Brussels, 26/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 July, the European Commission released the German energy sector company E.ON from its commitments to reduce its long-term reservations on the German gas network, almost five years ahead of schedule.
It explained that the implementation of the commitments had led to a significant increase in competition on the market. “Since E.ON started to reduce its long-term bookings of pipeline capacity, other companies have been able to enter and take part in the German gas market. The commitments have resolved the competition problem even quicker than expected and are no longer needed now”, the Commissioner with responsibility for the dossier, Margrethe Vestager, explained in a press release.
Access to gas pipelines is vital for new market entrants. In May 2010, the Commission accepted commitments from E.ON to release large volumes of gas pipeline capacity and to further reduce its bookings of long-term entry capacity on the NetConnect Germany grid. The commitments were originally due to last until April 2021. By request of E.ON, the Commission reassessed the market situation and concluded that, due to this material change in the structure of the German gas market, the commitments were no longer necessary to ensure sufficient gas transport capacity for E.ON's competitors. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)