 is replaced by the following provision:
Ҥ3. Before 1^er May of the year following the fiscal year in question, the Commission shall transmit to the Minister a report on:
1° the execution of his missions;
2° the state of its operating costs and coverage, including an active/passive situation;
3° the evolution of the natural gas market.
The Minister reports this annual report to federal legislatures and regional governments. It ensures an appropriate publication of the report. »
Art. 8. In article 15/15, § 4, paragraph 3, of the same law, inserted by the law of 29 April 1999 and amended by the laws of 12 August 2000 and 16 July 2001, the word "six" is replaced by the word "twelf".
Art. 9. An article 15/16bis, as follows, is inserted in the same law:
"Art. 15/16bis . The mediation service created in section 27 of the Act of 29 April 1999 may be sought for disputes between final customers and supply or distribution companies. »
CHAPTER III. - Amendment of the Act of 8 August 1980 on budget proposals 1979-1980
Art. 10. Sections 170, 171 and 172 of the Act of 8 August 1980 on budgetary proposals 1979-1980, as amended by Royal Decree No. 147 of 30 December 1982 and the Act of 29 April 1999, are repealed.
CHAPTER IV. - Amendment of the Act of 29 April 1999 on the organization of the electricity market
Art. 11. In section 2 of the Act of 29 April 1999 on the organization of the electricity market, as amended by the Act of 30 December 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° it is inserted a 4°bis, a 15°bis and a 15ter written as follows:
(a) "4°bis "green certificate": intangible good attesting that a producer produced a specified amount of electricity produced from renewable energy sources during a specified time interval;"
(b) "15°bis . "supplier": any natural or legal person who sells electricity to a final customer(s); the supplier produces or buys electricity sold to the end customers;"
(c) "15°ter . "electricity company": any natural or legal person who carries out the production, transport, distribution, supply or purchase of electricity or several of these activities, excluding final customers; »
2° to 16°, the word ", supplier" is inserted between the word "distributor" and the word "or intermediate";
3° on 27° is repealed.
Art. 12. Article 3, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, from the same law, the words "of the control committee" are deleted.
Art. 13. The following amendments are made to section 7 of the Act:
1° in paragraph 1^er, 1°, the words ", including the establishment of a system of green certificates for electricity produced in accordance with Article 6 and the obligation to buy back at a minimum price and resale by the manager of the network of green certificates granted by the federal or regional authorities," are inserted between the words "marked" and "in order to ensure";
2° in paragraph 3, the word "six" is replaced by the word "twelve".
Art. 14. In section 8 of the Act amended by the Act of 30 December 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° to the current text, which becomes § 1^erthe following modifications are made:
A) in paragraph 3, 3°, the words "to ensure a permanent balance between" are replaced by the words ", with the means available to it, to ensure a permanent balance of electricity flows resulting from";
B) in paragraph 3, 4°, the words ", with the means available to it," are inserted between the words "in this context" and the words "ince available";
2° it is added a § 2, written as follows:
Ҥ2. The network manager may engage in commercial activity, in accordance with its social purpose and in accordance with the law, through, inter alia, participation in existing public or private organizations, societies or associations or associations. However, the development of these activities is subject to the following conditions:
1° of activities outside the management of electrical networks can only be carried out in Belgian territory;
2° of activities in the field of the management of electrical networks outside Belgian territory can be developed by the absence of any negative influence of these activities on the tasks entrusted by law to the network manager. This lack of negative influence is controlled by the commission.
The activities referred to in this paragraph are subject to separate accounting in accordance with Article 22. »
Art. 15. In section 9 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 16 July 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° to § 1^er, the word ", suppliers" is inserted between the word "distributors" and the words "or intermediate";
2° to § 2, 1°, the word "providers" is inserted between the word "intermediate" and the words "or network owners";
3° to § 2, 3°, the word "suppliers" is inserted between the word "distributors" and the word "intermediate".
