CHAPTER VIII

ORGANISATION OF ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM

Market opening and reciprocity
Article 33
1
Member States shall ensure that the eligible customers comprise:
a
until 1 July 2004, the eligible customers as specified in Article 19(1) to (3) of Directive 96/92/EC. Member States shall publish by 31 January each year the criteria for the definition of those eligible customers;
b
from 1 July 2004, all non-household customers;
c
from 1 July 2007, all customers.
2
To avoid imbalance in the opening of electricity markets:
a
contracts for the supply of electricity with an eligible customer in the system of another Member State shall not be prohibited if the customer is considered as eligible in both systems involved; and
b
where transactions as described in point (a) are refused because the customer is eligible in only one of the two systems, the Commission may, taking into account the situation in the market and the common interest, oblige the refusing party to execute the requested supply at the request of the Member State where the eligible customer is located.