Message-ID: <7191517.1075846342094.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2000 11:15:00 -0700 (PDT) From: mark.schroeder@enron.com To: steven.kean@enron.com Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Mark Schroeder X-To: Steven J Kean X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Steven_Kean_Dec2000_1\Notes Folders\Europe X-Origin: KEAN-S X-FileName: skean.nsf more German gas developments. Of course, Enron's case was the first. mcs ---------------------- Forwarded by Mark Schroeder/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 18:17 --------------------------- Paul Hennemeyer 04/09/2000 17:29 To: Peter Styles/LON/ECT@ECT, Mark Schroeder/LON/ECT@ECT, Kyran Hanks/LON/ECT@ECT, Doug Wood/LON/ECT@ECT cc: Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas interesting news... ---------------------- Forwarded by Paul Hennemeyer/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 17:33 --------------------------- Carsten Sterz 04/09/2000 17:14 To: David Gallagher/LON/ECT@ECT, Andreas Radmacher/FRA/ECT@ECT, Carsten Haack/FRA/ECT@ECT, Christopher McKey/FRA/ECT@ECT, Paul Hennemeyer/LON/ECT@ECT cc: Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas Please forward Carsten ---------------------- Forwarded by Carsten Sterz/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 17:16 --------------------------- Enron Capital & Trade Resources Corp. From: alexandra_konstantinoff@platts.com 04/09/2000 17:05 To: carsten.sterz@enron.com cc: Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas Anbei Infos, bin muede, bis morgen alex. German court orders Ruhrgas to open gas grid to Trianel A district court in Dortmund has ordered Ruhrgas to grant access to its gas transport network to German-Dutch energy JV Trianel with immediate effect, Trianel said Monday. The decision, which followed a hearing Sep 1, allows Trianel to start supplying two large customers under new contracts from Oct 1, 2000. The court dismissed Ruhrgas' arguments that the present access case was irrelevant, as the two unnamed customers were still bound by existing long-term deals with other suppliers. This argument had no bearing on network access, the court said, and Trianel should not be forced to rely on other more expensive transport options. This is the second access case Ruhrgas has lost since the gas market was opened to competition in August. On Aug 24, the Cartel Office ordered it to grant access to US trader Enron. Trianel Monday welcomed the court's decision as an important step in the liberalization of the German gas market, and noted that the victory was all the more significant given the lack of clear legislation on this issue. Current regulations contain insufficient provisions to ensure third party access to the gas network, it said. The Energy Law covers independent claims by third parties to use the electricity transmission network, under Article 6, Paragraph, but not the gas system. German legislators have so far rejected calls for a change in the Energy Law in connection with the implementation of the European directive on gas market opening, arguing that Competition Law contained ample provision in Article 19, Paragraph 4 on "essential facilities," to which Trianel referred in its case. Ruhrgas still to decide whether to appeal access ruling Germany's Ruhrgas has still not decided whether to appeal a court order to grant access to its gas network to Dutch-German JV Trianel, a spokesman for the company said Monday. "We first want to see the official written explanation for the court's decision," the spokesman said. "Then we will decide whether to appeal." Ruhrgas had argued that in both cases where Trianel requested access to supply new industrial customers deliveries would involve a breach of existing supply contracts. But this factor was dismissed by the Dortmund court as incidental to the access case. It ruled Trianel should not have to rely on more expensive transit options. Ruhrgas would be talking to Trianel in the hope of reaching an out-of-court solution to the dispute, the spokesman added. If it failed, it would consider an appeal.