Art. 16. The following amendments are made to section 11 of the Act:
1° to paragraph 2, 1°, between the words "direct lines," and the words "and", the words "connection delays, as well as the technical modalities enabling the network manager to have access to the users' facilities and to take or take measures related to them when the network's security or technical reliability imposes it;" are inserted;
2° to paragraph 2, the 5° is supplemented by the words ", including data relating to the development plan;"
Paragraph 2 is supplemented by a 7°, which reads as follows:
"7° the provisions for information or prior approval by the Commission of Operational Rules, General Conditions, Model Contracts, Forms or Procedures applicable to the Network Manager and, where applicable, to users; »
4° this article is supplemented by a third paragraph, which reads as follows:
"In accordance with the technical regulations, the network manager's contracts relating to access to the network specify the terms and conditions for the application of the network to users, distributors or intermediaries in a non-discriminatory manner. »
Art. 17. Article 13, § 1^er, from the same law, the words "of the control committee" are deleted.
Art. 18. Article 15, § 1^er, paragraph 2, first sentence of the same law, the words "access to" are inserted between the words "can not refuse" and the word "network".
Art. 19. In article 16, § 2, of the same law, the words "that they provide proof, according to the terms defined by the King" are deleted.
Art. 20. The following amendments are made to section 18 of the Act:
1st paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following provision:
"Without prejudice to the application of the law of 6 April 1995 relating to secondary markets, the status of investment companies and their control, to intermediaries and investment advisors, after the commission's opinion, the King may:
1° submit electricity supplies made in Belgium by means of the transport network by intermediaries and suppliers to a prior authorization or declaration procedure;
2° to establish rules of conduct applicable to intermediaries and suppliers;
3° to determine, on a joint proposal by the Minister and the Minister of Finance, after notice of the commission and the bank and financial commission and deliberation in the Council of Ministers, the rules relating to the establishment, access and operation of energy block exchange markets. »
2° in paragraph 3, are inserted:
(a) the words "rules and" between the words "Les" and "règles de conduite";
b) the words "transaction and" between the words "conditions of" and "supplies".
Art. 21. The following amendments are made to section 20 of the Act:
1° §§ 1^er and 2 are replaced by the following:
« § 1^er. After notice of the commission and deliberation in the Council of Ministers, the federal minister who has the economy in his or her powers can set maximum prices for the supply of electricity to final customers and for the part of the supply of electricity to distributors intended to supply final customers who do not have the quality of eligible customers.
§ 2. After advice from the commission and consultation with the regions, the federal minister who has the economy in his or her powers can, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, set maximum prices by kWh, valid for the entire territory, for the provision of electricity to residential protected customers with modest income or precarious situation. These maximum prices do not include any lump sum or royalty.
Electricity companies provide the supply of residential protected customers at the maximum prices set out in paragraph 1^er and maintain a separate accounting of this activity.
The net real cost resulting from this activity is financed by overloads applied on the tariffs referred to in section 12 or by sampling on the whole, or objectively defined categories of energy consumers or operators on the market. On the proposal of the commission, the King sets out the rules for determining this cost and the intervention for its care for the benefit of the operators of the market concerned. Its funding is organized by a fund, to be managed by the commission, in accordance with the terms set out by decree deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
Any order establishing an overload or sampling referred to in paragraph 3 shall be deemed to have never produced any effects if it has not been confirmed by law within twelve months of its effective date.
The provisions of the Act of 22 January 1945 on economic regulation and prices are applicable, except for Article 2, § 4, last paragraph, and § 5, for the setting of the maximum prices referred to in § 1^er and paragraph 1^er"
2° § 3 is completed as follows:
"4° guarantee the right to access to energy, which is of prime importance, ensuring, in particular, the continuity of the social benefits applicable to certain categories of residential consumers in connection with connection and tariff matters, within the framework of the opening of the electricity market to competition;
5° ensure that end consumers benefit from the benefits that will result from the depreciation policy in the regulated system;
6° ensure transparency of tariff terms and promote rational consumption behaviours. »
3° in § 4, the words "on the recommendation of the control committee" are replaced by "after notice of the commission".
Art. 22. The following amendments are made to section 21 of the Act:
1° in paragraph 1^er, 1°, of the same law, the word ", suppliers" is inserted between the word "intermediate" and the words "and network manager";
2° in paragraph 3, the word "six" is replaced by the word "twelve".
Art. 23. Article 22, § 1^er, of the same law, amended by the law of 16 July 2001, the word ", supplier" is inserted between the word "distributors" and the words "and intermediaries".
