Royal Decree 949/2001, of 3 August, which regulates the access of third parties to gas installations and establishes an integrated economic system of the natural gas sector, develops the basic lines that must contain the Technical Management Standards of the Natural Gas System, establishing in its article 13.1 that the Technical Manager of the System, in collaboration with the rest of the subjects involved, will draft a proposal of Standards of Technical Management of the System, which raise the Minister for approval or amendment.

In compliance with the above, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce issued Order ITC/3126/2005 of 5 October, approving the Technical Management Standards of the Gas System. That order, in its final provision, empowers the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines to take the necessary measures for the implementation and enforcement of the order, in particular to approve and amend the detailed protocols. of the Technical Management Standards and other requirements, rules, documents and operating procedures established to enable the correct operation of the system.

Order ITC/3126/2005 of 5 October, in the Technical Management Standard NGTS-12, paragraph 12.2, establishes the creation of a working group for the updating, revision and modification of the rules responsible for the submission for approval by the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines, for proposals for updating, reviewing and amending the rules and protocols for the management of the gas system.

The aforementioned order, in its second final disposition, authorizes the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines to modify the Technical Management Standards of the natural gas system prior to the report of the National Commission of the Markets and Competition.

Based on the above, it has been received by the Working Group of the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System for the Update, Review and Modification of the Rules and Protocols of the Gas System, a proposal for a new Drafting of the Technical Management Standard of the NGTS-12 System in order to modify the composition of the Group and the choice of its members.

According to the provisions of Article 5.2.a) of Law No 3/2013, this resolution has been the subject of a report by the National Commission on Markets and Competition and is, for the preparation of its report, has had in consideration of the arguments put forward in the hearing procedure.

According to the third transitional provision of Order IET/2446/2013 of 27 December 2013 establishing the tolls and charges associated with third party access to gas installations and the remuneration of activities regulated, the renewal of the components of the Working Group of the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System for the updating, revision and modification of the technical management standards and protocols of the gas system, is postponed to thirty days after the entry into force of the publication of the amendment of the said management rule NGTS-12 technique.

In its virtue, this General Address resolves:

First.

The technical management standard for the NGTS-12 gas system is replaced by "Proposals for updating, reviewing and amending the system management standards or protocols", published in the Annex to the Order ITC/3126/2005, 5 October, by which the rules for the technical management of the gas system are approved, for the content included in the Annex to this resolution.

Second.

In 2015 the renewal of the components of the Working Group of the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System for the updating, revision and modification of the technical management protocols and standards of the gas system will have to be made within two months of the day following the publication of this resolution.

Third.

The Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines will approve every two years, and before 1 January, the Biannual Action Programme, which will include the Group's priority areas of work, the Standards and Protocols to be adopted. review, and the general lines to be followed by the modifications to be proposed. For its realization the Directorate General will take into account the proposals that the Group itself, the National Commission of the Markets and the Competition, and any marketer, distributor or carrier will be able to present before the month of October individual level.

By way of exception, the deadline for drawing up the first Plan is extended until 1 October 2015 and the deadline for submission of proposals until 1 June 2015.

Fourth.

This resolution shall take effect on the day following that of its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Madrid, May 4, 2015. -Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Maria Teresa Baquedano Martin.

ANNEX

NGTS-12

Proposals for updating, reviewing, and modifying system management protocols or rules

12. Updating, reviewing, and modifying system management protocols or standards

12.1 Object. To define the procedure for drawing up proposals for updating, reviewing and amending the system's technical management rules and their detailed protocols, which are required for the optimal functioning of the gas system, at the request of the the subjects acting on it.

12.2 Working Group of the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System for the updating, revision and modification of the technical management standards and protocols of the gas system. For the purposes of updating, reviewing and amending the technical management standards and protocols of the gas system, the Technical Manager of the System shall coordinate a specific working group of the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System.

This working group will be in charge of receiving, studying and preparing proposals for updating, reviewing and amending the technical management protocols and standards of the gas system for its referral to the Directorate-General. General Energy Policy and Mines for approval, at the initiative of the Technical System Manager or on a proposal from the other subjects of the gas system, under the provisions of article 13.1 of Royal Decree 949/2001 of 3 August.

In addition, at the request of both the members of the Group, as well as the Energy and Mines Policy Directorate or the National Commission on Markets and Competition, the Group will be able to draw up studies on related to the matters of their competence, and in particular on the operation and management of the facilities of the gas system.

