Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1985 > Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies > Report No. 03 - Bord Gais Eireannn

APPENDIX 6

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE

of 13 February 1975 on the restriction of the use of natural gas in power sations

(75/404/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 103(4) thereof;

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament(¹);

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (²);

Whereas the implementation of a Community energy policy is one of the objectives that the Communities have set themselves;

Whereas the security of Community energy supplies requires the development of all its sources of energy;

Whereas natural gas is one such Community source of energy, but quantities available are limited;

Whereas natural gas should be reserved in the first instance for those applications for which it can be most profitably used;

Whereas natural gas has great advantages for certain specific uses;

Whereas natural gas should consequently be converted into electricity only when it cannot be used for other purposes, or in cases of technical or economic necessity;

Whereas special reasons relating to the protection of the environment can, in certain cases, likewise necessitate the use of natural gas in power stations;

Whereas the main economic and technical reasons for the use of natural gas in power stations are the following:

—the quantities of natural gas available cannot for the moment be disposed of in any other way owing to the absence of a suitable transport and distribution network;

—the quantities of natural gas available cannot be disposed of on the premium market with the necessary regularity on account of seasonal variations in sales which necessitate the conclusion of contracts providing for the possibility of interrupting deliveries;

—the available means of transport cannot be exclusively used for supplying the premium market while a natural gas distribution network is being constructed;

—no fuels other than natural gas are available;

Whereas the conclusion of contracts for the supply of natural gas to power stations and the construction of new power stations using natural gas should for those reasons be subject to government authorization;

Whereas it is necessary in the interests of optimum allocation of resources and security of supplies to prevent the use of natural gas being covered by provisions which differ from one Member State to another,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

1.The conclusion of new contracts for the supply of natural gas to power stations, the extension of contracts upon expiry and the construction of new power stations using natural gas must be subject to prior authorization by the authorities of the Member State responsible for the power station concerned.

2.Authorization for contracts providing for the possibility of interruptible deliveries may be granted:

—if the use of natural gas in a power station proves necessary for technical reasons, or

—if the natural gas cannot be put to a more profitable use.

3.Authorization for contracts providing for uninterruptible deliveries may only be granted:

—if the use of natural gas in a power station proves necessary for technical reasons,

—if the natural gas is intended for use in a power station having a capacity of less than 10 MWe or is intended exclusively for the production of peak or reserve envergy,

—if the gas is used solely to ignite and to maintain the combustion of other products and if its total energy contribution remains small, or

—if special reasons relating to the protection of the environment necessitate the use of natural gas in a power station.

4.In exceptional cases which are not covered by paragraph 2 or 3 the use of natural gas in a power station may be authorized, in particular for economic reasons, by the Member States, who shall inform the Commission thereof.

Article 2

Where existing contracts for the supply of natural gas do not fulfil the conditions of the second and third paragraphs of Article 1, Member States shall encourage the cancellation of such contracts by mutual agreement between the contracting parties.

Article 3

Any authorization granted by a Member State pursuant to Article 1 and any measures taken pursuant to Article 2 shall be notified to the Commission, accompanied by a detailed statement of the reasons justifying the action taken.

Article 4

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than 31 December 1975.

Article 5

More stringent national measures restricting the use of natural gas in power stations and conforming with the provisions of this Directive may be maintained or adopted.

Article 6

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 13 February 1975.

For the Council

The President

P. BARRY

S.I. No. 73 of 1978

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NATURAL GAS IN POWER STATIONS) REGULATIONS, 1978

I, Desmond O’Malley, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 75/404/EEC*, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Natural Gas in Power Stations) Regulations, 1978, and shall come into operation on the 2nd day of March 1978.

2. (I) In these Regulations -

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Minister authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

“the Directive” means Council Directive No. 75/404/EEC*;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy;

“natural gas” means any gas derived from natural strata, whether or not it has been subjected to liquefaction or any other process of treatment.

(2) A word or expression used in these Regulations and also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Directive.

3. The conclusion of contracts for the supply of natural gas to power stations, the extension of such contracts on expiry and the construction of new power stations using natural gas shall be subject to prior authorisation by the Minister.

4. An authorisation under these Regulations may be granted only in the cases specified in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article I of the Directive.

5. (1) A person who in contravention of Regulation 3 of these Regulations concludes or extends a contract or causes the construction of a new power station, or who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer of the Minister who is exercising or proposing to exercise a power conferred on him by Regulation 6 of these Regulations, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.

(2) Where an offence under these Regulations committed by a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons is proved to have been committed with the consent of connivance of any person who is a director, manager, secretary, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body or any other similar officer of the body, or to be attributable to neglect on the part of such a person, that person shall also be guilty of that offence.

(3) A prosecution for an offence under these Regulations may be brought by the Minister.

6. (1) An authorised officer may at any reasonable time enter any power station or other building or premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not these Regulations are being complied with and may for that purpose carry out in the station, building or premises any investigation or examination, or inspect or take copies of any document found in the station, building or premises and relating to a contract, proposed contract, extended contract or proposed extended contract for which the prior authorisation of the Minister is required by these Regulations.

(2) The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a certificate of his appointment and, when exercising any powers conferred by these Regulations, the officer shall, if required by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These regulations give effect to Council Directive of the European Communities of 13 February 1975 (75/404/EEC). The regulations require that the conclusion of contracts for the supply of natural gas to power stations the extension of such contracts on expiry and the construction of new power stations using natural gas shall be subject to prior authorisation by the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy.

Published by the Stationery Office, Dublin 4 - Price 6 pence.

(¹) OJ No C 93, 7. 8. 1974, p. 79.

(²) OJ No C 125, 16. 10. 1974, p. 58.

* CJ No. L 178/24, 9.7. 1975, p.p 24 and 25