this translation of the act no. 251/2012 coll. as amended … act as approved_nrsr...

120731_Energy Act as approved_NRSR official_EN_131120

This translation of the Act No. 251/2012 Coll. as amended on Energy and on amendment of certain laws is not binding and serves for informational purposes only. The only binding wording of the Act No. 251/2012 Coll. as amended on Energy and on amendment of certain laws is published by the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic.

Act No. 251/2012

dated 31 July 2012

on Energy and on the amendment of certain laws

Amendment: Act No. 391/2012 Coll.,Amendment: Act No. 382/2013 Coll.

The National Council of the Slovak Republic has passed this Act as follows:

Article I

CHAPTER ONE

BASIC PROVISIONS

Section 1Subject matter of the Act

This Act governs:a) the conditions for conducting business in the energy sector,

b) access to the market, rights and obligations of market participants in the energy sector,

c) measures designed to ensure the security of electricity and gas supply and operation of the internal electricity market and internal gas market,

d) rights and obligations of entities whose rights and obligations may be affected by market participants in the energy sector,

e) the performance of state administration in the energy sector,

f) the performance of state supervision and control of business in the energy sector,

Basic Provisions

Section 2

For the purposes of this Act:a) in general,

1. 'energy sector' means the electricity sector, gas sector, the pipeline transportation of fuels or oil, the filling of pressure vessels with liquefied petroleum gas (hereinafter the "pressure vessel") and the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas;

2. 'defined territory' means the territory of the Slovak Republic in which the transmission system operator or distribution system operator is obliged to provide the transmission of electricity or

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120731_Energy Act as approved_NRSR official_EN

distribution of electricity or in which the transmission system operator or distribution network operator is obliged to provide the transmission of gas or distribution of gas;

3. 'part of the defined territory' means the territory of the Slovak Republic in which the transmission system operator or distribution system operator is obliged to provide the transmission of electricity or distribution of electricity, or in which the transmission system operator or distribution network operator is obliged to provide the transmission of gas or distribution of gas;

4. 'territory of the European Union' means the defined territory and territories of the other Member States of the European Union and contracting parties to the Treaty on European Economic Area (hereinafter a "member state");

5. 'territory of third countries' means territory other than the territory of the European Union;

6. ‘security of electricity and gas supply’ means the capability of a system and network to supply final electricity and end gas consumers and ensuring the safety of energy facilities as well as the balance between supply and demand of electricity and gas within the defined territory or its part;

7. 'internal market' means the electricity market or gas market, which is realized within the territory of the European Union;

8. 'interconnection of system or network’ means the interconnection of the transmission system or network with a system or network that transports electricity or gas in the territory of the European Union, or which transports electricity or gas to a third-country territory;

9. 'the settlement of deviations’ means the settlement of differences between the contractually agreed values of electricity or gas supplies or off-take and the values of electricity or gas supplies or off-take in a specific period of time determined under the rules for operation of the electricity market and the gas market under a special regulation 1) (hereinafter the „market rules”);

10. 'regulated access to the electricity system or to gas network' means access to a system or to a network in accordance with a special regulation and at regulated prices,2)

11. ‘connection to system or network’ means ensuring necessary capacity for connection in the system or the network and the physical connection of an electricity facility or electricity offtake equipment to the system or the physical connection of a gas facility or gas offtake equipment to the network;

12. ‘access to a system or network’ means access based on a contract on

12.1 access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity, whereby access to the transmission system is understood as entitlement to use the transmission system to the scope of the contractually agreed transmission capacity,

12.2 access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity, whereby access to the distribution system is understood as entitlement to use the distribution system to the scope of the contractually agreed distribution capacity,

12.3 access to the transmission network and the transmission of gas, whereby access to the transmission network is understood as entitlement to use the transmission network to the scope of the contractually agreed transmission capacity,

12.4 access to the distribution network and the distribution of gas, whereby access to the distribution network is understood as entitlement to use the distribution network to the scope of the contractually agreed distribution capacity,

12.5 access to the upstream pipeline network and the transport of gas, whereby access to the upstream pipeline network is understood as entitlement to use the upstream pipeline network to the scope of the contractually agreed capacity,12.6 access to a storage facility and the storage of gas, whereby access to the storage facility is understood as entitlement to use the storage facility to the scope of the contractually agreed storage capacity,

s ) Section 40 (4) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll. on regulation in network industries.2) Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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13. ‘operational safety’ means uninterrupted operation of the transmission system and the distribution system or the transmission network and the distribution network under foreseeable operating conditions,

14. ‘universal service’ means a service for consumers of electricity in households, consumers of gas in households or small-sized undertakings, provided by an electricity supplier or gas supplier based on a contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas, which at the same time includes the distribution of electricity and the supply of electricity, or the distribution of gas and the supply of gas, and assumption of responsibility for deviations, to the prescribed quality3) at reasonable, easily and clearly comparable, transparent and indiscriminate prices,

15. ‘intelligent metering system’ means a set composed of specific meters4) and other technical means that enable the collection, processing and transmission of measured data on the production and consumption of electricity or gas, as well as the provision of these data to market participants,

16. ‘control’ means an option to exercise, based on legal or factual circumstances, a decisive influence over activity of an undertaking, in particular through

16.1 ownership or other rights to the undertaking or its parts,

16.2 rights, contracts or based on other facts allowing to exercise a decisive influence over the composition, voting or decision of bodies of the undertaking

b) in the electricity sector,

1. 'electricity generating facility' means a facility that is used for conversion of any of the various energy sources into electricity; this includes the infrastructure and technological equipment,

2. ‘electricity transmission’ means the transport of electricity by the transmission system within the defined territory or the transport of electricity by the transmission system to and from interconnected systems of Member States or third countries for the purpose of its transit to electricity consumers,

3. ‘ transmission system’ means interconnected ultra-high and very-high voltage electricity lines and electricity facilities necessary for the transmission of electricity within the defined territory, interconnected electricity lines of ultra-high and very-high voltage and electricity facilities necessary for the interconnection of the transmission system with a transmission system outside the defined territory; the transmission system also includes metering, protection, control, security, information and telecommunications equipment necessary for operation of the transmission system,

4. 'electricity distribution' means the transport of electricity by way of the distribution system in part of the defined territory for the purpose of its transit to electricity consumers,

5. ‘distribution system’ means interconnected very-high voltage electricity lines up to 110 kV inclusive, and high voltage and low voltage lines and electricity facilities necessary for the distribution of electricity within the part of the defined territory; the distribution system also includes metering, protection, control, security, information and telecommunications equipment necessary for operation of the distribution system; the distribution system also includes electricity lines and electricity facilities used for the transport of electricity from a part of the European Union territory or from a part of a third-country territory to the defined territory or part of the defined territory, if such an electricity line or electricity installation does not link a l transmission system with a transmission system of a Member State or with a third-country transmission system;,

6. 'direct line' means an electricity line linking:6.1. the electricity producer with the final consumer of electricity;

6.2. the electricity producer with a consumer of electricity that is not connected to the transmission system or to the distribution system,

3) Section 22 (4) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.4) Section 8 of Act No. 142/2000 Coll. on metrology and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 431/2004 Coll.