Art. 24. In section 23 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 16 July 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 2, paragraph 2, it is inserted a 3°bis, a 12°bis and a 14°bis written as follows:
(a) "3°bis shall provide the secretariat of the mediation service in accordance with Article 27;"
(b) "12°bis controls the measures taken pursuant to Article 7;"
(c) "14°bis ensures that the pricing for the supply of electricity is oriented in the sense of the general interest and is included in the overall energy policy and, where applicable, controls the maximum prices applicable to end customers and distributors providing end customers who do not have the quality of eligible customers; "
2° in § 2, paragraph 2, the 16° is replaced by the following provision:
"16° verifies the absence of cross-subsidies between categories of customers who do not have the eligible customer quality and between these categories of customers and eligible customers; »
3° in § 2, paragraph 2, 17°, the word "liberalized" is deleted.
4° § 2, paragraph 2, is supplemented as follows:
"18° verifies the absence of cross-subsidies when the network manager applies Article 8, § 2; »
5° in § 2, last paragraph, the words "and his proposals" are inserted between the words "his opinions" and "in the forty calendar days";
6° § 3 is replaced by the following provision:
Ҥ3. Before 1^er May of the year following the fiscal year in question, the Commission shall transmit to the Minister a report on:
1° the execution of his missions;
2° the state of its operating costs and coverage, including an active/passive situation;
3° the evolution of the electricity market.
The Minister reports this annual report to federal legislatures and regional governments. It ensures an appropriate publication of the report. »
Art. 25. It is inserted in the same law an article 23bis, which reads as follows:
"Art. 23bis . § 1^er. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that the technical and tariff situation of the natural gas and electricity sectors as well as the evolution of natural gas are oriented in the sense of the general interest and are integrated into the overall energy policy.
§ 2. In order to meet the above-mentioned general objective and to carry out the specific tasks related to this objective, the commission has the powers and rights described below:
- to obtain information from producers, distributors, intermediaries and suppliers, including information specific to companies, on matters within its jurisdiction and mission;
- to obtain reports on their activities or aspects thereof;
- to obtain from them studies on any matter relating to its tariff jurisdiction with respect to final customers who do not have the eligible customer quality.
In particular, the Commission's mission is to provide advice in the implementation of the electricity and gas policy.
§ 3. Assets and documents held by the control committee shall be transferred to the commission from 1^er July 2003. »
Art. 26. In section 24 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 16 July 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 3, paragraph 1^er, the words "distributors" are replaced by the words "distribution networks managers, intermediaries, suppliers";
2° § 3, paragraph 2, 4°, is repealed.
Art. 27. In section 25 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 12 August 2000, the following amendments are made:
1° § 1^er, 3°, is replaced by the following provision:
"3° a direction of control of prices and accounts, in particular responsible for the matters referred to in Article 23, § 2, paragraph 2, 12°bis to 16° and 18°;"
2° it is added a § 5, written as follows:
Ҥ 5. The Board shall, with the Minister's consent, designate a business reviewer. This corporate reviewer may not function with the network manager, distribution network managers and producers, distributors and intermediaries.
The revisor of undertakings designated in accordance with paragraph 1^er verifies the financial situation and annual accounts of the commission and the regularity, under the Act of 12 April 1965 on the carriage of gaseous and other products by pipelines, this Act and their enforcement orders, of transactions to be found in the annual accounts.
The Commission's proposed budget is prepared by the Executive Committee and is submitted for approval to the Council of Ministers by October 30 of the year before the year to which it relates.
The Board shall disclose the annual accounts, together with the report of the business reviewer prepared on the basis of paragraph 2, to the Minister, before 1^er May of the year following the fiscal year concerned. »
Art. 28. The following amendments are made to section 26 of the Act:
1° in § 1^er, the word "suppliers" is inserted between the words "distributors" and "intermediate";
2° § 1^er is completed by the following paragraph:
"From 1^er January 2003, the Commission may also require the Commission and the Electricity and Gas Control Committee, without prejudice to the missions to the latter, the information useful to the preparation of its tariff policy in the context of the application of the mission assigned to it in section 23, 14bis, 15° and 16°; »
3° in § 2, paragraph 1^er, the words "areas and" are inserted between the words "competent authorities" and "other member states";
4° § 3 is repealed.
