The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), in an opinion published on 2 July, has said that the development plan for the gas network of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) needs to be improved.
ACER has published its opinion on ENTSOG’s draft Ten-Year Network Development Plan for 2018.
ACER welcomes the various improvements included in this Plan in comparison to previous editions, and finds that it “contributes to the principles of non-discrimination, effective competition, and secure functioning of the gas market”, according to a press release. However, ACER notes that the Plan “may not sufficiently contribute to the efficient functioning of the system”. In particular, the identified shortcomings are related to the quality and the implementation of the cost-benefit analysis methodology, the insufficient analysis of the use of gas infrastructure, and the inclusion in the plan of a broad portfolio of projects which clearly exceeds the reasonable needs.
ACER encourages ENTSOG to implement the Agency’s “short-term” recommendations when finalising the TYNDP. The Agency expects ENTSOG to start working on implementing the Agency’s “long-term” recommendations, for full application in the next TYNDP 2020. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)