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7. ‘interconnector’ means the lines linking a transmission system with a transmission system of Member States or a third-country transmission system,

8. 'system' means interconnected electricity facilities of the electricity producer, transmission system operator, distribution system operator, direct line operator and the owner of an electricity connection, which are used for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity; the system also includes the metering, protection, control, security, information and telecommunications equipment necessary for operation of the system,

9. 'electricity facility' means a facility/installation used for the generation, connection, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity,

10. ‘ancillary service’ is a service purchased by a transmission system operator in order to ensure the provision of system services required for maintaining the quality of electricity supply and to ensure operational reliability of the system and to comply with international standards applicable to interconnected systems,

11. 'system service' means the service of the transmission system operator required to ensure operational reliability of the system in the defined territory; this includes services of the transmission system operator necessary for safe operation of the electricity producer's generating facilities,

12. 'offtake point' means an electricity offtake point consisting of one measuring point,

13. ‘measuring point' means a connection point of a system user to the system equipped with the determined meter,4)

14. “offtake model diagram” is a sequence of values of the average hourly offtakes in a year serving as the basis for determining the amount of electricity offtake by electricity consumers without flow meters used for the purposes of deviation settlement of entities for settlement,

15. ‘electricity supply' means the sale of electricity,

16. 'domestic coal' means coal mined in the defined territory,

17 ‘balancing electricity’ means electricity procured in real time by the transmission system operator in order to ensure a balance between immediate consumption and production of the electricity in the system, in the defined territory,

18 'deviation of electricity market participant' means the deviation occurring within a given period as the difference between the contractually agreed volume of electricity supply or consumption and the volume of electricity supplied or taken off in real time,

19 'system deviation' means the size of procured balancing electricity,

20. 'activity of organizer of the short-term electricity market’ means the organization and arrangement of the evaluation of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, the settlement of deviations, the administration and related activities to the extent under the market rules,

21. ‘organized short-term cross-border electricity market’ means a cross-border market with electricity organized by the Short-term electricity market organizer in which entities for settlement participate,

22. ‘evaluation of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market’ means determination of the prices and volumes of electricity traded by individual organized short-term cross-border electricity market participants,

23. ‘balance between electricity supply and demand’ means satisfying foreseeable demand from consumers in the utilization of electricity without the need to take steps to reduce electricity consumption

24. 'the metering of produced electricity at terminals of an electricity generating installation' means measuring the total electricity generation by way of the designated meter4) at the generator terminals installed at the electricity generation installation;

25. 'regional distribution system' means a distribution system to which more than 100,000 offtake points are connected,

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26. 'local distribution system' means a distribution system to which not more than 100,000 offtake points are connected,

27. 'managing energetic effectiveness' means a procedure aimed at affecting the quantity of electricity consumption and a time schedule of electricity consumption with a view to decrease primary consumption of electricity; affecting of the quantity of electricity consumption and the time schedule of electricity consumption can be achieved by preferring such investments which shall ensure energetic effectiveness, to measures which establish the expenditure of additional investments to increase production capacity or measures aimed at interruption of electricity supplies, if the preferred investments are a more effective and economically convenient solution, taking into account also their positive impact on the environment,

28. small source means facility for generation of electricity from renewable source with the total installed power up to 10 kW

c) in the gas sector,

1. 'gas' means natural gas, including LNG, biogas, biomethane, gas produced from biomass, and any other types of gas if such gases meet the criteria for gas transmission or gas distribution,

2. 'gas production' means the extraction of natural gas, or the production of biogas, production of gas from biomass5) or production of gas from some other gaseous hydrocarbon,

3. 'gas transmission' means the transport of gas through a gas transmission system for the purpose of its transport to gas consumers,

4. 'gas distribution' means the transport of gas through a gas distribution network for the purpose of its transport to gas consumers,

5. 'distribution network' means the gas distribution equipment within part of the defined territory, including high-pressure gas lines that serve primarily for the transportation of gas to part of the defined territory, except for gas lines that part of other networks,

6. 'transmission system' means the network of compressor stations and the network foremost of high pressure gas pipelines that are interconnected and which serve primarily for transporting gas in the defined territory, excluding the upstream network, and high-pressure gas pipelines that serve primarily for transporting gas to part of the defined territory,

7. 'storage facility' means a facility used for the stocking of natural gas or LNG, including ancillary services for injection into the storage facility, extraction from the storage facility, treatment, and transport of gas to or from the system, but excluding storage facilities6) or parts thereof used to secure extraction activities or used exclusively by transmission system operators or distribution system operators in order to carry out their activities,

8. 'LNG facility' means a terminal used for the liquefaction of natural gas, or for the regasification of LNG, or for temporary storage of LNG during the period necessary for regasification, and which includes ancillary services and temporary storing of LNG for the period necessary for regasification and subsequent supply of gas to the transmission network,

9. 'system' means the transmission system, distribution system, LNG facility, storage facility, facility for the provision of ancillary services, and facility necessary for providing access to the system,

10. 'direct line' means a gas pipeline which is not part of the transmission system or distribution system in the defined territory,

11. 'offtake point' means a gas offtake point equipped with a designated meter44),

12. ‘'gas supply' means the sale or resale of gas, or the sale of LNG, to gas consumers,

13. 'ancillary service' means a service necessary for access to the system, operation of the system including the operation of facilities necessary for system balancing or facilities necessary for gas

5) Section 2 (1) of Act No. 309/2009 Coll. on support to renewable sources of energy and highly effective combined generation and on amendment and supplement to certain laws, as amended by.6) Section 34a of Act No. 44/1988 Coll. on protection and utilization of mineral resources (the Mining Act), as amended.

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blending or equipment necessary for injection of inert gases, but excluding facilities needed by the system operator to execute its own activities,

14. ‘linepack' means the storage of gas by compression in the pipelines of transmission or distribution systems; it excludes the storage of gas in facilities reserved for the operators of such systems to carry out their own functions,

15. 'system balancing' means the compensating of imbalances in the system by the supply of gas to the system, or by the removal of gas from the system or by linepack,

16. 'combined system' means a network which includes a transmission system, distribution system and storage facility, or any combination thereof,

17. 'upstream pipeline network' means a pipeline network used to transport extracted natural gas from the point of natural-gas extraction to the point of natural-gas processing or to the point where natural gas is delivered to the transmission system or the distribution system or to a storage facility,

18. 'gas equipment' means a gas facility or gas offtake equipment,

19. 'gas facility' means a facility designed for gas transmission, gas distribution, or gas storage, including facilities necessary for the provision of ancillary services, equipment necessary for ensuring access to and operation of the system, including the main gas shutoff valve and direct line,

20. 'gas offtake equipment' means a gas consumer's equipment intended for the offtake of gas,

21. 'main gas shutoff valve' means an equipment that is operated by the network operator and that separates the gas facility from the offtake equipment or from the gas facility of another gas undertaking,

22. ‘gas supply model diagram’ means a substitute method for determining daily gas offtakes, deviation settlement and for the purpose of substitute meter readings in the case of final gas consumer groups for which the gas supplier has no gas offtake data at its disposal on a daily basis,

23. ‘agreed access to the system’ means access to the system agreed with gas market participants with commercial terms of access to the system published in advance,

24. “deviation of the gas market participant” means any deviation occurred within a certain time period as a difference between the contractually agreed quantity of a supply or gas offtake and the supplied or offtaken quantity of gas in the real-time.

Section 3

For the purpose of the Act a) in general1. 'undertaking' means a person which pursues business in the energy sector,

2. 'affiliated undertaking' means an undertaking controlled by other undertaking or several undertakings, because such other undertaking or undertakings are affiliated in terms of property and personnel, as a result of which they have a decisive interest in voting rights,

3. 'affiliated connection' means a direct or indirect interest of other undertaking or undertakings in voting rights as a result of the fact that they have an interest in the registered capital of other undertaking or shares of the undertaking to which a decisive interest in voting rights is attached, or shares of the undertaking to which a decisive interest in voting rights is attached,

4. 'personal connection' means a situation when a statutory body, a member of a statutory body, a member of a supervisory body of an undertaking or undertakings is the same person or the same persons or at least the majority thereof with a decisive interest in voting rights in such body or if a statutory body, a member of a statutory body, a member of a supervisory body of an undertaking or undertakings are close persons; the decisive interest means an absolute majority in voting rights,

5. 'integrated undertaking' means a vertically integrated undertaking or horizontally integrated undertaking,

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6. 'vertically integrated undertaking' means a vertically integrated power undertaking or a vertically integrated gas undertaking,

7. 'horizontally integrated undertaking' means an undertaking pursuing one of the activities: generation of electricity, transit of electricity, distribution of electricity or supply of electricity and other activity which is not in the scope of business in the energy sector or an undertaking pursuing one of the activities: generation of gas, transit of gas, distribution of gas, storage of gas or supply of gas and other activity which is not in the scope of business in the gas sector,

8. 'settlement coordinator' means a person ensuring settlement of deviations,

9. 'supplier of last resort' means a holder of license to supply electricity, which supplies electricity to end electricity consumers or a holder of license to supply gas which supplies gas to end gas consumers to be determined by the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (the “office”) in its decision,

