News

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions on events, GASPOOL Balancing Services GmbH has decided to cancel this year's customer events for balancing group managers to take place in Berlin.

The BGM- event will be postponed to the end of 2020, depending on the then applicable regulation.

We will get back to you in time.

If you have any questions, please contact your contact person at our company at any time.

GASPOOL Balancing Services GmbH takes the current developments regarding the corona virus and the associated restrictions for our employees, customers and service providers very serious.

Numerous measures to protect employees in this challenging situation have already been taken. GASPOOL has made special arrangements – especially for the 24/7 dispatching. Currently the company sees no restrictions in the business processes, in particular the procurement of balancing energy for the GASPOOL market area and the services related to the virtual trading point.

In these challenging times, we are in close contact and constant exchange with our shareholders and the other German transmission system operators. GASPOOL is closely watching the current situation and will inform you about current developments here.

If there are any queries left, please don´t hesitate to contact your account manager as usual.

On the way to the nationwide market area, the transmission system operators together with the market are managers have initiated important steps and processes. In order to inform the market about the current state of the project, we have developed the event format Market Dialogue, with which we want to present the latest developments to you on a regular basis. We see the market dialogue as an important communication platform in order to get into the discussion with you as representatives of the market.

Hereby we would like to invite you to the 5th market dialogue:

Tuesday, 16 June, 2020, 1 pm (registration starts at 12 pm) until approx. 4pm
Address: dbb forum berlin, Friedrichstraße 169, 10117 Berlin

The agenda will be sent to all registered participants approx. one week prior to the event.

We ask for a binding registration by 27 May 2020. To do this, please email the fulfilled attached registration form to marktdialogDies ist das @@marktgebietszusammenlegung.de.

Please note that initially only one participant per company can be registered. If there are still capacities available after the registration deadline, other participants of the company can also take part in the event. You are welcome to call the optional participants already in your registration.

The market dialogue is aimed at both, German and English-speaking participants. The show will be held in german language only, we offer simultaneous translation again.

If you already have questions about the market area merger, please let us know in advance on the registration form or by e-mail.

We are looking forward to have an interesting discussion with you. If you have any queries left, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us via e-mail: marktdialogDies ist das @@marktgebietszusammenlegung.de

Kind regards
Your Transmission System Operators and Market Area Managers

On the second day of the E-world "energy & water" trade fair in Essen, the market dialogue on merging the gas market areas in Germany was already held for the fourth time. Ralf Bahke, managing director of the transmission system operator Ontras Gastransport welcomed more than 240 guests and presented the corporate-logo of the new market area manager Trading Hub Europe. Furthermore, the representatives of the transmission system operators and the market area managers explained the further course of the project and discussed the latest developments about the regulation on Kap+ and Kombi. 

The english presentation you can download here.

The new GASPOOL Portal Terms of Use comesinto effect on 4 February 2019. They apply to all Market Participants whose registration process was not yet completed on 4 February 2019 and to all those initiating a registration process after this date. The existing Portal Terms of Use shall continue to apply unchanged for Market Participants whose registration process was completed by 4 February 2019.

The changes to the Portal Terms of Use primarily concern the following aspects:

• Change to the documents required in the registration process and the specifications for the market role “balancing group manager”, in particular:
  • Request for information on the business model for balancing group management
  • Provision of a tax certificate  
  • Provision of (European) good-conduct certificate for the members of the management and the users

• Change to the options for refusing access to the portal, in particular:
  • Non-admission if there are specific grounds for believing that the Market Participant will not properly meet its statutory obligations as a balancing group manager or its obligations from the Portal Use Agreement or the balancing group contract (“unreliability”)

• Change to locking users, in particular:
  • User locked in the case of “unreliability”

• Change to termination options, in particular:
  • Termination without notice in the event of false statements by the Market Participant in the registration process

The new Portal Terms of Use can be found here.

In both German gas market areas, suspected cases of fraudulent behavior by balancing group managers (BGM) have occurred in 2018. The market area managers (MAM) identified that some BGM in part caused extraordinary imbalances in their balancing group accounts within the relevant periods.

Imbalances between the inputs and offtakes recorded in balancing group accounts may generally result under the current rules. In accordance with the regulatory and contractual requirements, the resulting imbalance amounts are charged to the BGM based on causation. In the present cases, the MAMs currently assume that the BGMs in question caused their imbalances purposefully. Therefore, the MAMs must assume that the invoices will not be settled.

The relevant balancing group accounts were closed immediately (partially by extraordinary termination) following the contractual requirements. In addition, legal action has been taken against the BGMs. 

As the MAMs are currently in ongoing proceedings with respect to the relevant BGMs, the MAMs cannot provide any information regarding the amount of the damage, the payment details or even the names of the relevant companies.

In all suspicious cases, the Federal Network Agency was informed about the situation and the action taken. Furthermore the MAMs have taken the initiative to have the contractual framework amended.