CEER publishes “ACER-CEER Consultancy study on the impact of the measures included in the EU and National Gas Storage Regulations”
Today, ACER and the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) publish
the second part of a two-fold consultancy study
on the impact of the EU and national gas storage regulations.
What is the study about?
ACER and CEER commissioned a consultancy (VIS Economic & Energy Consultants) to analyse the measures adopted by Member States to strengthen the use of underground storage facilities in the EU and their contribution to the objectives of the EU gas storage regulation.
The first part of the study (published in October 2023) focused on collecting and assessing storage measures recently applied by EU Member States. This second part assesses storage arrangements in Member States without gas storage facilities, identifies lessons learnt and makes recommendations for better use and implementation of storage measures.
What are the key lessons learnt and recommendations?
- Support schemes for storage: They have motivated market participants to use storage, especially when contracting capacity is linked with filling targets. These schemes should complement storage users’ obligations.
- Storage filling of last resort: The efficiency of this measure could be enhanced by facilitating access to futures markets for price hedging and by implementing a strategy for releasing gas stocks back into the market.
- Cross-border impacts and cost recovery: The release of gas stocks should not oblige entities to reserve excess capacity at cross-border interconnection points (IPs). Cost recovery mechanisms should not include charges and levies imposed at IPs.
- Use-it-or-lose-it mechanism of storage capacity: A congestion management mechanism including a streamlined process for capacity release at specific milestones is useful for efficient use of storage capacity.
- Contracts for differences (CfDs): They should be defined and offered well in advance of the injection period. Direct subsidies should be provided as a last resort only if the interest in CfDs is limited.
Want to know more?
On 12 March 2024, ACER and CEER are hosting a
webinar to present the study, offer insights into the ongoing implementation of the EU gas storage Regulation and engage with stakeholders.