10. “small-sized undertaking” the end electricity consumer with the annual consumption of electricity no more than 30 000 kWh for a previous year or the end gas consumer with the annual consumption of gas no more than 100 000 kWh for a previous year,

11. 'supplier providing a universal service' means an electricity supplier or a gas supplier supplying electricity or gas to electricity household consumers, gas household consumers or to small-sized undertakings,

b) in the electricity sector1. 'generator of electricity' means a person holding a license to generate electricity under this Act,

2. 'transmission system operator' means a person holding a license to transit electricity in the defined territory,

3. 'distribution system operator' means a person holding a license to distribute electricity in part of the defined territory,

4. 'vertically integrated electricity undertaking' means a power undertaking or a group of electricity undertakings, in which the same person or persons are directly or indirectly authorized to exercise control or any from persons exercising joint control, and where an undertaking or a group of undertakings pursue at least one of the activities: transit of electricity or distribution of electricity and at least one of the activities: generation of electricity or supply of electricity,

5. ' electricity undertaking' means a person which pursues at least one of the activities: generation of electricity, transit of electricity, distribution of electricity, supply of electricity or purchase of electricity for purpose of other sale of electricity and which is in connection to such activities responsible for commercial tasks, technical tasks or maintenance; electricity undertaking is not an end electricity consumer,

6. 'supplier of electricity' means a person holding a license to supply electricity,

7. 'consumer of electricity' means a person which buys electricity for the purpose of its further sale or an end electricity consumer,

8. 'end electricity consumer' means a consumer of electricity in household or a consumer of electricity outside household which buys electricity for its own consumption,

9. 'consumer of electricity in household' means a physical person which buys electricity for its own consumption in household,7)

7) Section 2, Section 13 and Section 24 (1) of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 182/1993 Coll. on ownership of dwelling and non-dwelling premises.Section 119, Section 120 (1), Section 121 (1) and 2 of the Civil Code.

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10. 'consumer of electricity outside household' means a person which buys electricity which is not used for the own consumption of a customer of electricity in household,

11. 'eligible consumer of electricity' means a person authorized to select a supplier of electricity,

12. 'billed entity' means an electricity market participant who selected a regime of its own responsibility for deviation and entered into a contract for settlement of deviations,

13. 'party to organized short-term cross-border electricity market' means a billed entity which entered with the organizer of short-term electricity market in a contract on access and conditions of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

14. 'organizer of short-term electricity market' means a person under Section 37, holding a license for activity of the organizer of short-term electricity market,

15. 'user of the system' means a person which supplies electricity or consumes electricity through the transmission system or the distribution system or entered with the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator into a contract,

16. 'provider of ancillary services' means an electricity market participant which has in connection with the provision of ancillary services a contractual relationship with the settlement coordinator and with the transmission system operator in accordance with technical conditions of the transmission system operator under Section 19,

17. 'vulnerable household electricity consumer' means a household electricity consumer whose vital functions are depending upon the offtake of electricity or which is strongly disabled8) and uses electricity for heating and which reported such fact to, and demonstrated it itself or through its electricity supplier to the distribution system operator to which his connection point is connected, in the manner specified in the market rules,

c) in the gas sector1. 'producer of gas' means a person means which extracts natural gas, operates upstream pipeline network for the extraction of natural gas or produces biogas, gas from biomass5) or gas from gaseous hydrocarbon under this Act,

2. 'vertically integrated undertaking' means a gas undertaking or a group of gas undertakings, in which the same person or persons are directly or indirectly authorized to exercise control or any from persons exercising joint control, and where an undertaking or a group of undertakings pursue at least one of the activities: transit of gas, distribution of gas, operation of LNG facilities, gas storage and one of the activities: production of gas or supply of gas,

3. 'gas undertaking' means a person which pursues at least one of the activities: production of gas, transit of gas, distribution of gas, purchase of gas for its resale of for storing of gas including permanent storing of LNG and which is in connection with such activities responsible for commercial tasks, technical tasks or maintenance; end gas consumer is not a gas undertaking,

4. 'transmission network operator' means a gas undertaking authorized to transit gas under this Act,

5. 'distribution network operator' means a gas undertaking authorized to distribute gas under this Act,

6. 'supplier of gas' means a person holding a license for gas supply,

7. 'storage facility operator' means a gas undertaking holding a license to store gas under this Act,

8. 'LNG facility operator' means a person authorized to operate LNG facilities under this Act,

9. 'network user means' a person which supplies gas or offtakes gas through the network or has with the network operator a contractual relationship,

8) Section 2 of Act No. 447/2008 Coll. on financial contribution for compensation of severe disability and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 180/2011 Coll.

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10. 'gas consumer' means a person which purchases gas for its resale or for the purpose of its own consumption,

11. 'end gas consumer' means a household gas consumer or a non-household gas consumer which purchases gas for its own consumption,

12. 'household gas consumer' means a physical person which purchases gas for its own consumption in household,7)

13. 'non-household gas consumer' means a person which purchases gas which is not used for the own consumption of a household gas consumer,

14. 'eligible gas consumer' means a person authorized to select a gas supplier,

15. 'combined network operator' means a gas undertaking authorized to operate a combined network under this Act,

16. 'protected gas consumer' means a gas consumer connected to the distribution network and which is

16.1 a household consumer of gas,16.2 a small-sized undertaking,16.3 a gas consumer that produces heat and hot industrial water intended for households7) or for the persons under subsections 16.4 through 16.7 and which is not able to use in the production of heat alternative fuel,16.4 health-care facility operator9)16.5 social services facility 10)16.6 facility for the social protection of children and social custody,11)16.7 school,12)16.8 a gas consumer except for the gas consumer under sections 16.1 through 16.7 to the extent and under the terms specified by a special regulation13) and a generally binding legal regulation, issued under Section 95 (1) (a).

17 ‘vulnerable household gas consumer’ means a household consumer of gas who is strongly disabled8) and who uses gas for heating and who announced and demonstrated this circumstance either alone or via their gas supplier to the operator of the distribution system to which their offtake point is connected, in the manner as per the market rules,

CHAPTER TWO

SUBCHAPTER ONE

CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

Section 4

Conducting business in the energy sector

(1) Undertaking business in the energy sector includes:

9) Section 7 of Act No. 578/2004 Coll. on health care providers, health-care workers, professional organizations in the health-care sector and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended.10) Section 25 through 29, Section 32 through 40 a Section 56 through 60 of Act No. 448/2008 Coll. on social services and on amendment and supplement to Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on Trades, (Trade License Act) as amended.11) Section 45 of Act No. 305/2005 Coll. on social protection of children and on social care, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 466/2008 Coll.12) Section 27 of Act No. 245/2008 Coll. on education (the School Act) and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.13) Art. 2 (1)(a) of regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010 dated 20 October 2010 on measures to ensure the safety of gas supplies, repealing regulation of the Council 2004/67/ES (Ú. v. EÚ L 295, 12.11.2010).

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a) the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity,

b) the activity of organizer of the short-term electricity market,

c) the production, transmission, distribution, storage and supply of gas,

d) the operation of pipelines for the transport of fuels or oil,

e) the operation of equipment for the filling of pressure vessels,

f) the operation of equipment for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas.

(2) Undertaking business in the energy sector does not refer to electricity generation, electricity distribution, gas production and gas distribution solely for one’s own consumption and electricity supply including ensuring electricity transit, electricity distribution and other services related to electricity supply and gas supply, including ensuring gas transit, gas distribution and other services related to gas supply to other persons at purchase prices, including parts of the price for electricity transit, electricity distribution and other services related to electricity supply and parts of the price for gas transit, gas distribution and other services related to gas supply without any further increase; this shall not apply if this relates to electricity supply to end electricity consumers connected to the local distribution system. This is without prejudice to the provisions of Sections 12 through 14.

(3) The price per a unit of supplied electricity and gas under subsection 1 including parts of the price for transit of electricity, distribution of electricity and other services connected to a supply of electricity and parts of the price for gas transit, gas distribution and other services connected to a gas supply must be the same as the price in a tax document issued for such supply of electricity of supplies of including parts of the price for transit of electricity, distribution of electricity and other services connected to a supply of electricity or parts of the price for gas transit, gas distribution and other services connected to a gas supply.

