- Introduction of New Market Structure
- Restrictions to Third-Party Access?
- Far-Reaching Unbundling Requirements with Peculiar Effects?
On July 1 2005 the Natural Gas Act1 was replaced by a revised act2 which implements the Natural Gas Directive.3 The implementation was thus exactly one year late since the directive should have been implemented on July 1 2004.
Introduction of New Market Structure
The directive's requirement to designate transmission and distribution system operators - which need to be legally and functionally unbundled4 - is implemented by the act under the following principles:
- The act introduces a 'system responsible authority', which has a general responsibility for maintaining the short-term balance between input and offtake in the national gas system. The state utility Svenska Kraftnät has been appointed as system responsible authority under the act.
