FAQ

There is no charge for terminating the connection but you do have to bear in mind the 3-month notice period. Your contractual obligations remain in force until the actual termination date.

Any contracted capacity cannot unfortunately be cancelled, except in the case of bankruptcy or business cessation, when contractual obligations arising from booked capacity are also terminated. 50% of the tariff of the remaining booking will be charged to the holder of the capacity for that.

Article 16 of the General Conditions for Connection Agreements, version 3.1 accompanying the connection agreement  describe the conditions under which termination is possible.

In addition, article 6.A.11 of the TSC deals with the supply of transmission capacity in the event of bankruptcy or business cessation.

Here you will find a document with Frequently Asked Questions on B2B.

Yes, traders also need to be informed about the balancing regime and needs to be able to receive and send all the related messages.
Although, fundamentally, a trader will not experience imbalances quickly, it may be the case that an imbalance occurs between entry and exit in the portfolio, e.g. due to incorrect  portfolio management or an error in the nominations/confirmations with counterparties.

If you want to become an offeror on the gas exchange you must satisfy a number of requirements. Click here for the website of ICE Endex. If you can trade on the exchange of ICE Endex that is sufficient to offer flexibility to the gas exchange in the run-up to a balancing action. GTS does not propose any additional requirements.

It is important that both minimum and maximum capacity are known. The maximum capacity is given in normal cubic metres per hour at a temperature of 0°C and a pressure of 1013 mbar and with an energy content Hs of 35,17 MJ/m3. The maximum capacity is a determining factor for the design and dimensions of the connection point. We need the minimum capacity in conjunction with the off-take pattern in order to verify the measuring equipment provided by connected parties.

The off-take pattern raises questions about anticipated use. For example, connected parties may consume more gas in the winter for space heating, so a summer/winter pattern is involved here. Sometimes there is also a continuous (low) basic off-take with regular peaks that are a multiple of the basic off-take.
In brief, the off-take pattern indicates how connected parties’ installations are operated and provides insight into the possible fluctuations in gas consumption between minimum and maximum capacity.

Only interruptible capacity can be booked via an emergency procedure.

Yes, this is possible. It is not necessary to first transfer the unbundled capacity (through the VIP transfer service) to the VIP. You can indicate during your auction bid on PRISMA the amount of unbundled capacity you wish to convert and the contract number (“BookingID”)that can be reduced by the same amount.

As well as providing certainty about the identity of the owner, certificates offer the possibility of encryption. Encryption and integrity are key prerequisites for secure internet communication. There are many ways to encrypt and secure files. However, in practice, the public and private key method has proved the most reliable. This method uses two keys, a public and a private key. The sender encrypts the messages using the recipient’s public key. To render the message legible again, the recipient decrypts it using his private key. This happens automatically for communication with GTS. Put simply, a certificate ensures that through a combination of a user name and a password, you can log in on secure parts of the GTS website.

A certificate is valid for three years.

The lead time depends on a number of factors. If your IT system is suitable for electronic messaging or if you use a service provider who is familiar with GTS, then it will usually be possible to complete the process within a few weeks. The time required will also depend on how quickly staff respond and their availability. You should allow for a lead time of at least four weeks.

In 2017, new legislation for emission standards come into force for existing medium-sized combustion installations which are used by industries, companies and non-residential buildings.

As from 1 January 2017, existing so called medium-sized combustion installations (> 1MW, < 50MW) have to comply to the new emission requirements. The NOx emission requirement which is iimposed  by the Government is less than 70 mg/m30 at 3% O2.

The possibilities to achieve this are:

• optimization of burner settings
• adjustment of the burner construction or new burner(s) and/or boilers
• the application of exhaust gas circulation.

You can get a licence before you use our services. There is no requirement to use the licence as soon as you get it. Nor will the licence run out.

All invoices from GTS are based on the contractual obligation that customers enter into with GTS. The invoices can be downloaded from Gasport (online customer portal). Under 'Financial - Invoices - Accounts payable' all outstanding debit invoices can be downloaded and under ‘Financial – Invoices – Invoices’ all invoices – historical and outstanding – can be downloaded.

The various types of Invoices are  published in the billing calendar.

Two qualities of gas are transported in GTS’s transmission grid, i.e. H-gas (high-calorific gas) and G-gas (low-calorific or Groningen gas). An important measure for gas quality is the Wobbe index. The "Regeling gaskwaliteit" contains the Wobbe ranges.
You can indicate a preference for H-gas or G-gas on the "Application form new connection". Whether the preference indicated by a connected party can be honoured depends on the proximity of an H-gas or G-gas pipeline and the available capacity in the H- or G-gas system.

