Report on the situation on the Austrian flexibility and storage market
In line with Directive 2009/73/EC and its transposition into Austrian law by way of the Gaswirtschaftsgesetz (Natural Gas Act) 2011, the regulatory authority must, pursuant to section 98(2) Natural Gas Act 2011, draw up a report on the situation on the Austrian flexibility and storage market. On the basis of this report, the Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy may issue an ordinance pursuant to section 98(1) Natural Gas Act 2011 to introduce regulated access to natural gas storage facilities instead of the current negotiated access regime. Section 98(3) Natural Gas Act 2011 requires the regulator to draw up such a report at least every three years.
This is the background against which the report at hand re-evaluates the relevant parameters: pursuant to section 98(2) Natural Gas Act 2011, the regulatory authority must assess the level of competition on the storage market by referencing price comparisons, the range of products on offer and their use, the market concentration (supply and demand side) with consideration of the availability of alternative sources of flexibility, and the availability of storage capacity compared to demand for it.
To honor the storage system operators’ right to comment on the report, they were consulted before the report was issued, in July 2015. Comments were taken into account. Pursuant to section 98(3) Natural Gas Act 2011, we herewith present the final report.