GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. has received a certificate of independence with respect to its operatorship of the Polish section of the Yamal - Western Europe pipeline
Pursuant to the decision of the President of ERO dated 19 May 2015, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. has received a certificate of independence with respect to its operatorship of the Polish Section of the Yamal - Western Europe pipeline owned by EuRopol GAZ s.a. The operatorship of the Transit Gas Pipeline System is performed by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. according to the guidelines set out in Directive 2009/73/EC under the ISO (Independent System Operator) model.
The certificate of independence confirms that GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. remains independent legally, organisationally and in terms of decision-making from other activities not related to gas transmission. According to the regulation, the TSO's role may only be fulfilled by an entity which has received a decisionfrom the President of ERO granting the certificate of independence. Prior to issuing such a certificate, the regulator undertakes an investigation procedure to verify whether the operator fulfils the requirements set out in the Energy Law Act (Article 9d Section 1a) which ensure its fully independent conduct. In addition, the President of ERO consults the European Commission and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as required under the Energy Law Act.
In the course of the certification procedure which continued since March 2014, the European Commission issued its opinions putting forward recommendations which were taken into account by the national regulatory authority. Among other things, the Commission addressed the question of day-to-day operation of gas compressor stations and metering stations located along the Polish section of the Yamal Pipeline and obligated the President of ERO to assess whether the certification of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. would not undermine the safety of gas supply to Poland and other EU countries.
The President of ERO carried out such assessment and determined that the granting of a certificate of independence to GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. under the ISO model would not affect the safety of gas supply. What is more, the conclusions from the analysis of the collected evidence clearly confirm that the granting of a certificate of independence to the Company under the ISO model will reinforce the safety of gas supply to Poland and other EU countries.
In addition, having regard to an opinion of the European Commission, in its decision, the President of ERO recommended that GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. takes charge of the day-to-day operation of gas compressor stations and metering stations along the Polish section of the Yamal - Western Europe gas pipeline within 24 months of the decision becoming final and binding.
Before, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. obtained a decision of the President of ERO dated 22 September 2014 granting a certificate of independence in connection with the operatorship of the company's own networks.
