Towards a more liberal gas market. First information from a periodical monitoring conducted by the President of URE.
In the first quarter of 2013, 146 TWh of methane-rich gas were fed into the gas transmission network, of which 83 TWh were transited to EU countries. The turnover of methane-rich gas in a virtual trading point reached 2.7 TWh on the over-the-counter (OTC) market and almost 1 TWH on the exchange. A large part of wholesale trade is still carried out in physical trading points and includes supplies for companies that have their own distribution networks. An average price of gas supplied under contracts concluded on the Polish Power Exchange amounted to PLN 118.92 per MWh. In March, the volume of gas purchase offers significantly exceeded the volume of gas sale offers on the spot market on the exchange, whereas on the forward market a reverse trend was observed. This information and more can be found in the first complete information on the natural gas market prepared on the basis of monitoring conducted by the President of URE.
All information prepared presents the general situation on the wholesale natural gas market, including information about gas exchange trading, data regarding the gas balance in the transmission network, monthly transmission capacity on cross-border interconnectors and the volume of unreserved transmission capacity.
The President of URE has implemented the periodical monitoring of the gas market in connection with a gradual liberalization of this market and deregulation of tariffs. A liquid wholesale gas market is one of the conditions for deregulation of prices in retail trading.
Information about trading in natural gas and its transmission will be published systematically, every month, on URE website under Liberalization of the gas market section (available only in Polish).
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Overview of situation on the wholesale natural gas market in 2012
In 2012, the wholesale segment of the natural gas market in Poland was still dominated by a single entity. The activity as regards the wholesale trade in natural gas in Poland, understood as the sale of gas to companies for further resale, was dominated by PGNiG SA company. It must be, however, emphasized that this segment is constantly developing.
In 2012, 97 entities were authorized to trade in gaseous fuels.
Companies from outside the PGNiG capital group purchased about 50% of natural gas from PGNiG SA, the remaining demand was satisfied with imported gas. The volume of gas these companies sold in 2012 equalled 5% of total sales and amounted to 707.47 million cubic metres.
In 2012, natural gas was traded only under bilateral contracts. The prices of gaseous fuel were based on tariffs and were not diversified depending on whether gas was purchased for the user’s own needs or for resale. Some gas trading companies purchased gas directly from mines, in which case the price was not determined in a tariff but was agreed under bilateral contracts.
In 2012 a new model of the Gas Market was being implemented. The detailed terms and conditions for using the transmission and distribution systems by the users were determined in the Transmission Grid Code and Distribution Grid Codes that entered into force on 1 January 2013. The new codes comply with the requirements set out in the law, in particular regarding the functioning of the regulated part of the gas system and calculation of tariffs for gaseous fuels, taking into account the rules formulated in the draft Network Code on Capacity Allocation Mechanisms (CAM NC). Some crucial changes that ensure trading in natural gas through access to market infrastructure (virtual trading point for gas and the exchange) as well as trading in natural gas on bilateral contracts market (OTC) were introduced. In December 2012, a gas trading market was launched on the Polish Power Exchange.