The natural gas sector will be regulated by a new law that transposes the EU principles stipulated in the Third Energy Package to the national legislation and defines the methods of organizing and managing the natural gas sector. The draft law was approved by the Government on October 28, IPN reports.
The bill stipulates the access ways to the market, the criteria and procedures used when providing licenses that allow transporting, distributing, supplying and storing natural gas and exploring the closed distribution systems.
“The implementation of the principles laid down in the Third Energy Package will contribute to the further reformation of the natural gas sector and to the creation of a competition-based market where the end-users will benefit from the right to be supplied with natural gas by the company of their choice, at reasonable prices, in conditions of quality, safety and efficiency,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Stephane Bride.
The bill extends the powers of the National Agency for Energy Regulation, including by allowing it to impose fines when the natural gas companies do not fulfill their obligations.
The current Law on Natural Gas, adopted in 2009, does not allow penalizing license holders out of court. Thus, the regulatory authority is unable to efficiently fulfill its duty to make sure that the participants in the natural gas market obey the legislation.