The connected party can state the desired pressure or pre-pressure at the connection point in bar (o). The gas transmission grid has two networks, the RTL (regional transmission line) and the HTL (high-pressure transmission line). The RTL has a maximum pressure of 40 bar(o) and the HTL a maximum pressure of 67 or 80 bar(o). The effective pressure at the connection point is dependent on the distance from a compressor station or a metering and pressure-regulating station. The RTL network has a minimum pressure of ca. 8 bar(o) and the HTL network a minimum pressure of ca. 40 bar(o). If possible, we will take account of the desired pressure put forward by a connected party.

All invoices from GTS are based on the contractual obligation that customers enter into with GTS. The invoices can be downloaded from Gasport (online customer portal). Under 'Financial - Invoices - Accounts payable' all outstanding debit invoices can be downloaded and under ‘Financial – Invoices – Invoices’ all invoices – historical and outstanding – can be downloaded.

Yes, although you do not receive an invoice for the daily imbalance charge, we have.Article 21(2) of BAL NC states that the daily imbalance quantity calculation shall be adapted accordingly where a linepack flexibility service is offered; GTS offers such a service (and where you do get an invoice for) in such a way that the outcome of the calculation for the daily imbalance quantity is always zero. As that is the case, the daily imbalance charge is consequently also always zero. Obviously we will not send you an invoice for that.

Because we understand that it is still important to maintain an incentive on the network users to be in balance at the end of the gas day, we implemented a Linepack Flexibility Service, for which you do receive an invoice every month.

Yes, we do, and as explained in [the question before]  we know it is zero.

Yes, you can ask us to return all or part of your additional securities if you expect that you will no longer need the additional credit. The financial securities must be valid for at least 4 months after the end date of the longest transmission booking contract. If, for example, a transmission contract has expired, surplus unused credit becomes available. Your credit limit must at least cover your exposure but we advise you to keep a minimum of 15% of your credit limit as surplus unused credit.

No, in case your organization features a valid “warehouse arrangement”, VAT can be excluded when calculating your exposure and related credit limit. 

The changed creditworthiness policy is also applicable for your organization. When determining your exposure, you need to take into account a 21% VAT. If you have any further questions, please contact industriedesk@gastransport.nl, Telephone: +31 50 521 33 33.

The amended creditworthiness policy is also applicable for your organization. When determining your exposure, you need to take into account a 21% VAT. Besides, the financial security must be 4 months longer than the contract with an end date which is located furthest in the future. The EWEX exemption of € 60.000 will not change.

If you have any further questions, please contact our Industry desk via e-mail  industriedesk@gastransport.nl or telephone +31 50 521 2323.

The product type, duration and  tariff related to the original booking will continue to apply to both the selling and the receiving party.

For example: Shipper A has a capacity booking for which the annual tariff applies. He transfers (TOC) one Quarter to another party (shipper B). For both bookings the annual tariff applies. The buyer (shipper B) will receive three invoices (one per month) based on the annual tariff, not the quarterly tariff.

‘Neutral gas price being the most recently published as referred to in the Transport Conditions for Gas, article 4.1.3.8’ means the neutral gas price (as defined in the Transport Conditions for Gas, article 4.1.6.4) as published near real time by PEGAS at 06:00 of the gas day that the bids are being placed.

In the event of extreme market conditions, GTS will keep the system balanced as long as possible by the means described in the Transportcode Gas LNB (TCG). EU Regulation 2017/1938 concerning measures to safeguard the security of supply of gas details the circumstances in which the government can declare an emergency situation. According to this Regulation, everything possible has to be done to keep gas available for the ‘solidarity-protected customers’. The emergency plan which is part of the Regulation is implemented in the Netherlands in the so-called Bescherm- en Herstelplan Gas (Gas Protection and Recovery Plan). See the Regulation for more details.

Transportcode Gas LNB

European Regulation

Bescherm en Herstelplan Gas

No. According to the Regulation, which is described in detail in the Bescherm- en Herstelplan Gas (BHG), the competent authority can take all measures that are deemed appropriate to secure the supply of gas to ‘solidarity-protected’ customers. The BHG gives a merit order for certain specific measures. However, if circumstances change quickly, several measures can be introduced at the same time, or measures can be skipped. Please note that ‘solidarity’ means solidarity with other EU member states. This implies that all (neighbouring) EU member states will also have to take measures when gas delivery to ‘solidarity-protected customers’ is threatened in a member state.