12.2.1 Composition of the Group. The composition of the working group will be as follows:

A president appointed by the System Technical Manager, with the right to vote.

A Vice President appointed by the System Technical Manager, without the right to vote and who will perform the duties of President in the absence of this.

A vowel designated by each transport network manager (TSO), with the right to vote.

A vowel chosen by and among the other holders of transportation facilities, with the right to vote. Such holders may not belong to the group of companies of the transmission system operators.

A vowel chosen by and among the regasification plant holders, excluding the transport network managers, with the right to vote.

Four vowels chosen by and among registered distributors, with the right to vote.

Five vowels chosen by and among registered marketers, with the right to vote.

A vocal chosen by and among direct consumers on the market, with the right to vote.

A vocal chosen by and among industrial consumers connected to pressure networks higher than 16 bar, with voting rights.

A vowel appointed by the National Commission on Markets and Competition, without the right to vote.

A vowel appointed by the Ministry of Energy and Tourism, without the right to vote.

A vowel designated by the Strategic Reserves Corporation, without the right to vote.

When summoned, a vowel designated by the Technical Manager of the Electrical System, without the right to vote.

The Secretary, who will not be entitled to vote and who will be appointed from among the staff of the National Markets and Competition Commission.

With the prior agreement of the President and the Secretary, and upon a proposal from themselves or three or more members of the Group, non-members of the Group may be invited in order to report on specific subjects, without rights. a vote in no case. These invitations should be particular to each meeting.

12.2.2 Members ' Choice. In order to vote or to be voted in the election of the vowels referred to in the preceding paragraph, effective activity shall have been demonstrated in the relevant category during the 12 months preceding the election:

In the case of marketers, effective activity will be demonstrated by sales to final consumers or other marketers.

In the case of direct consumers on the market the effective activity will be demonstrated by the hiring of the access capacity to the transport or distribution facility to which they are connected, excluding those they have simultaneously made gas sales, which have entered into an ordinary supply contract with a marketer or have not made effective gas consumption in the period.

In the case of distributors and carriers, effective activity will be credited by the ownership of gas installations that are operational.

In the case of the industrial consumer, effective activity will be demonstrated through network connection and gas consumption.

Deserted places in one category cannot be added to any other category.

The choice of members will follow the following rules:

For the election of the trade representatives, a market for the agents with a market share of less than 5% will be reserved. In no case can more than one company belonging to the same business group participate in this category.

For the election of the representatives of the distributors a square will be reserved for the holders of distribution facilities with a recognized annual fixed fee of less than 10% of the total. In no case can more than one company belonging to the same business group participate in this category.

For the choice of the industrial consumer representative, the Group Secretary will urge the applicants submitted to reach an agreement.

Each member shall be appointed for a period of two years and shall designate for the same period an alternate representative for the occasions when the holder is unable to attend.

The composition of the Group will be amended every two years on 1 April. To this end, the Secretary of the Working Group shall send a communication to the agents concerned at least one month in advance of the renewal date, which shall raise a proposed representation by complying with the provisions of this paragraph.

In the process of selecting the vowels, each business group, in each category in which it participates, will be able to cast a vote. All votes of all business groups will have the same weight.

The results of the process of choosing the vowels will be communicated to the National Commission of the Markets and the Competition, detailing the companies that have participated, how the process and the results have been developed.

12.2.3 Operation of the Working Group. The Working Group shall meet monthly In order to facilitate assistance, the schedule of regular meetings shall be fixed annually. The Secretary shall convene meetings on an extraordinary basis by decision of the President or at the request of more than five members of the Group, the National Markets and Competition Commission or the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines.

Any meeting of the Working Group attended by more than seven voting members will be considered valid. Any decision shall be taken by a simple majority and, in the event of a tie, shall be addressed by the President's vote of quality.

In order to be able to perform any replacement of a member of the Group, the Group must be informed prior to the meeting. In the event of not being able to attend either the titular vowel or the alternate, the vowels may delegate their vote to another member of the group, even if they always indicate the meaning of their vote and prior communication to the Registrar.

Any subject of the gas system may submit proposals for modification, revision or updating of the system's technical management standards and their detailed protocols.

