BK7-20-107 Proceedings of Ruling Chamber 7

Decision of proceedings for exemption from regulation pursuant to section 28a EnWG in response to an application from Hanseatic Energy Hub GmbH

On 23 June 2022, Ruling Chamber 7 granted an exemption from regulation (hereinafter referred to as "the original exemption decision") as provided for by section 28a of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG) in conjunction with Article 36 of Directive 2009/73/EC in response to a request from Hanseatic Energy Hub GmbH for the Stade liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. The exemption has been granted for the entire throughput capacity of 13.3 billion cubic metres per year and is limited to a period of 25 years from the start of commercial operation. Further secondary provisions are attached to the exemption; most importantly, these provisions lay down rules and mechanisms for the management and allocation of capacity as referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 36(6) of Directive 2009/73/EC and thus guarantee permanent access to the LNG facility.

The original exemption decision was transmitted to the European Commission for the purposes of a final decision under Article 36(9) of Directive 2009/73/EC. The European Commission issued its decision on 19 August 2022. The decision confirms the duration and scope of the original exemption while also requiring the Bundesnetzagentur to amend its decision in some respects in accordance with Article 36(9) of Directive 2009/73/EC.

The Bundesnetzagentur has implemented the decision of the European Commission in accordance with section 28a(3) EnWG and Article 36(9) of Directive 2009/73/EC and, on 19 September 2022, revoked the original exemption decision and reissued it with the amendments required by the European Commission.

A non-confidential version of the original Ruling Chamber 7 decision of 23 June 2022 (BK7-20-107) has been published in German. The final exemption decision of 19 September 2022 (BK7-20-107-final) has also been published in a non-confidential version. An English translation is also available; only the German version is binding.

The European Commission decision has been published in a non-confidential version in German and English on the Commission website here. Again, only the German version is binding.

Further information

German website

Decision

Beschluss (BK7-20-107 final) vom 19. September 2022 (pdf / 3 MB)(German)
Beschluss (BK7-20-107 final) vom 19. September 2022 (pdf / 2 MB)(English) (The English translation of the Decision was updated on 10 November 2022 owing to a linguistic correction in margin number 311.)
Beschluss vom 23.06.2022 (pdf / 2 MB) (German) (revoked by Decision of 19 September 2022, BK7-20-107-final)

BK7-20-107