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Court rules regulator had no reason to make Latvijas Gaze ensure third-party access to infrastructure

BC, Riga, 21.10.2016.Print version
The Public Utilities Commission had no reason to issue a regulation obliging Latvijas Gaze natural gas utility to allow third parties, including Latvenergo power utility, to access its gas transmission, distribution and supply infrastructure, the Administrative Regional Court ruled today, writes LETA.

The court, however, did not invalidate the regulator's decision, and court proceedings between Latvijas Gaze and the Public Utilities Commission are ongoing.


In May 2016, Latvijas Gaze asked the Public Utilities Commission to for a temporary suspension of third persons’ rights to use the company’s natural gas infrastructure for transportation of natural gas purchased from other suppliers for consumption in Latvia’s territory.


The regulator, however, decided in August not to grant Latvijas Gaze the derogation, thus obliging the gas company to ensure third party access to its infrastructure.


In today’s ruling, the Administrative Regional Court said that the Public Utilities Commission had no grounds to decide on granting the derogation as such, as Latvijas Gaze had only asked to restrict end-users’ rights to choose the supplier, which are restricted under the Energy Law’s temporary provisions, effective until April 3, 2017.


But because the regulator had no authority to decide the matter, the court rejected Latvijas Gaze’s request to apply a temporary regulation and suspend the Public Utilities Commission’s decision. This means that the legal dispute between Latvijas Gaze and the Public Utilities Commission will continue.


Today’s court ruling can be appealed before the Administrative Cases Department of the Latvian Supreme Court.


As reported, Latvenergo wished to make a test purchase of gas from a Lithuanian supplier already in March. Lithuania's Litgas had expressed readiness to supply gas to Latvenergo for a better price than offered by Latvijas Gaze.


Latvernergo at an auction in March purchased 5.2 million cubic meters of gas from Gazprom Export, a subsidiary of Russian gas concern Gazprom, and turned to Latvijas Gaze with two applications regarding storage of gas in its Incukalns underground natural gas storage facility for a certain period of time.


The Latvian government on February 9 adopted regulations on supply and use of natural gas, allowing companies to purchase gas outside Latvia. The new regulations allow Latvenergo purchase gas from the third parties before liberalization of the gas market in 2017.







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