Proposals should be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Working Group for inclusion on the agenda of the next meeting and may be submitted directly or through the chosen vowels. They shall clearly indicate the part of the rules or protocols to which they relate and their purpose, including, at least, title, summary, proposer, date, urgent character or not, the full text of the proposal and any supporting information required.

The Secretary shall forward the agenda for each meeting seven calendar days before the date scheduled for the meeting, indicating the proposals to be debated or put to a vote at the meeting, together with the proposals for amendments, revision or updating of the rules or protocols to be discussed, as well as any additional information deemed necessary.

The Working Group will decide on each proposal:

a) Whether it should be dealt with as a matter of urgency or not, for which consideration will be analyzed if any of the following circumstances occur:

The security or economic sustainability of the system may be affected.

The proposal is associated with an event of impending occurrence.

(b) In case of an urgent consideration, a Subgroup of Study shall be constituted for the immediate elaboration of the proposed modification, or the Technical Manager of the System shall be entrusted with the preparation of such a proposal. This proposal must be forwarded to the members of this Working Group for debate and vote, and to the National Commission on Markets and Competition, and to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism within a maximum of two weeks from the date of the vote. constitution of the Study Subgroup or since this task is entrusted to the System Technical Manager.

(c) If it is not considered urgent, it will be decided whether the proposal to amend or update the rules and protocols can begin to be drawn up, or whether the proposal requires further study; in the latter case, the President propose the creation of a Study Subgroup.

If it is considered that there is no need for further study, or once it has been developed, a Sub-group will be set up to prepare the proposal for updating or amending it. The Chair of the Working Group shall propose the composition of the sub-group, composed of members of the Gas System and of which the subject who has proposed the revision of the Standard, whether or not a member of the Working Group, will be a member.

The Sub-groups of Study and/or Redaction, as appropriate, shall, in addition to the proposal for amendment or update, draw up a report on the proposal, which shall indicate at least:

The implications of changes introduced for system management.

The economic implications for the affected agents.

The legal implications and for the regulatory framework.

The costs associated with your deployment.

The impact on the risk of the system provisioning warranty.

The alternative options, if any, and any discrepancies within the Subgroup.

A plan for deployment, if necessary.

The proposals approved by the Working Group will be forwarded by the Group President within a maximum of one month to the Directorate-General for Energy Policy of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism and the Commission National of Markets and Competition, indicating whether the proposal has the consensus of all members and including the following support information:

Report that includes allegations from all parties, including possible particular votes within the Group,

Impact of the same on the functioning of the system and its economic impacts,

The request for comments, as well as comments received.

The CNMC's compliance on whether the proposal is in line with the requirements of the Action Plan.

Once the Working Group meeting is held, the Secretary will write the minutes of the Working Group and send it to all members for compliance or comments.

The minutes of each meeting will be definitively approved at the next meeting.

The approved minutes, together with the documentation presented at the meetings, will be published by the Technical Manager of the System, so that they are accessible to subjects with activity in the Spanish gas sector.

12.2.4 Operation of the Study and Writing Subgroups. The Subgroups shall be directed by a Director and a Secretary elected among the members of the Working Group, not being able to belong to the same business group or to the same category as those described in paragraph 12.2.1. with the agreement of the other members of the voting group. Once such a choice has been made, the Chair of the Working Group shall make an invitation to take part in the Subgroup to the other participants within a period of 15 calendar days.

Any member of the Working Group may participate in the Subgroup, as well as any other person belonging to a company that may be represented in the Working Group. Exceptionally and with technical support functions, and subject to the authorization of the Working Group, persons other than the former may be invited to participate, provided that their experience related to the subject matter is advise.

There will be no initially limitation to the number of members, however, if at the unanimous discretion of the Director and Secretary it is considered that the number of enrollees will make the group not operative, these will propose to the Working Group that a limitation to the number of members is fixed. The limitation, in any case, will ensure an equitable representation of the companies and the participation of the best experts in the field.

The National Markets and Competition Commission and System Technical Manager will always be able to participate in all Subgroups.

The subgroup shall draw up its report and proposal for amendment or update, in accordance with paragraph 12.2.3, within a period not exceeding six months. This report shall be included on the agenda of the Working Group for discussion and decision with the proposal to which it relates.

The proposal for a standard or a detailed protocol should be forwarded to third parties who may be affected by their content to make comments that they consider appropriate within twenty calendar days.