(4) Undertaking business in the energy sector does not refer to electricity generation in a small source by the producer if it does not make claim to subsidy by supplementary payment according to special enactment14 and which concurrently is electricity consumer in household and its annual electricity generation does not exceed 1.5-multiple of 12-month real consumption of point of supply calculated based on average daily consumption according to the last statement of account of the consumer in household. At new points of supply, the 12-month real electricity consumption is replaced by the projected annual electricity consumption specified in the building permit.

(5) The duty of notification shall apply accordingly to the parties which pursue activities referred to in subsection 2 and 4, under which duty such parties shall be obliged to notify the office, within 30 days, of the commencement, termination and change of such activity. The notice shall contain the name, surname, address of the residency of a physical person or the trade name, identification number of a legal person, the place of activity, date of commencement, change or termination of the activity and a description of the energy facility, if used for the activity being notified.

Section 5Professional qualification

(1) Professional qualification means proving the required educational attainment and professional experience, and passing the relevant examinations.

(2) Education and training shall be demonstrated by documents confirming a) attainment of a secondary education specialized in a technical field and seven years of

professional experience in the energy sector;

b) completion of a full secondary education specialized in a technical field and six years of professional experience in the energy sector;

c) the completion of a secondary specialized education with higher education in a technical or economic field and five years of professional experience in the energy sector;

14 Section 3 subsection 1 item c) of Act No. 309/2009, as amended.

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d) a first degree university education in a technical field, an economic field, in natural sciences with specialization in mathematics, physics or chemistry, and confirming completion of four years professional experience in the energy sector, or

e) a second degree university education in a technical field, an economic field, in natural sciences with specialization in mathematics, physics or chemistry, and confirming completion of three years professional experience in the energy sector.

(3) The examination mentioned in subsection (1) shall be taken before an Examination board set up by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter the “ministry”).

(4) The applicant for a license shall demonstrate his professional qualification with a certificate of professional qualification, as issued by the ministry following the submission of the documents as per subsection (2) and the passing of the examination as per subsection (3). If the employer with whom the applicant gained professional experience in the energy sector has ceased, the applicant may substitute the document on professional experience by a sworn declaration.

(5) A holder of the certificate of professional qualification shall be obliged to participate once in five years in updated professional preparation conducted by the ministry or a legal person determined by the ministry. A holder of the certificate of professional qualification shall first time participate in the updated professional preparation no later than five years upon issuance of the certificate of professional qualification. The ministry shall issue confirmation on participation in the updated professional preparation. Upon expiration of five years upon issuance of the certificate of professional qualification, a holder of the certificate of professional qualification shall demonstrate, together with the certificate of professional qualification, also confirmation on participation in the updated professional preparation.

Section 6

License to conduct business in the energy sector

(1) Business in the energy sector may only be conducted on the basis of and in accordance with a license or confirmation on the fulfillment of the notification duty.

(2) Except for activities under subsection (4), a license is required for:a) the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity,

b) the activity of organizer of the short-term electricity market,

c) the production, transmission, distribution, storage and supply of gas,

d) the operation of pipelines for the transport of fuels,

e) the operation of pipelines for the transport of oil,

f) the operation of equipment for the filling of pressure vessels,

g) the operation of equipment for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas.

(3) Activities under subsection (2) shall be permitted by the Office; a license may be issued for one or more activities for an indefinite period, unless requested otherwise by the applicant.

(4) The license is not required for the following activities:a) the generation and supply of electricity in generating facilities with a total installed capacity up to 1

MW inclusive;

b) the generation and supply of gas from biomass:

c) the production and supply of gas from biogas,

d) the sale of compressed natural gas to be used as fuel for motor vehicles,

e) the transport of extracted oil from the place of extraction to the place of processing,

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f) the sale of liquefied petroleum gas in pressure vessels,

g) the sale of liquefied petroleum gas to be used as fuel for motor vehicles, including filling of a vehicle’s tank by liquefied petroleum gas intended for drive of vehicles, except for the filling of pressure vessels,

h) the transport of liquefied petroleum gas in pressure vessels.

(5) The entity performing an activity that does not require a license pursuant to subsection (4), is subject to a duty of notification, under which it must notify the Office within thirty days of the commencement, termination and change of the activity. The notification shall contain the name, surname, and address of the residence of a natural entity or the business name, identification number, registered office and statutory body of a legal entity, a definition of activities pursuant to subsection 4, the date of commencement, change or end of the activities and a description, address, acquisition costs and installed output of the equipment on which the activities are undertaken pursuant to subsection 4. An annex to the notice is an officially certified copy of a deed on title or lease relationship of the applicant to the energy facility for the production of gas or facility for the transport of crude oil or liquefied petroleum gas in pressure vessels, in two counterparts. The period for the issuance of a confirmation on the fulfillment of the notification duty is 30 days. A certificate on fulfillment of the duty of notification issued by Office is a certificate about authorization to do business. The office shall amend or revoke the confirmation on the fulfillment of the notification duty if proven that the same has been issued based on incorrect data, untrue data or the conditions based on which it has been issued have changed.

(6) The license for electricity transmission and license to the activity of the short-term electricity market organizer are issued for the whole territory of the Slovak Republic.

(7) A person that has its permanent residence or registered office in the territory of a state that is a party to the to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and which is interested in supplying electricity or supplying gas in the defined territory on the basis of a license to supply electricity or gas, which it has under the laws of the state of its permanent residence or registered office or other state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, is obliged to request the Office to issue a license for the supply of electricity or gas in the defined territory; it is obliged to attach to the application an officially translated document15) about the license to supply electricity or supply gas under laws of the state of permanent residence or registered office or other state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (hereinafter “license of a foreign entity”).

(8) The license under subsection 7

to supply electricity or gas in the defined territory shall cease if the license of a foreign entity issued at the place of its permanent residency or seat or another state which is a party to the Treaty on European Economic Area ceases.

(9) The person as per subsection 7 is obliged to announce the termination of the license of a foreign entity in the state under the laws of which it was established to the office forthwith after becoming aware of such a circumstance.

(10) The person as per subsection 7 that supplies electricity in the defined territory is subject to the obligation of an electricity supplier as per this Act and as per separate regulation.2)

(11) The person as per subsection 7 that supplies gas in the defined territory is subject to the obligation of a gas supplier as per this Act and as per separate regulation. 2)

(12) The license and confirmation on the fulfillment of the notification duty cannot be passed on to another person.

Section 7

15) Section 23 (2) of Act No. 382/2004 Coll. on valuators, interpreters and translators and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.

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License conditions

(1) A natural person to whom a license is issued, except for the license issued under Section 6 (7), must:

a) be at least 21 years of age at the time of filing the license application,

b) possess full legal capacity,

c) have residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic16), if the business entity in the energy sector is a foreign natural person, a document on permanent residence in the territory of a state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area,

d) have a clean criminal record,

e) have a professional qualification for performing the requested activities, proven by a certificate under Section 5 (4),

f) meet the technical preconditions for performing the activities for which a license is requested,

g) designate a responsible representative, who, if a natural person, need not possess the professional qualification pursuant to item e).

(2) For granting a license to a legal entity, except for the license issued under Section 6 (7), the following conditions must be met:

a) location of the registered office, enterprise or organizational unit of the legal entity in the defined territory,

b) if it is a legal entity requesting a license to generate electricity from nuclear fuel, professional qualification of a member of the statutory body to perform the requested activities is to be demonstrated by certification under Section 5 (4) and completion of a university education and experience as per Section 5 (2) (d) or (e),

c) demonstration of the technical preconditions for performing the activities, for which the license is requested,

d) designation of a responsible representative,

e) the statutory body or members of the statutory body must possess a clean criminal record.

(3) For granting a license to transit electricity and transit gas is required a valid and effective decision of the Office on granting certification of the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator under a special regulation.17).

(4) The license applicant shall meet the technical preconditions for performing the activities for which a license is requested; this shall not apply where the applicant is requesting a license to supply electricity or to supply gas. The technical preconditions under the foregoing sentence shall be demonstrated by the license applicant by a officially certified copy of a document on ownership relationship or lease relationship to technological part of the facility for the generation, transit and distribution of electricity, facility for the generation, transit, distribution and storage of gas, facility for the transport of fuel or oil, facility to fill up pressure vessels, or facility for distribution of liquefied petroleum gas, or the compliance certificate of an investment intention with the energy policy under Section 12; the license applicant shall also submit to the office the specification of a technological part of such facility on the map of the territory of performance of required activity, in two counterparts.

