(Berlin, Germany) - The German Federal Cabinet has approved the amendment to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and other energy law regulations to implement the European Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Package. This is intended to anchor the EU requirements in national energy law. Furthermore, it creates the legal framework for "the orderly development of the gas market and for the future hydrogen market."
The draft law contains numerous technical specifications for market design and the regulation of gas and hydrogen infrastructure for the future hydrogen ramp-up. These include, among other things, the certification and unbundling of hydrogen and gas network operators, as well as the labeling of renewable and low-carbon gases and hydrogen by suppliers to end consumers; furthermore, regulations for the development of future distribution networks, which would be planned regionally or locally, taking into account the respective local conditions, in particular municipal heat planning.
No obligation to dismantle gas networks
There is no obligation to decommission or dismantle gas networks – not even those that are permanently taken out of service. Dismantling is not considered practical, due in part to the enormous costs involved and the potential for alternative uses of the affected pipelines. However, should gas demand in municipalities or regions decline significantly in the future (for example, in residential areas supplied with district heating or cooling), gas pipelines could potentially be repurposed for hydrogen or – if they are truly unusable for any other purpose – decommissioned.
Strict conditions apply to protect the consumers concerned. In addition to long lead times of at least ten years and comprehensive information obligations, it is stipulated that planned disconnections of gas network connections are inadmissible if it is foreseeable that no alternative heat supply will be available at the time of the intended disconnection.
The document also specifically regulates priority grid connection and extended protection of legitimate expectations for biomethane production plants. In the event of a planned disconnection of a grid connection (for example, in the case of conversion to hydrogen or decommissioning of a gas pipeline), an extended period of 20 years from commissioning should apply to such existing plants.
The “Draft of a law amending the Energy Industry Act and other energy law regulations to implement the European Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Package” is available as PDF (280 pages).
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The German Federal Cabinet has approved the amendment to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and other energy-related regulations to implement the European Gas and Hydrogen Internal Market Package. The Bundestag will now have the final say. © Federal Government / Domestic Protocol
