On April 19, 2012 the National Commission carrying out the regulation in the energy sector adopted the Provision "On approval of procedure for access to the Single gastransport system of Ukraine."

As we wrote in our March newsletter, the Provision has been developed by NERC in pursuance of clause 15 part 3 article 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Principles of Functioning of the Natural Gas Market".

According to the Provision, "the main principle for natural gas market players' access to the gas transportation system is securing the provision of the same (equal) access rights to all participants of the natural gas market."

In the opinion of the authors of the Draft Provision, the approval of the Procedure will contribute to:

  • the protection of rights and interests of each gas market participant;
  • the establishment of consequent and transparent procedures for the provision of services on gas transportation through main and distribution pipelines;
  • gas storage, connection of gas supply objects of clients to the main and distribution pipelines;
  • the increase of the mutual responsibility of gas production, gas transportation, gas distribution companies and natural gas consumers.

It is noteworthy that the elaborated Procedure makes no mention of the access of biogas producers to the gas transportation system, though Ukraine, being a member of the Energy Community, "...shall adopt its normative and regulatory basis on issues of the general functioning of the internal natural gas market in compliance with requirements of the Directive 2003/55/ЕС till 1 January 2012". This Directive sets forth the following: "the rules established by this Directive for natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, shall also apply to biogas and gas produced from biomass", and "Member States should ensure that, taking into account the necessary quality requirements, biogas and gas from biomass or other types of gas are granted non-discriminatory access to the gas system".

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