(5) The applicant for a license to transport electricity must, apart from meeting the conditions set out under subsections 1 and 2, demonstrate also the technical preconditions necessary for balancing system deviations in the defined territory. The technical preconditions necessary to balance deviations of the system in the defined territory shall be demonstrated by the license applicant for electricity transfer by a copy of a contract on ensuring balancing electricity by a balancing electricity supplier under measuring of a power dispatching of the transmission system operator (hereinafter the

16) Section 3 and Section 8 of Act No. 253/1998 Coll. on reporting the residency of citizens of the Slovak Republic and the register of citizens of the Slovak Republic as amended. Section 22 and Section 42 of Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on the stay of foreigners, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.17) Sections 25 through 28 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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“dispatching”). Apart from meeting the obligations referred to in subsections 1 and 2, the applicant for an electricity distribution or gas distribution license is obliged, with regard to new distribution systems and distribution networks, to present a certificate to construct the electricity facility pursuant to Section 12.

(6) If the license applicant does not fulfill the conditions for the issuance of a license as laid down in this Act, the Office shall reject their application. The reasons for rejection of the application must be objective, non-discriminatory and duly substantiated.

(7) For the purposes of this Act, a person with a clean criminal record shall mean a person who has not been lawfully convicted of a criminal offence that relates to the subject matter of the business under Section 6(2). A clean criminal record shall be proven by an abstract from the register of criminal records not older than three months; if this relates to a foreign physical person, a clean criminal record shall be proven by a similar confirmation rendered by the relevant body of the state, in which it has permanent residency or in which it is usually present, not older than three months, or, if a similar confirmation is not rendered in such a state, an affidavit made by the foreign physical person in front of the relevant judicial body, administrative body or notary public of that state, not older than three months.

(8) The obligation to demonstrate the professional qualification under subsection 1 letter e), the obligation to determine the a responsible representative under subsection 1 letter g) and the obligation to determine a responsible representative under subsection 2 letter d) shall not apply to the persons which pursue only the activity of electricity supply or gas supply.

(9) The obligation of the license holder to obtain permits and consents to use nuclear energy under a special regulation18) shall not be affected by issuing a license to generate electricity.

Section 8

License issuance procedure

(1) A license to conduct business under section 6(2) shall be issued on the basis of a written application in which the applicant states the requested activity, the territory or part thereof where the requested activity is to be performed, and the period for which the license is requested. At the same time, applicants shall demonstrate satisfaction of the conditions under Section 6 (7) or Section 7.

(2) The decision to issue a license shall state:

a) the first name, surname, date of birth and permanent address of the natural person, or the business name, legal form and registered office of the legal entity,

b) the subject matter, location and scope of business

c) the territory for performance of the requested activity except for a decision on granting license to supply electricity or supply gas,

d) the period of validity of the license, ,

e) the first name, surname, date of birth and permanent residence of the responsible representative, where appointed,

f) the number of the certificate of professional qualification, if its demonstration is required,

g) the obligations and technical conditions under which the activities for which the license is issued.

(3) Following receipt of an application as per subsection 1, the office shall immediately issue a receipt confirmation thereof to the applicant.19)

18) Section 5 of Act No. 541/2004 Coll. on peaceful utilization of nuclear energy (the Atomic Act) and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 21/2007 Coll.19) Section 4 (1) of Act No. 136/2010 Coll. on services in the internal market and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.

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(4) An application as per subsection 1 can be filed also by way of a regional office, which fulfills the role of single contact point20). The office shall promptly inform the single contact point about the issue of a license or about rejection of an application, where the application was filed with the single contact point.

(5) The person to whom a license for conducting business in the energy sector is issued as per Section 6(2) (hereinafter the “license holder”) except for persons which have been rendered the license under Section 6 (7) shall submit a petition for registration of the licensed activity into the Commercial Register within thirty days after the license decision becomes effective.

Section 9Responsible representative

(1) The responsible representative is a natural person who is responsible for the professional performance of the activity licensed as per this Act.

(2) The responsible representative must possess the professional qualification to perform the activity certified under Section 5 (4) and fulfill the condition of a clean criminal record pursuant to Section 7(7).

(3) The responsible representative may perform the office for only one license holder.

(4) The responsible representative of a legal entity may not be a member of a supervisory board or other control body of a legal entity.

(5) Where the responsible representative ceases to exercise the office to which he was appointed, the license holder shall be obliged to appoint a new responsible representative within fifteen days and promptly request for making a change in the license.

Section 10Modification, revocation and termination of a license

(1) The license holder shall request the office in writing to make a change in the license, if conditions and circumstances based on which the license was issued, have changed. The license holder shall attach to a written request any documents which substantiate the change.

(2) The office may modify an issued license at its own initiative if the conditions and circumstances under which the license was issued have changed.

(3) The office shall issue a decision on any modification which it makes, including information pursuant to Section 8(2).

(4) A change of the facility for which the license holder demonstrated technical preconditions to pursue activity being permitted shall not be deemed a change in license if such facilities have a similar purpose and if in an exchange of or supplement to the facilities no decrease or increase capacity of the system or network occurred.

(5) A license shall terminate when:a) the period for which it was granted expires,

b) the legal entity to whom the license was issued ceases to exist,

c) the office decides on revoking the license,

d) the natural person dies or is pronounced dead.

(6) The office shall revoke the license if the license holder a) has ceased to meet the conditions, under which the license was granted,

b) failed to take measures imposed by the office for the removal of imperfections ascertained by inspection,

20) Section 11 of Act No. 136/2010 Coll.

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c) requests revocation of the license in writing, in case of the license for electricity distribution and the license for gas distribution, if requested so as a license holder no less than six month prior to the planned termination of performance of the licensed activity,

d) ceased to pursue activities for which the license was rendered.

Section 11Rights and obligations of the license holder

(1) The license holder, or a person designated by it, may, to an inevitable extent and if it is in the public interest: a) enter another person's land, premises or facilities to the extent and in a manner necessary to

perform the licensed activity,

b) in compliance with conditions for environmental protection , remove and trim trees and other vegetation that threaten the safety or reliability of operation of energy facilities, provided that the owner, failed to do so after prior request; the request must be delivered to the owner as per subsection 3,

c) in compliance with conditions for environmental protection to take care of grass-covered areas,

d) enter, with prior consent in accordance with separate regulations21), access-controlled premises and facilities of the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, Police Force, Prison and Judicial Guard Force of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Intelligence Service and Slovak Railways (ŽSR) ,

e) enter land or property where special telecommunications equipment22) and affiliated equipment23) are located, to the extent and in the manner necessary for performance of the licensed activity.

f) to establish on third party’s land, outside the established built-up area of a municipality,24) electricity lines and power equipment of the transmission system and distribution system and gas pipeline25) and gas equipment of the gas transmission network, distribution network, storage facility and equipment intended for their protection, for preventing faults or breakdowns, or for mitigating the consequences of faults or breakdowns for the protection of human life, health and property; when permitting such a construction the building authority shall decide on the conditions under which the construction may be erected and operated on someone else’s land; the authorizations of the investor to go ahead with the construction shall take effect once the decision acquires legal force.

g) execute, on someone else’s property, the licensed activity on electric power facilities or gas facilities necessary for ensuring operation of the system or network whose construction was permitted as per construction regulations.

(2) A license holder or a person authorized by it, shall be obliged to notify the owner in advance with respect to activities as per subsection 1 a), b) c) and e); this is not required when concerning:a) an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons and when eradicating such situations,

b) a state of emergency or prevention of its occurrence,

c) faults, maintenance or breakdowns at a facility of the electricity system or gas system, and upon their elimination.

