ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - Konkurentsiamet

under special circumstances, ensuring sufficient pressure may prove problematic for
ensuring the supply of gas quantities required by Estonia. Therefore the Competition
Authority considers the situation a risk to supply dependability, as the entire gas supply is
provided by only one source.
At the same time the supply channels from the Latvian gas storage facility through the
Karksi connection and from Russia through the Värska and Narva connections can be
considered independent. Namely, the gas storage facility is located on the territory of the
EU and its refills can be monitored by AS EG Võrguteenus. The supply dependability could
be significantly improved by the construction of a liquefied natural gas storage facility in the
Baltic-Finland area, but only if that would be accompanied by the construction of a natural
gas pipeline system that would connect the Baltic countries and Finland. The Natural Gas
Act provides several methods for the improvement of supply dependability. Gas supply to a
household customer may not be suspended or restricted during the period from 1 October to
1 May. Gas supply to undertakings who produce heat for the heating of residential spaces
and who have no possibility to use fuel other than gas for fuel may not be suspended or
restricted during the above mentioned period. Gas supply may be suspended in cases of
danger to the life, health or property of persons or to the environment, or by agreement of
the parties. A heat producing undertaking whose estimated annual production volume
exceeds 500,000 MWh per network area is required to ensure a reserve fuel capability for
the production of heat starting from 01.07.2008, guaranteeing the heat supply for a period of
three days. Upon the emergence of a factor that constitutes a threat to supply dependability,
life or the health of persons or preservation of a network, the system operator immediately
notifies the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Competition
Authority and makes a proposal for taking measures to ensure the supply dependability.
The Ministry cooperates with the Competition Authority to analyse the proposal received
from the system operator and, if necessary, makes a proposal to the Government of the
Republic for taking the following measures in ensuring the supply dependability:
To limit gas supply to persons who use gas for any other purpose except the production
of heat;
To allow limitation of the gas supply to undertakings producing heat;
To allow decreasing of the temperature of the heat carrier used for the heating of
residential spaces;
To require the heat producing undertakings to use reserve fuel as fuel.
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