In principle, your POS is never reset. Settlements having an effect on the POS are WDBA’s. It is only when a WDBA is performed that volumes are set off pro rata against the positions (POSs) of the causers. Shippers with a position opposite to the SBS at the time of the balancing action are not affected.

The accountable POS will, apart from in exceptional situations, indeed be published between xx:15 and xx:20. The reason for this is that the near real-time allocations of the CSS are only available at xx:13. This is because actual near real-time allocations are used for determining the accountable POS and not the allocation from a previous hour as was the case for the determining the forecast POS.

The GTS transport system contains two physically separate networks that are linked together by blending stations. There is a low-calorific system intended to supply exits with G-gas or L-gas and an high-calorific system for H-gas exits.

Most entries are linked directly to the G-gas or H-gas system. However, some entries lie between G-gas and H-gas in terms of quality. They are incorporated into the G-gas or H-gas system via QC or RQC.

High-quality gases are converted into lower-quality gases by means of a process called QC (Quality Conversion) .

The G-gas system regularly experiences entry shortages, while there is a surplus of gases with a higher Wobbe ( H-gas). The surplus H-gas is converted into G-gas (QC) via blending stations. The amount of QC (converted H-gas) will be shown via the ‘QC-meter’ on the QC/RQC dashboard. If there is little QC, then the H-gas can be blended at no cost with other gases into  G-gas quality (this is called enrichment). If a large amount of H-gas has to be converted, then it must be converted into G-gas by adding  nitrogen (this gas is called ‘pseudo G-gas’).

When nitrogen is used, the gas transport network must be controlled in such a way that the H-gases with the lowest Wobbes are the first to be transported to the blending stations. This gives the greatest capacity for conversion at the lowest costs.

The amount of nitrogen available and the level of its use are shown on this dashboard via the Nitrogen meter on the QC/RQC dashboard. This means that the maximum QC limits can be clearly distinguished by the amount of nitrogen not yet used. See more detailed information at the Nitrogen report.

Part of the nitrogen may be delivered out of a nitrogen storage. The ‘N2-storage meter’ on the QC/RQC dashboard shows the actual volume available of this storage.

No, GTS has only a prognosis value for the coming hour.

Yes, a separate download has been provided for the zones (which indicates zones for one or more gas days). It is correct that in the SBS download, this zone info only shows the applicable zone. The specs for the separate zone message are given under the message specifications on the website (GTS_InformationServices_R1).

Tariffs are part of the TSC tariff appendix.

The cost per month for Yearly product can be calculated as follows: cost (Euro) = booked capacity * reserve price * number of days in month / number of days in year (= 365 or 366). The reserve prices depend on entry/exit and storage/non-storage and can be found in Appendix 1 of our TSC

Setting the outgoing temperature at a gas receiving station takes place as follows:

• - The incoming gas is heated in a heat exchanger isobaric and adiabatic (at the same pressure and without heat exchange with the environment) to a certain temperature;
• - The pressure of the gas is reduced with a regulator, whereby the gas temperature also drops. The pressure of the gas is reduced with a regulator, whereby the gas temperature is also lowered.
• - The outgoing gas thus reaches the desired output pressure and temperature.

The process is shown schematically below:

In the above example, the inlet pressure and temperature are 40 barg and 10 °C respectively. Assuming G-gas, the enthalpy at that point is -18.4737 kJ/kg (with 0 °C and 0 bar as the reference situation with an enthalpy of zero).

At an exit temperature of 5°C and a pressure of 8 bar, the enthalpy of the gas is increased to 1.9549 kJ/kg. Because the expansion in the regulator is isenthalpic, the enthalpy between the heat exchanger and the regulator has also been 1.9549. It can then be calculated that at a pressure of 40 barg, the temperature at that point must have been 19.37 °C.

If we assume a flow rate of 1000 m3(n)/h, the mass flow through the street is 833.4 kg/h. The amount of heat to be delivered by the heat exchanger is then

833.4 x (1.9549 - -18.4737) = 17025 kJ/h.

The same can now be done for a situation in which the outgoing gas temperature is lowered to 3 °C. This is shown in the figure below.

It can be seen that the enthalpy of the outgoing gas has been reduced to -3.8576 kJ/kg, where a temperature of 16.70 °C belongs to a pressure of 40 barg (after the heat exchanger).

In this case, the heat supplied by the heat exchanger is therefore

833.4 x (-3.8576 - -18.4737) = 12181 kJ/h.

The difference between the set output temperatures of 5 and 2 °C therefore results in an energy saving of 17025 - 12181 kJ/h = 4844 kJ/h, or approx. 28.5%. In practice savings of 5% per degree Celsius are measured.