(3) The request under subsection 1 letter b) or the notice under subsection 2 is to be delivered by the license holder or its authorized person to the owner at least 15 days before the planned

21) For example Act No. 281/1997 Coll. on military districts and Act which amends Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 222/1996 Coll. on organization of local state administration, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended as amended, Act No. 319/2002 Coll. on defense of the Slovak Republic as amended.22) Section 4 (1) of Act No. 351/2011 Coll. on electronic communications.23) Section 4 (4) of Act No. 351/2011 Coll.24) Section 6 (1)(b) point seven of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 162/1995 Coll. on properties register and on registration of legal title and other rights to real property (Cadastral Act) as amended.25) Section 139 (3) of Act No. 50/1976 Coll. on town planning and building regulation (building act) as amended.

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commencement of activities. Delivery by public announcement is used in the case of a large number of owners or if the residence of the owner is not known. Delivery by public announcement is executed by displaying the notice for a period of at least 30 days on the official notice board of the municipality whose cadastral locality will be directly affected by the activity. In such a case the notice is publicized also in the manner customary for the municipality.

(4) The owner of the property shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs, after performing the activity at the request as per subsection 1 item b), which shall be payable by the license holder, provided the scope and manner of performing the activities and the projected amount of costs for performing these activities is confirmed in advance in writing by the license holder, and in the case of a system operator the particulars of the commercial terms comprising part of the operating rules of the system operator are adjusted.

(5) Where the exercise of rights by the license holder or by a person authorized by it, inflicts property damage, the owner of the property shall be entitled to compensation of damages. Provisions of the Civil Code refer to proceedings for damages. Where the owner's usual utility of the property is impeded, the owner shall be entitled to a reasonable one-off indemnity for the imposed impeded use of the property, if no one-off indemnity pursuant to subsection 9 or 12 is granted. The right for a reasonable one-off indemnity for the imposed impeded use of the property may be claimed from the licence holder, or a person authorized by it, no later than six months from the date when the owner learnt of it, however, no later than one year after the imposed impeded use of the property occurred, otherwise, the owner´s right for a reasonable one-off indemnity for the imposed impeded use of the property shall lapse. If the license holder and the property owner fail to agree on the amount of reasonable one-off indemnity, any of them may file with the court a motion for decision on the amount of reasonable one-off indemnity within six months upon lodging a claim with the license holder.

(6) The license holder, or a person authorized by it, must act in a manner that does not infringe the rights of the owners of the property concerned, and, where such a loss is unavoidable, they must restrict it to the minimum extent possible. After completion of necessary groundwork, the license holder, or a person authorized by it, must restore the land to its original condition or, where this is not possible; compensate the owner of the property for the damage inflicted.

(7) For the purposes of subsections 1 through 6 the owner shall mean an owner, administrator or tenant of the real property.

(8) Obligations corresponding to the authorizations referred to in subsection 1 shall constitute easements26) related to the ownership of the property. The license holder shall be entitled to file for a record to be entered to the respective cadastral office.27)

(9) The owner of the property shall be entitled to a reasonable one-off compensation for the establishment of such easements; compensation shall be provided for the area over which the owner is impeded in the use of the property due to application of a mandatory easement by the license holder, except for assessment for which the owner is entitled to the one-off indemnity under subsection 12.

10) A claim to a reasonable one-off indemnity for the exercise of a statutory easement may be exercised with the license holder within six months from the day when the property owner learned about the exercise of a statutory easement by a license holder, however, no later than within one year upon the exercise of a statutory easement by a license holder and in respect to the statutory easements under subsection 1 (f) and (g) upon registration of an easement in the properties register, otherwise the right to a reasonable one-off indemnity for the exercise of a statutory easement by the license holder shall extinguish. The license holder shall be obliged to notify the property owner in writing of the registration of an easement in the properties register. If the license holder and the property owner fail to agree on the amount of a reasonable one-off indemnity, any of them may file with the court a motion for decision on the amount of a reasonable one-off indemnity within six months upon lodging a claim with the license holder.

26) Section 151n through 151p of the Civil Code, as amended.27) Section 34 a 35 of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 162/1995, as amended.

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(11) Rights corresponding to easements shall fall to the license holder. If there is a change of license owner, the rights corresponding to easements shall pass to the new license holder.

(12) For any compelled restriction of the property owner to use the real property in the protection zone under Sections 43, 79, 87 and the safety zone under Section 80 established after 1 September 2012, the license holder shall pay to the property owner a reasonable one-off indemnity corresponding to the level of restriction of a common use of the property. The property owner must exercise its claim to a reasonable one-off indemnity with the license holder within six months upon it learned about any compelled restriction to use property; however, no later than one year from the compelled restriction to use property, otherwise the right to a reasonable one-off indemnity shall extinguish. The license holder shall be obliged to notify the property owner in writing of the registration of an easement with the properties register. If the license holder and the property owner fail to agree on the amount of a reasonable one-off indemnity, any of them may file with the court a motion for decision on the amount of a reasonable one-off indemnity within six months upon lodging a claim with the license holder.

(13) The owner of the property shall be entitled to ask the office for the issuance of a decision on termination of the authorizations under subsection 1 and as per the current regulations and obligations corresponding to such authorizations related to electrical lines or an electrical facility located on its property. The property owner shall attach to a request for issuance of the decision under the first, a standpoint of the relevant distribution system operator to a request of the property owner.

(14) The office shall issue the decision under subsection 13, if the relevant distribution system operator fail to prove in the standpoint to the office the substantiality to keep electrical lines or an electrical facility from the aspect of current or future needs of the distribution system operator, which can be proven, electrical lines or an electrical facility located on the property of the affected owner are not used for electricity distribution to offtake points of electricity consumers connected to the distribution system through such electrical lines or an electrical facility for at least five years and the affected electricity consumers fail to demonstrate the justification of a connection of their offtake points in a period stipulated in a call of the office; the office shall be obliged to invite the affected electricity consumers for position in a notice of the commencement of a proceeding.

(15) The authorizations under subsection 1 and as per the current regulations and obligations corresponding to such authorizations related to electrical lines or an electrical facility located on the property of the affected owner shall cease to exist on a day of the effectiveness of the decision of the office. On the day of effectiveness of the decision of the office also contracts on connection or other existing rights to a connection to the distribution system of electricity consumers connected to the distribution system through electrical lines or an electrical facility placed on the property of the affected owner shall be terminated.

(16) The license holder, or a person authorized by it, shall be obliged:a) to provide to the ministry information necessary for performance of state administration,

b) to grant persons authorized by bodies exercising state administration access to the property where licensed activities are performed as per this Act,

c) to ensure that work relating to performance of a licensed activity which requires professional qualification are performed solely by persons possessing the professional qualification for such work,

d) to ensure that any technical equipment used for the performance of the licensed activity meets the requirements for quality, health and safety at work, as well as the safety of technical equipment and environmental protection requirements; in the gas sector any technical facilities used for the performance of permitted activity must also be in accordance with technical rules for gas, which are registered at the relevant chamber established by law, save for those facilities, to which special regulations from the sector of state mining administration apply; the technical rule for gas is a rule expressing the status of technical knowledge and technology in the gas sector,

e) to notify the Office within 30 days about the beginning, change to or termination of the licensed activity; the notice shall contain the name, surname and address of the natural person or business name, identification number, registered office and statutory body of a legal person, a definition of

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the licensed activity, and the date of commencement, change to or termination of the licensed activity.

f) to provide to the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator information necessary to fulfill obligations of the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator, prepare or cooperate in the preparation of system or network development plans including the system or the network outside of the defined territory under this Act and special regulations.28).

