Polish GSA Platform selected by ACER for capacity booking at IPs on the Polish-German border
On 16th October 2018, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) issued a decision according to which the Polish GSA Platform will be used for capacity booking at the “Mallnow” and “GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS” interconnection points by the German transmission grid operators GASCADE and ONTRAS as well as the Polish transmission system operator GAZ-SYSTEM and the operator of the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline GAZ-SYSTEM ISO.
Yearly product auctions for the “Mallnow” and “GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS” points.
The ACER's decision means that the auctions of the yearly product for the gas year 2019/2020 for the following interconnection points:
• GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS Entry Point at the Polish-German border
• GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS Exit Point at the Polish-German border
• TGPS Mallnow Exit Point
• TGPS Mallnow Reverse Flow Point
will be offered as a bundled product and will be made available on the GSA Platform in accordance with the applicable auction calendar.
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GSA Platform is an independent, proprietary advanced IT tool for offering capacity in natural gas transmission systems. It was established in July 2014 in response to the requirements of the European Network Code for Transmission System Capacity Allocation Mechanisms (Commission Regulation (EU) 984/2013 (CAM NC), according to which interconnection capacity was to be made available through auctions. Market participants may use the GSA Platform to book capacity at interconnection points, which is made available by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. as the operator of the national transmission system and the operator of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe transit gas pipeline system. The GSA Platform also makes available capacity offered by the Czech operator NET4GAS as part of the bundled product offered at the Cieszyn IP. Capacity is offered on the GSA Platform in the form of annual, quarterly, monthly, daily and intraday products, as well as the capacity available secondary market offers.
Capacity allocation solutions offered on the GSA Platform are available to any Transmission System Operator interested in using instruments which are tailored to its technical and market requirements while ensuring attractive pricing conditions. Participation in auctions is free of charge for market participants and based on communication standards which rely on open protocols and messages (AS2, AS4, edig@s 5.1), thus guaranteeing easy integration and transparency of the system. The stability, efficiency and security of this system is ensured by round-the-clock technical support and confirmed by international standards of security and data protection.
The decision is the final step in the proceedings which were conducted by ACER since 19 April 2018 to select one of the three existing capacity booking platforms for the points at the Polish-German border, and was initiated in accordance with Article 37(3) of the Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/459 of 16 March 2017 establishing a network code concerning capacity allocation mechanisms in gas transmission systems and repealing Regulation (EU) No 984/2013 (CAM NC).
Piotr Kuś, GSA Platform Representative, points out that the offer submitted by the GSA Platform for the auctions of interconnection capacity on the Polish-German border gained the highest number of points in accordance with ACER criteria: IT security, governance and compliance with legal requirements, user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness. ‘ACER's decision confirms the quality and competitiveness of the services provided by the GSA Platform, which will enable its further development and offering its services to new European partners’ emphasizes Piotr Kuś.
Steps of ACER’s proceedings
The proceedings included a hearing organised on 18 May 2018 at the ACER headquarters in Ljubljana, attended by the representatives of the Polish and German energy market regulators (ERO and BNetzA) as well as the representatives of the concerned system operators. During the meeting, the key evaluation criteria were presented, which were taken into account in the subsequent stages of the evaluation of the platforms.
ACER also organised a workshop in Ljubljana on 19 June 2018, during which representatives of the platforms presented their services and directly answered questions asked by market participants, regulators and operators. During the meeting, the Agency also indicated the list of criteria it recommends for inclusion in the platform assessment process, and announced public consultations. Market participants were able to express their views by indicating which criteria they consider to be of particular relevance and which other elements should be assessed by ACER.
After reviewing the received responses, the Agency decided to adopt nine criteria falling into three categories: IT security, governance and user-friendliness.
Subsequently, representatives of the platforms until 10 August 2018 have the opportunity to submit an offer for a benefit capacity reservation services for 'Mallnow' and 'GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS' IPs for a period of 3 years. The offers were evaluated by the Agency, where scoring points were assigned for the price offered and the fulfilment of nine criteria selected as a result of prior discussions and consultations. As a result, the highest number of scoring points was obtained by the GSA Platform and the decision was made to grant it the status of the capacity booking platform interconnections “Mallnow” and “GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS” interconnections, for the following three years.
The ACER communication and the full text of the Agency’s Decision are available here.
The ACER's decision means that the auctions of the yearly product for the gas year 2019/2020 for the following interconnection points:
• GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS Entry Point at the Polish-German border
• GCP GAZ-SYSTEM/ONTRAS Exit Point at the Polish-German border
• TGPS Mallnow Exit Point
• TGPS Mallnow Reverse Flow Point
will be offered as a bundled product and will be made available on the GSA Platform in accordance with the applicable auction calendar.
***
GSA Platform is an independent, proprietary advanced IT tool for offering capacity in natural gas transmission systems. It was established in July 2014 in response to the requirements of the European Network Code for Transmission System Capacity Allocation Mechanisms (Commission Regulation (EU) 984/2013 (CAM NC), according to which interconnection capacity was to be made available through auctions. Market participants may use the GSA Platform to book capacity at interconnection points, which is made available by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. as the operator of the national transmission system and the operator of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe transit gas pipeline system. The GSA Platform also makes available capacity offered by the Czech operator NET4GAS as part of the bundled product offered at the Cieszyn IP. Capacity is offered on the GSA Platform in the form of annual, quarterly, monthly, daily and intraday products, as well as the capacity available secondary market offers.
Capacity allocation solutions offered on the GSA Platform are available to any Transmission System Operator interested in using instruments which are tailored to its technical and market requirements while ensuring attractive pricing conditions. Participation in auctions is free of charge for market participants and based on communication standards which rely on open protocols and messages (AS2, AS4, edig@s 5.1), thus guaranteeing easy integration and transparency of the system. The stability, efficiency and security of this system is ensured by round-the-clock technical support and confirmed by international standards of security and data protection.