The MR gas quality prescribes a minimum gas temperature of 0°C. GTS therefore always delivers the gas warmer than 0°C.

Een 4.A.4.1 overeenkomst dient voor een volledig kalenderjaar afgesloten te worden.

Een 4.A.4.1 overeenkomst dient door de aangesloten partij aangevraagd te worden.

You must be able to show that the installation has been designed, manufactured and inspected according to the legislation and regulations applicable to this installation. You must be able to show that the installation has been maintained and inspected according to the applicable legislation and regulations throughout its use.

See "Standards applicable to industrial installations" and "Overview of European standards and developments in standards" for a full summary of the relevant guidelines and standards.

New gas pipelinesGas pipelines designed for a pressure of >500mbar must be constructed according to the Pressure Equipment Directive. According to this directive, the design of a gas pipeline must be checked by an organisation designated for this purpose by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Notified Body, NoBo for short). The manufacturer or assembler should draw up an EU Declaration of Conformity for the product or combination of products supplied, as specified in the Pressure Equipment Directive.

Existing gas pipelinesThe requirements applicable to using gas pipelines in a safe and environmentally-friendly manner are based on the Dutch Environmental Management Act. The act applies to organisations obliged to hold a permit and subject to disclosure obligations, however residential buildings are also covered. This is regulated in the Dutch Activities Decree Environmental Management (Decree providing general regulations for environmental management facilities (BARIM)).

The Dutch Activities Decree Environmental Management specifies that gas pipeline installations should be inspected periodically (once every 4 years). Depending on the pressure and diameter of the pipelines concerned, this may be performed by a company certified by the Foundation for Certification, Inspection and Maintenance of Combustion Plants (SCIOS), scope 7B or must be performed by a NoBo (www.scios.nl). Providing details of the exact boundaries between both working areas is beyond the scope of these FAQ, you should therefore consult your installer or inspection body for precise information.

Yes, but a shift of capacity does not involve fixed combinations at the same location but a combination which does not yet exist and an additional tariff based on distance.

It is impossible to estimate in advance. We look 10 minutes and 15 minutes past the hour to the end of hour prediction of the SBS. If the prediction of the SBS at 10 minutes past the  hour gives a reason to a WDBA, then an announcement is made in Gasport and a Request For Quote (RFQ) is placed on the trading screen of the ICE Endex. The announcement and the RFQ is an estimate of the volume and product placed on the within-day market of ICE Endex and is based on the latest information.

If the prediction of the SBS at 15 minutes past the hour still gives a reason to a WDBA, then an update of the announcement is made and again a Request For Quote (RFQ) is placed on the trading screen of ICE Endex.

If the prediction of the SBS for the next hour at 20 minutes past the hour gives a reason for a WBDA than an order is placed on the within-day market of ICE Endex.

The type of product for which the order is placed, is dependent on the color of the zone wherein the SBS is predicted. In the light green zone GTS send an order for a WD product to the exchange with a lead time of 3 hours and 40 minutes with supplies for the remaining hours of the gas day. As an indication, an order that leads to a transaction at 12:20 will be delivered from 16:00 to 06:00. In the orange and red zone GTS send an order for a Next-Hour product with a lead time of 40 minutes. The whole delivery takes place in one clock hour. An order for a Next Hour product that leads to a transaction at 12:20 has a delivery from 13:00 to 14:00.

The volume that must be called will be calculated as follows:

• Difference between the anticipated final value of the SBS and the boundary value of the dark green zone.
• The part that possibly is not yet delivered of a realized WDBA transaction is included in the determination of the volume of any new WDBA. This only applies for WDBA with the SBS in the light green area.
• If the SBS is in the light-green zone, and the imbalance is less than the unbalance of the previous hour, no WDBA will take place.

The following days are not working days:

Weekend:

• Saturday
• Sunday

National holidays:

• Koningsdag (King´s Day) 27 April)
• Liberation Day (5 May)

Generally recognised and Christian holidays:

• New Year´s Day (1 January)
• Good Friday
• Easter Day
• Ascension Day + Friday after Ascension Day
• Whitsun
• Christmas (25, 26 December)

Yes, the POS is also determined for a wheeling portfolio and a WDBA may also apply.

• Whenever there is any uncertainty about whether the modification could affect the national gas transmission network.
• Works on the gas installation connection and/or gas installation which necessitate the gas receiving station being taken out of operation.
• Capacity changes.
• The taking of cathodic protection into own management. Gasunie has to remove the connection to the national grid in that case.

If works are being done on your gas installation connection and/or gas installation and it is not possible to shut them off after the transfer point.