Under Section 16(1) of the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 the CER may grant to any person a licence to operate pipelines in order to carry out the transmission of natural gas. Regulation 11 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas) (BGÉ) Regulations 2005 (SI No. 760 of 2005) required that an independent subsidiary company of Bord Gáis Eireann be given responsibility for operating the Bord Gáis Eireann (BGÉ) transportation system.
The CER confers the rights to build and operate natural gas pipelines in certain areas by means of a Section 2(1) Order. On 4 July 2008, Gaslink was licensed to operate the transmission pipelines. Gaslink is the independent system operator with responsibility for developing, maintaining and operating the natural gas transportation system in Ireland on a fair and non-discriminatory basis. Gaslink was established in compliance with the unbundling requirements of the EU Gas Directive 2003/55/EC. BGÉ (UK) are licenced to operate the South North Pipeline (SNP) running from Gormanstown in Co. Meath to Ballyclare in Co. Antrim.
Currently BGÉ is the licenced owner of the transmission pipelines. However the possibility exists for other entities to build and operate a transmission network. In aiming to promote competition in the market, the transmission owner's licence for BGÉ therefore regulates BGÉ’s activities in such a way as to allow for fair and non-discriminatory access to the market by competitors.
The licensing regime has taken into account the dominant market position of BGÉ as the vertically integrated incumbent and the need to prohibit practices, which could prevent effective and fair competition developing within the market. To this end, Gaslink ensures non-discriminatory access to the natural gas network and avoids conflicts of interest in the gas supply market.
Please click on the links below to view the Transmission Asset Owner Licence granted to BGÉ the Transmission Operator Licence granted to Gaslink and the South North Pipeline Licence granted to BGÉ (UK).
Please click here to view the transmission licence granted to BGÉ prior to the establishment of Gaslink- BGÉ Transmission Licence cer04309.pdf (0.43 MB, Adobe PDF)