Irish regulator looks to NBP balancing for EU code compliance

The Irish republic’s Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) said that allowing Irish system operator Gaslink access to balancing at the British NBP gas hub may provide a suitable interim measure to comply with EU regulations.

The Irish gas industry has grappled with how to implement the EU’s uniform code on balancing, which saw the proposals split in two after push-back from shippers. Nominations, allocations and information provision will comply with EU standards from October 2015.

“It is the CER’s view that given the dependency of Ireland on gas flows from the UK in the longer term, that there will be a need to have access to balancing gas at a UK platform,” the regulator said.

“The CER considers that creating trading access for the Irish TSO within the UK balancing market will meet the objective of facilitating greater market integration, by creating strong linkages to the NBP, which is recognised as one of the most liquid hubs in Europe,” it added.

System operator Gaslink will conduct a feasibility study into use of the NBP as part of its raft of measures aimed at creating a liquid balancing market in Ireland. These include the gradual tightening of imbalance tolerances aimed at making shippers take more responsibility for balancing their portfolios.

These issues were carved out of the wider implementation of EU codes set to go ahead in October 2015 in Ireland. The aim remains to establish either a balancing or traded platform for the Irish market in the future,

A number of shippers had complained during a consultation that the cost of new legislation appeared excessively punitive and came at a time when shippers are having to adapt to a large amount of change.

The CER said it had been in contact with British and Northern Irish energy regulators on the proposals, who have not expressed any concerns. Albert Evans