Art. 29. Section 27 of the Act is replaced by the following provision:
“Art. 27. § 1^er. It is established within the commission a competent mediation service for any dispute between a final customer and a producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary..
The mediation service has the following tasks:
1° to review all complaints from final customers relating to the activities of enterprises referred to in paragraph 1^er;
Complaints from end-users are only admissible when the complainant has initiated a preliminary approach with the company concerned. The mediation service may refuse to deal with a claim where the complaint has been filed with the relevant company more than a year before;
2° enter to facilitate an amicable compromise between the final customer and the producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary;
3° issue a recommendation to the producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary, in case a friendly compromise cannot be found; a copy of the recommendation is addressed to the complainant;
4° to be adjudicated as an arbitrator in any dispute, except those referred to in sections 28 and 29, that the producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary and the final customer submit to such arbitration on the basis of an arbitration agreement between the mediation service and the relevant company, after the commencement of the dispute, provided that the final customer agrees to resort to arbitration after the birth of the dispute; the mediation service cannot adjudicate disputes over amounts greater than 5,000 euros, the latter amount being linked to the Consumer Price Index;
5° to provide the best of their interest to final customers who address them in writing or orally;
6° to issue, on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister or commission, notices in the course of his or her missions.
In the event that a producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary does not follow the recommendation referred to in the 3rd of this paragraph, the producer shall have a period of 20 working days to justify the decision. The reasoned decision is sent to the complainant and to the mediation service.
§ 2. The mediation service may, in the context of a complaint before it, be aware, without displacement, of books, correspondence, verbatim records and generally of all documents and writings of the producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary dealing directly with the subject matter of the complaint. It may require directors, agents and agents of the producer, distributor or intermediary all explanations or information and to conduct all verifications necessary for its examination.
The information obtained is treated by the mediation service as confidential, where the disclosure may affect the producer, distributor, supplier or intermediary at a general level.
Within the limits of its powers, the mediation service shall not be instructed by any authority.
§ 3. The mediation service is composed of two members appointed by the King for a renewable term of five years. They belong to a different linguistic role. The mediation service acts as a college. However, mediators may agree to delegations by collegial decision approved by the Minister.
By deliberately decreed in the Council of Ministers, the King defines the rules of incompatibility with the mandate of a member of the mediation service, the minimum conditions of morality and competence and the applicable rules of conflict of interest. The Minister sets out the basic principles for their remuneration.
Members of the mediation service can only be revoked on just grounds.
§ 4. By order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the King sets the rules for the operation of the mediation service.
The overload referred to in Article 25, § 3 also covers the operating costs of the commission and the mediation service. The amount of the operating costs of the mediation service shall be determined by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, on the basis of a budget proposal prepared by the mediators and after the advice of the general council of the commission.
Similarly, the amount of overload applied under Article 25, § 3, is based on a budget proposal prepared by the commission.
Mediators submit each year the proposed budget of the mediation service to the advice of the Commission's General Council.
Every year, the mediation service reports on its activities. The report includes the various complaints or types of complaints and the follow-up to these complaints, without directly or indirectly identifying the complainants. The report is communicated to the Minister and the Legislative Chambers, as well as to the commission. It is made available to the public. »
Art. 30. Section 37 of the Act is repealed.
CHAPTER V. - Final provision
Art. 31. This Act comes into force on 1^er July 2003, except:
- articles 5, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 28, which come into force on the day of their publication in the Belgian Monitor;
- of Article 27, 2°, which comes into force on 1^er January 2003;
- and articles 3 and 19 of which the date of entry into force is fixed by the King.
Brussels, 27 February 2003.
The President of the House of Representatives,
H. DE CROO
The Clerk of the House of Representatives,
F. GRAULICH
____
Note
(1) Session 2002-2003.
House of Representatives:
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 50-2208/1. - Amendments, n^bones 50-2208/2 and 3. - Report, no. 50-2208/4. - Text adopted by the commission, no. 50-2208/5.
Full report: 26-27 February 2003.