Section 12Construction of energy facility

(1) The energy facility for the purpose of this provision means an electricity facility, gas facility, pipeline for the transit of fuels or for the transit of oil and facilities for the distribution of liquefied gaseous hydrocarbon

(2) To construct an energy facility is only possible on the basis of certification for construction of an energy facility. This shall not apply when concerning the construction of an energy facility for

a) the generation of electricity from solar energy placed on a roof construction or circumferential coat of one building connected to the ground with a fixed basis registered in the properties register with a total installed output up to 100 kw inclusive, and at the same time this relates to the construction of the first electrical facility for the generation of electricity from solar energy on a roof construction or circumferential coat of such building; the installed output of such electrical facility may be increased above 100 kW only based on a certificate for construction of an energy facility,

b) the generation of electricity with a total installed output up to 1 MW inclusive, which uses a different primary energy source than solar energy; the installed output of such electrical facility may be increased above 1 MW only based on a certificate for construction of an energy facility,

c) the production of gas,

d) the distribution of electricity, which corresponds to the extension, reconstruction or modernization of the existing distribution system of the distribution system operator in part of the defined territory or in territory immediately connected to a part of the defined territory and which is to be operated by the of a distribution system operator to the level of high voltage, with the exception of cases concerning electricity lines and power facilities used for the transmission of electricity between part of the territory of the European Union or the territory of a third state and the defined territory or part of the defined territory,

e) the distribution of gas which corresponds to the extension, reconstruction or modernization of the existing distribution network of the distribution network operator in part of the defined territory or in territory immediately connected to a part of the defined territory and which is to be operated by the of a distribution network operator within part of the defined territory,

f) the transport of gas which corresponds to the reconstruction or modernization of the existing transmission network of the transmission network operator and which will be operated by the transmission network operator,

g) the operation of a storage facility which corresponds to reconstruction or upgrade of the existing storage facility of the storage facility operator and which will be operated by the storage facility operator.

(3) The Energy Policy shall be approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter „the Government“ only) at the proposal of the ministry.

(4) The certificate for construction of an energy facility shall be issued by the Ministry upon written application of the applicant, which shall specify

28) Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 714/2009 dated 13 July 2009 on conditions of access to the system for cross-border electricity exchange, and repealing Regulation (EC) No . 1228/2003 (OJ. EÚ L 211, 14.8.2009).Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 715/2009 dated 13 July 2009 on conditions of access to gas transmission networks, and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1775/2005 (OJ EÚ L 211, 14.8.2009).

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a) identification data of the applicant,1) first name, surname, date of birth and residence in the defined territory in the case of a natural

person;

2) business name, identification number, if allocated, the legal form, registered office, name and surname and dates of birth of members of the statutory board in the case of a legal entity;

b) investment objective, containing1. a description of the energy facility,2. data on the placement of the energy facility,3. projected impact

3. 1. of the electricity facility on the transmission grid or distribution system in the defined territory from the perspective of safety or reliability,3.2 of the gas facility on the transmission network or distribution network in the defined territory from the perspective of safety and reliability,3.3. of pipes for the transmission of fuels or for the transmission of oil on existing pipes from the perspective of safety and reliability, 3.4. of a facility for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas on the distribution network in the defined territory from the perspective of safety and reliability,

4. data on primary energy sources, including data on the type and quantity of primary sources of energy per one year of standard operation,

5. energetic effectiveness, 6. the projected impact of the energy facility on the protection of health and on the natural environment,

7. the funding of the investment objective, 8. the impact

8.1. of the electricity facility on the security of supplies of electricity in the defined territory,8.2. of the gas facility on the security of supplies of gas in the defined territory,8.3. of pipes for the transmission of fuels or the transmission of oil on the security of supplies of fuels or security of supplies of oil,8.4. of the facility for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas on the security of distribution of liquefied petroleum gas in the defined territory,

9.compliance of the investment objective with the land use plan of the municipality, demonstrated by the standpoint of the municipality,10. the manner of connecting

10.1. the electricity facility to the grid,10.2. the gas facility to the network,10.3. pipes for the transmission of fuels or for the transmission of oil to existing pipes,10.4 the facility for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas to the distribution network.

11. the projected benefit of the production capacity of the electricity facility 11.1. to achieving the set proportion of renewable sources of energy5) in the gross final electricity consumption as per separate regulation29), 11.2. with regard to emission savings30),

12. the significance of the gas facility for the internal gas market.

(5) The written application as per subsection 4 is to include the standpoint of the operator

a) of the distribution system to which the electricity facility is to be connected, regarding data as per subsection 4 (b) points 3.1 and 10.1,

b) of the transmission system, regarding data as per subsection 4 (b), points 2, 3.1, 8.1 and 10.1,

c) of the distribution network to which the gas facility is to be connected, regarding data as per subsection 4 (b), points 3.2. and 10.2,

d) of the transmission network to which the electricity facility is to be connected, regarding data as per subsection 4 (b), points 2, 3.2, 8.2 and 10.2,

29) Section 9a of Act No. 309/2009 Coll. as amended by Act No. 136/2011 Coll.30) Section 2 (e) of Act No. 572/2004 Coll. on trading in emission quotas and on amendment and supplement to certain laws, as amended.

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e) of pipes for the transmission of fuels or the operator of pipes for the transmission of oil, to which the pipes for the transmission of fuels or the transmission of oil are to be connected, regarding data as per subsection 4 (b), points 3.3 and 10.3,

f) of the distribution network to which the facility for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas is to be connected, regarding data as per subsection 3 letter b), points 3.4 and 10.4.

(6) A part of the written application of an applicant regarding an energy facility for the generation of electricity with a total installed output from 1 MW shall be a standpoint of the office in respect to the issuance of a certificate for the construction of an energy facility. A part of the written application of an applicant regarding an energy facility for the generation of electricity with a total installed output from 30 MW shall be the demonstration of the qualification under Section 5(4) or Section 9 (2) and experience in the operation of an energy facility.

(7) The experience in the operation of an energy facility shall mean the operation of the same or similar kind of energy facility for which the applicant is requesting certification for construction of an energy facility. Experience is to be demonstrated by the applicant by a list of operated energy facilities in a sworn declaration or by a list of energy facilities operated by an entity with significant influence in the applicant's operation and decision-making, stated in a sworn declaration. For the purposes of this provision, significant influence means an interest in the applicant's share capital of at least 34%.

(8) If the applicant’s investment plan complies with the Energy Policy, the ministry shall issue a certificate for construction of an energy facility within 60 days of receipt of the application; this period may be prolonged by an additional 30 days. The ministry shall not issue the certificate if the applicant’s investment plan fails to comply with the Energy Policy. The reasons for rejection of the application shall be objective, non-discriminatory and duly substantiated.

(9) The certificate for the construction of an energy facility for construction of a distribution system or distribution network shall be issued on condition that no distribution system or distribution network has already been built or is proposed to be built in the plan of development of the distribution system or distribution network in the defined territory or its part to which the application for certificate for the construction of an energy facility pertains, or that the capacity of the existing or proposed distribution system or distribution network is fully used.

(10) For assessing the application, the ministry shall request the respective distribution system or distribution network operator to provide its statement:a) as to whether in the area of interest a distribution system or distribution network has already been

built,

b) as to whether the current distribution system or distribution network is fully used and whether it is able to meet the needs assumed in the investment plan,

c) as to whether according to the distribution system or distribution network development plan under Section 31(2)(q) and under Section 64(7)(f), in the area of interest construction of a distribution system or distribution network is planned and whether it will be able to meet the needs assumed in the investment plan.

(11) The distribution system operator or distribution network operator is obliged to submit its statement referred to in subsection 10 within 15 business days at the latest from delivery of the application. If the distribution system or distribution network operator fails to provide a statement by this term, it means that in the area for which the application for certificate for construction of an energy facility pertains a distribution system or distribution network has not been built, or its existing or planned capacity is utilized.

(12) The ministry shall reject the application, if the distribution system or distribution network operator in its statement as per subsection 10 states that in the defined territory or part thereof to which the application for certification for construction of an energy facility pertains, a distribution system or distribution network has already been built or is planned to be built, and its existing or planned capacity is not fully used, within a reasonable period of time, considering the construction of the energy facility as per the submitted investment plan, including measures for its modification, it will

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be able to cover the needs of the investment plan stated in the application for certification for construction of an energy facility.

(13) If the distribution system or distribution network operator fails to submit to the ministry an effective planning decision for the construction of the planned distribution system or distribution network within two year from when the decision to reject the application as per subsection 12 enters into effect, the ministry may issue the certificate for construction of an energy facility to another applicant.

(14) The certificate for construction of an energy facility serves as documentation for planning

proceedings and building permit proceedings, and as a document for the application on connection of the facility for the generation of electricity to the transmission system or to the distribution system. The certificate for construction of an energy facility for the construction of a distribution system or distribution network serves as documentation for the issuance of a license for carrying out business in the energy sector pursuant to Sections 6 and 7. The certificate for construction of an energy facility for a cogeneration facility shall also be assessed as per separate regulation. 31)

(15) The criteria for the issue of certificate for construction of an energy facility, set out to ensure compliance with the Energy Policy, which the issue of certificate for construction of an energy facility is subject to, must be published by the ministry on its web seat and in the Journal of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter the “Journal of the ministry”).

