Security Of Gas Supply And Energy Market Regulation

The introduction of liberalisation and concepts such as third-party access, network ownership unbundling and competition in the EU's internal energy market following the first, second and third sets of EU legislative packages and directives had the effect of requiring Member States to significantly alter the regulatory and organisational structures of their energy markets, including traditional ways of promoting energy security. Consequently, state-owned or controlled vertically-integrated operators or centrally administered energy markets now have to meet the demands of open access and competition. There is also a shift away from traditional long-term gas supply contracts, towards more short-term spot-markets and trading hubs. Although, long-term supply arrangements could be seen as a means of achieving security of supply, it can also become an instrument which 'locks-in' ex ante investments in commercial arrangements with supplier(s) whose broader geopolitical and economic interests may be incompatible with the peculiar interests of the consuming state(s) or purchaser undertaking(s). Geopolitical conflicts relating to external suppliers, import dependency, declining regional gas production and the interconnectedness of gas and electricity markets, competitiveness of gas utilisation in the energy mix are some essential factors affecting the reliability and security of energy supply. This paper aims to examine some of the key regulatory and policy issues affecting the security of gas supply in the evolving EU internal energy market. It focuses on the dynamics of securing the availability and reliability of gas for electricity generation from a legal and regulatory perspective.