CHAPTER VIINEUTRALITY ARRANGEMENTS
Article 29Principles of neutrality
1.
The transmission system operator shall not gain or lose by the payment and receipt of daily imbalance charges, within day charges, balancing actions charges and other charges related to its balancing activities, which shall be considered as all the activities undertaken by the transmission system operator to fulfil the obligations set out in this Regulation.
2.
The transmission system operator shall pass to network users:
(a)
any costs and revenues arising from daily imbalance charges and within day charges;
(b)
any costs and revenues arising from the balancing actions undertaken pursuant to Article 9, unless the national regulatory authority considers those costs and revenues as incurred inefficiently in accordance with the applicable national rules. This consideration shall be based upon an assessment which:
- (i)
shall demonstrate to what extent the transmission system operator could have reasonably mitigated the costs incurred when undertaking the balancing action; and
- (ii)
shall be made with regard to the information, the time and the tools available to the transmission system operator at the moment it decided to undertake the balancing action;
(c)
any other costs and revenues related to the balancing activities undertaken by the transmission system operator, unless the national regulatory authority considers these costs and revenues as incurred inefficiently in accordance with the applicable national rules.
3.
Where an incentive to promote efficient undertaking of balancing actions is implemented, the aggregate financial loss shall be limited to the transmission system operator’s inefficiently incurred costs and revenues.
4.
Transmission system operators shall publish the relevant data regarding the aggregate charges referred to in paragraph 1 and the aggregate neutrality charges for balancing, at least at the same frequency as the respective charges are invoiced to network users, but no less than once per month.
5.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, the transmission system operator in its balancing role may be subject to an incentive mechanism as referred to in Article 11.
Article 30Balancing neutrality cash flows
1.
The neutrality charge for balancing shall be paid by or to the network user concerned.
2.
The national regulatory authority shall set or approve and publish the methodology for the calculation of the neutrality charges for balancing, including their apportionment amongst network users and credit risk management rules.
3.
The neutrality charge for balancing shall be proportionate to the extent the network user makes use of the relevant entry or exit points concerned or the transmission network.
4.
The neutrality charge for balancing shall be identified separately when invoiced to network users and the invoice shall be accompanied by sufficient supporting information defined in the methodology referred to in paragraph 2.
5.
Where the information model variant 2 is applied and thus the neutrality charge for balancing may be based on forecasted costs and revenues, the transmission system operator’s methodology for the calculation of neutrality charge for balancing shall provide rules for a separate neutrality charge for balancing in respect of non daily metered off-takes.
6.
Where relevant, the transmission system operator’s methodology for the calculation of the neutrality charge for balancing may provide rules for the division of the neutrality charge for balancing components and the subsequent apportionment of the corresponding sums amongst the network users in order to reduce cross subsidies.
Article 31Credit risk management arrangements
1.
The transmission system operator shall be entitled to take necessary measures and impose relevant contractual requirements, including financial security safeguards, on network users to mitigate their default in payment regarding any payment due for the charges referred to in Article 29 and 30.
2.
The contractual requirements shall be on a transparent and equal treatment basis, proportionate to the purpose and defined in the methodology referred to in Article 30(2).
3.
In case of a default attributable to a network user, the transmission system operator shall not be liable to bear any loss incurred provided the measures and requirements referred to paragraphs 1 and 2 were duly implemented and such loss shall be recovered in accordance with the methodology referred to in Article 30(2).