ECONOMIC MODEL OF GRTgaz

Natural gas transmission in Europe is a regulated activity.

Transmission operators possess infrastructures that make them "natural monopolies" in their respective geographical zones.

For this reason, in France, the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Employment and the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) are responsible for establishing a framework and rules to ensure that the gas (and electricity) market works properly and for overseeing their implementation.

In France, natural gas transmission is regulated by the law of August 9, 2004.

This law lays public service obligations on the transmission operator but also imposes the neutrality and transparency needed to ensure competition between gas operators.

The public service obligation :

The transmission operator must guarantee that its system is able to handle an increase in transmission capacity during unusually cold spells. This public service obligation partly governs the nature of investment in the transmission system.

Nondiscrimination :

The transmission operator must also treat its customers without discrimination in order to promote competition.
The tariff structure – the price charged for transmission services – must therefore be the same for everyone. It is set by the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Employment on the basis of proposals put forward by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The tariff structure proposed by the regulator reflects the revenue required by the transmission operator to cover its operating and investment costs.