In the absence of sufficient liquidity of the short term wholesale gas market, suitable interim measures referred to in Articles 47 to 50 shall be implemented by the transmission system operators. Balancing actions undertaken by the transmission system operator in case of interim measures shall foster the liquidity of the short term wholesale gas market to the extent possible.

The resort to an interim measure is without prejudice to the implementation of any other interim measure(s) as an alternative or additionally, provided that such measures aim at promoting competition and liquidity of the short term wholesale gas market and are consistent with the general principles set out in this Regulation.

The interim measures referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 shall be developed and implemented by each transmission system operator, in accordance with the report, referred to in Article 46(1), approved by the national regulatory authority in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 46.

The report shall foresee the termination of the interim measures no later than five years as from the entry into force of this Regulation.

The transmission system operator shall consult stakeholders on the proposed report.

Following the consultation process, the transmission system operator shall submit the report to the national regulatory authority for the approval. The first report shall be submitted within six months as from the entry into force of this Regulation and the subsequent reports updating it, if necessary, shall be submitted annually.

The national regulatory authority shall take and publish a motivated decision within six months following the receipt of the complete report. F1... In deciding whether to approve the report, the national regulatory authority shall assess its effect on balancing regimes’ harmonisation, facilitation of market integration, ensuring non-discrimination, effective competition and the efficient functioning of the gas market.

The procedure as set out in Article 27(2) applies.

Where the short term wholesale gas market has or is anticipated to have insufficient liquidity or where temporal products and locational products required by the transmission system operator cannot reasonably be procured on this market, a balancing platform shall be established for the purpose of transmission system operator balancing.

The transmission system operators shall consider whether a joint balancing platform may be implemented for adjacent balancing zones in the framework of cooperation between the transmission system operators F2and non-UK TSOs or where there is sufficient interconnection capacity and such joint balancing platform is deemed efficient to be implemented. If a joint balancing platform is established, F3the concerned transmission system operators must endeavour to operate it in cooperation with any concerned non-UK TSOs.

In case the situation described under paragraph 1 has not fundamentally changed after five years the national regulatory authority may, without prejudice to Article 45(4) and after F4making the appropriate amendment of the report, decide to continue the operation of the balancing platform for another period of no more than five years.

Where interim measures referred to in Article 45 are necessary, the price derivation may be calculated in accordance with the report referred to in Article 46 which shall substitute the daily imbalance charge calculation methodology.

In that case, the price derivation may be based upon an administered price, a proxy for a market price or a price derived from balancing platform trades.

The proxy for a market price shall seek to satisfy the conditions provided for in Article 22(6). The design of this proxy shall consider the potential risk for market manipulation.

The application of tolerances may reduce a network user’s financial exposure to the marginal sell price or the marginal buy price in respect of a part of or the network user’s entire daily imbalance quantity for the gas day.

The tolerance level shall be the maximum quantity of gas to be bought or sold by each network user at a weighted average price. If there is a remaining quantity of gas that constitutes each network user’s daily imbalance quantity which exceeds the tolerance level, it shall be sold or bought at marginal sell price or marginal buy price.

The tolerance level shall be calculated on the basis of each network user’s inputs and off-takes, excluding trades at the virtual trading point, for each gas day. The subcategories shall be defined under the applicable national rules.

The tolerance level applicable for a non daily metered off-take defined under the applicable national rules shall be based upon the difference between the relevant forecast of a network user’s non daily metered off-takes and the allocation for non daily metered off-take.