New Czech-Austria Capacity Trade Launch

The Austrian and the Czech gas transmission system operators Gas Connect Austria and Net4gas are trialling a new service called Trading Region Upgrade (TRU), they said June 11. From July 2, shippers will be able to bid for direct bilateral capacity contracts lasting initially up to one year.

This will be the first time that shippers will have the opportunity to have their gas shipped directly from Austria to the Czech Republic and vice versa with a single contract, including trading hubs, they said. "This facilitates cross-border transports and reduces transaction costs for the customers, as booking can be made on a one-stop-shop basis. Cross-border transactions from Austria to the Czech gas market are provided by Gas Connect Austria, transactions from the Czech Republic to the Austrian gas market by Net4gas."

The main aim is to simplify transaction procedures and reduce transaction costs, they said. In the past it has been necessary to bid for capacity to exit exit one grid and enter another, paying for both. There have been other difficulties too with contractual aspects of cross-border gas trade, such as the TSOs on either side having different definitions of firm capacity and how it may be withdrawn, creating risk for the customer.

The two companies said they were also realising the interest of the European Union in bringing markets together in an easy and cost-efficient way.