Key Benefits:
Publics concerned: natural gas suppliers; gas infrastructure operators.
Purpose: access to underground storage of natural gas; obligation to store natural gas.
Entry into force: the text comes into force on the day after its publication.
Notice: the decree amends the access system to the underground storage of natural gas provided by the Decree No. 2006-1034 of 21 August 2006 to strengthen the security of supply. Section 3 removes the requirement for natural gas suppliers who wish to reserve storage capacity to report to the Minister responsible for Energy the annual reference consumption of all their customers and the level of storage capacity they wish to reserve. Section 5 sets out the conditions and deadlines in which the storage capabilities reserved by suppliers beyond the storage rights they receive (called "replaceable") may be reassigned to other suppliers. Article 7 requires underground storage operators to make public every week on their website the storage capacity they have, by category (restituable capacities, surplus capacities) and by site or grouping of storage sites as well as the level of gas stocks. Finally, Article 9 amends the reporting and retention rules of suppliers' natural gas stocks and associates with the existing storage obligation expressed in volume an obligation expressed in debits of withdrawal, in order to guarantee the supply of the supplier's customers in case of a cold tip.
References: the decree is taken for the application of Article L. 421-7 of the Energy Code. It can be consulted, as well as Decree No. 2006-1034 of 21 August 2006 on access to underground storages of natural gas, in its drafting from this amendment, on the site Légifrance (http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr).
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy,
Having regard to Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 July 2009 on common rules for the domestic natural gas market and repealing Directive 2005/55/EC, including article 33;
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No. 994/2010 of the European Parliament and Council of 20 October 2010 on measures to ensure the security of the supply of natural gas and repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC;
Considering the energy code, including articles L. 421-3 to L. 421-16;
Vu le Decree No. 2004-251 of 19 March 2004 amended on public service obligations in the gas sector;
Vu le Decree No. 2006-1034 of 21 August 2006 modified for access to underground storage of natural gas;
Considering the opinion of the Higher Energy Council of 10 December 2013;
The State Council (section of public works) heard,
Decrete:
The above-mentioned decree of 21 August 2006 is amended in accordance with articles 2 to 11 of this decree.
In article 5, in the first and fourth sentences of the first paragraph, the word "public" is deleted.
In Article 6, the fifth to eighth paragraphs are deleted.
In section 7, the first sentence is replaced by the following sentence: "A supplier may transfer to its own supplier the storage rights of each of its customers. »
The first three paragraphs of Article 8 are replaced by the following:
"Any supplier may reserve, beyond its storage rights, storage capacities that are not exercised, which are still available. An Energy Minister's order determines, as appropriate, the terms and conditions for determining these capabilities, which are said to be restituable.
"These capabilities can be reassigned to suppliers:
" – to the last day of February, to satisfy all their access rights to storage capacities as defined in Article 5;
"—from 1 March to 31 October, only to meet their newly acquired storage rights, if any, since the previous assignments and the storage rights required to cover their obligations to hold stocks and capacities under Article 12.
"The storage capacity available as of March 1 and that is not likely to be reassigned between March 1 and October 31 is considered to be surplus and used in accordance with section 14. »
Section 10 is amended as follows:
1° In the first paragraph, the words: "within three months after the publication of this decree" are replaced by the words: "within the month following the publication of the decree Decree No. 2014-328 of 12 March 2014, then every year no later than November 1st", and it is added a third sentence as follows: "It specifies the list of storage products that can be allocated under rights and their marketing schedule. » ;
2° The third paragraph is supplemented by the following words: "on its website".
It is inserted after Article 10 a 10-1 article as follows:
"Art. 10-1. - Each underground storage operator of natural gas makes publicly available on its website every week the available storage capacities, distinguishing the replenishable capacities and excess capacities, by site or grouping of storage sites that it operates, in volume and in welding flow, as well as the level of gas stocks. »
The title of Chapter 5 is thus modified: "Chapter 5. ∙ Reporting and holding of stock and supplier storage capacity."
Sections 12 and 13 are replaced by the following:
"Art. 12.-I. ― As of 31 October of each year, the volumes of gas stored by a supplier and the associated welding flow rates may not be less than 80% of the sum of the storage rights in useful volume and welding flow, as defined in section 5, of those of its customers mentioned in theArticle 4 of Decree No. 2004-251 of 19 March 2004 connected to the distribution network.
“II. ― In order to ensure compliance with the obligation referred to in I, it is associated with an obligation to maintain the storage capacity acquired under the rights, in a useful volume and in a state-of-the-art withdrawal flow, corresponding to the obligation to hold stocks.
"The transfer of storage rights under Article 7 entails the transfer of the associated obligations of holding stocks and holding storage capacities. The estimation of these obligations associated with transferred storage rights is the responsibility of the supplier that cedes storage rights.
"Art. 13.-I. ― Each supplier that feeds customers referred to in section 3 shall address to the Minister responsible for Energy, no later than May 1 of each year, a statement stating that it is able, on the one hand, to ensure the supply of its customers under the conditions provided for in theArticle 4 of Decree No. 2004-251 of 19 March 2004 and, on the other hand, to comply with its obligations of stocks and storage capacities as defined in Article 12 I and II of this Decree.
"This statement includes the following elements, by balancing area, identified as of April 1, and estimated as at October 31:
"– the annual reference consumption of all its customers;
"– the consumption of all its customers in case of extreme cold stress;
“– the customer storage rights that this supplier supplies;
"—the storage rights of customers powered by other suppliers and transferred under section 7;
“– the storage capacities subscribed to in France, specifying those that are in respect of rights;
"– elements to assess its procurement policy and other modulation instruments available to it, in accordance with the provisions of a Minister of Energy Order.
"For customers connected to a distribution network, the elements are provided by consumption profile.
“II. ― In the light of this statement, the Minister for Energy may, when he considers that the storage capacity held by a supplier is insufficient to ensure compliance with the requirement set out in section 12, the Minister may continue to use additional storage capabilities, within the limits of his right of access to storage capacity and taking into account the other modulation instruments available to him. These additional storage capacities must be subscribed within two months of the retention.
"III. ― Each supplier that feeds customers referred to in section 3 shall address to the Minister of Energy, by December 1, each year, an update of the statement provided for in section I, based on the findings made on October 31. »
Section 14 is replaced by the following:
"Art. 14.-When suppliers' access rights to storage capacity, as defined in Article 5, are satisfied, the excess storage capacity is marketed in transparent and non-discriminatory conditions.
"The ability to use these capabilities is guaranteed provided that it does not limit the possibility for all suppliers to have, up to the last day of February of each year, storage capacities for their rights of access to storage capacities defined in Article 5. »
It is inserted, after Article 17, an article 17-1 as follows:
"Art. 17-1. - For the implementation in 2014 of this decree in its drafting Decree No. 2014-328 of 12 March 2014 :
"In the third paragraph of Article 8, the word "February" is replaced by the word "March" and in the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the same article, the word "mars" is replaced by the word "April";
"in the second paragraph of Article 14, the word "February" is replaced by the word "March". »
The Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy is responsible for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done on March 12, 2014.
Jean-Marc Ayrault
By the Prime Minister:
The Minister of Ecology,
Sustainable Development
and energy,
Philippe Martin