(16) The Ministry shall keep record of applicants seeking the issuance of the certificate for construction of an energy facility and publish a list of all certificates for construction of an energy facility issued under subsection 8, which shall contain the particulars referred to under subsection 4(a) and (b), points 1 and 2, in the Journal of the ministry and on its web site.

(17) The certificate for construction of an energy facility shall remain valid for three years from the date when the Ministry decision becomes final. The certificate for construction of an energy facility in respect of the construction of a facility for electricity generation from nuclear fuel shall be valid for seven years from the date when the Ministry decision becomes final. The applicant in respect of whom the Ministry issued the certificate for construction of an energy facility shall be obliged to notify the Ministry in writing, once per year starting from the date when the Ministry decision becomes final, about the state of preparations and progress in construction of the electricity facility and gas facility.

Section 13Construction of a direct line

(1) Electricity producers shall be entitled to transport electricity to their own facility or to the facility of a vertically integrated energy undertaking by means of a direct line. The same right as an electricity producer shall apply also to electricity consumers.

(2) A direct line may be constructed only with the consent of the office. The office shall issue a decision on its consent to the construction of the direct line if the electricity producer or electricity consumer has proven their compliance with the conditions laid down in subsection (3).

(3) Consent to the construction of the direct line shall be approved only if it is shown that:a) the direct line is consistent with the general economic interest and the Energy Policy, under

Section 88 (2)(u)

b) the electricity producer or the electricity consumer has been denied access to the transmission system or distribution system,

c) proceedings before the office to settle a dispute over access to the transmission system or distribution system have been initiated, and that the proceedings to settle the dispute have not been discontinued at the initiative of any party to proceedings,

d) the construction of the direct line does not put any electricity market participant in a more favorable position.

31) Section 12 and 13 of Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on Heat power sector, as amended.

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(4) The list of direct lines shall be published by the office on its website and the quantity of electricity conveyed through these lines shall be published by the relevant direct line operator on its website.

Section 14Construction of a direct line for gas

(1) A gas producer or a consumer of gas shall be entitled to transport gas for their own consumption by means of a direct line.

(2) A direct line may be constructed only with the consent of the office. The office shall issue a decision consenting to the construction of the direct line if the gas producer or consumer demonstrates fulfillment of the conditions laid down in subsection (3).

(3) Consent to the construction of the direct line shall be given only if it is shown that: a) the direct line is consistent with the general economic interest and the Energy Policy, under

Section 88 (2)(u).

b) the gas producer or gas consumer has been denied access to the transmission network or distribution network,

c) proceedings before the office to settle a dispute over access to the transmission network or distribution network have been initiated and that the proceedings to settle the dispute have not been discontinued at the request of any party to proceedings,

d) the construction of the direct gas pipeline does not put any gas market participant in a more favorable position.

SUBCHAPTER TWO

ELECTRICITY MARKET AND GAS MARKET, PROTECTION OF ELECTRICITY AND GAS CONSUMERS AND ENSURING THE SAFETY OF ELECTRICITY AND GAS SUPPLIES

Section 15

(1) The subject of the electricity market and the gas market comprises from the supply of

electricity and gas, connection to the transmission system, distribution system, transmission network and distribution network, access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity and access to distribution system and distribution of electricity in the defined territory, access to the transmission network and transmission of gas and access to distribution network and distribution of gas in the defined territory, access to a gas storage facility and storage of gas, the provision of ancillary services in the electricity sector and gas sector, the provision of system services in the electricity sector, and the connection and access of new electricity producers and gas producers to the system or to network.

(2) Electricity market participants are:a) the electricity producer,

b) the transmission system operator,

c) the distribution system operator,

d) the electricity supplier,

e) the electricity consumer,

f) short-term electricity market organizer.

(3) Gas market participants are:a) the gas producer,

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b) the transmission network operator,

c) the distribution network operator,

d) the storage system operator,

e) the gas supplier,

f) the gas consumer.

(4) Electricity market participant and gas market participant shall have the right of access to the electricity market or gas market on the basis of: • a) regulated access,

• b) negotiated access.

(5) The office shall regulate access to the electricity market and the gas market pursuant to special regulation.2)

(6) Electricity market participants shall have right of regulated access to the transmission system and distribution system.

(7) An electricity market participant is obliged to enter into a contract on settlement of

deviations with the settlement coordinator or into a contract on assumption of liability for deviation with another electricity market participant that is an entity for settlement. An end electricity consumer connected to a local distribution network shall be entitled to enter into a contract on assumption of liability for deviations with the operator of a local distribution system which at the same time supplies electricity to it, at the purchase price including parts of the price for the transit of electricity, distribution of electricity and other services related to electricity supply without further increase, also if the end consumer is not an entity for settlement.

(8) A gas market participant with the right of regulated access to the market shall bear responsibility for a gas market participant deviation and if it does not pass its responsibility for deviation to another entity, shall be the entity for settlement of the network deviation. Responsibility for a gas market participant deviation may also be transferred, under a contract, to another entity. Where responsibility for the deviation of the gas market participant is transferred under a contract to another entity, such entity shall become the entity for settlement with regard to system deviation.

(9) The entity for settlement shall submit to the organizer of short-term electricity market the data necessary for deviation settlement and assessment of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market to the scope and quality as laid down in the market rules. The transmission system operator and the distribution system operator are obliged to provide the organizer of short-term electricity market with data necessary for settlement of deviations, corrective settlement of deviations and assessment of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, to the scope and quality as per separate regulation.2)

(10) The entity for settlement shall pay on time to the organizer of short-term electricity market obligations related to the billing and settlement of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market and the billing and settlement of deviations.

(11) Gas market participants shall have right of regulated access to the transmission network and the distribution network.

(12) The negotiated access to the gas market shall apply to access to the upstream network, to the storage system and to the linepack. The upstream network operator, storage system operator, transmission network operator and distribution network operator shall be obliged to publish on a yearly basis the commercial terms for access and utilization of the upstream network, the storage system and linepack. The upstream network operator, storage system operator, the transmission network operator and the distribution network operator shall be obliged to enable network users to express an opinion to the draft commercial terms for access and use of the upstream network, storage system or linepack and to propose changes to these conditions.

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(13) The negotiated access of gas market participants to the storage system as per subsection 12 may be changed by the office to regulated access in accordance with special regulation.32) Regulated access of gas market participants to the storage system may be changed by the office to negotiated access to the storage system in line with a special regulation.

(14) Every electricity consumer and gas consumer shall have the right to choose the supplier of electricity and supplier of gas under this Act.

(15) Electricity market participants and gas market participants are bound by the market rules.

(16) In respect to a contract for supply of electricity, contract for combined supply of electricity, contract for supply of gas and contract for combined supply of gas executed for an indefinite period of time, the notice period shall be one month to starts running from the first day of a month following the delivery of a written notice of termination and ends upon expiry of the last day of the relevant month. The provision of Section 17 (4) through (6) shall not be affected thereby.

(17) If an eligible gas consumer or an eligible electricity consumer from another is an eligible gas consumer or an eligible electricity consumer in the territory of that Member State and meets technical conditions and commercial conditions for access to the system or the network, the electricity system operator or gas network operator in the defined territory shall conclude a contract with the eligible gas consumer or eligible electricity consumer on access to the electricity transmission system and distribution of electricity contract on access to the distribution system and distribution of electricity, a contract on access to the gas transmission system and transport or distribution of gas or contract on access to the distribution system and gas distribution.

(18) If the transmission system operator, distribution system operator, the transmission network operator or the distribution network operator in the defined territory or part thereof refuses to conclude with an eligible consumer of gas or electricity from another Member State a contract on access to the transmission system and transmission of electricity, contract on access to the distribution system and distribution of electricity, contract on access to the transmission network and transmission of gas, contract on access to the distribution network and distribution of gas, then the eligible electricity consumer or eligible gas consumer may ask the European Commission (hereinafter the “Commission”) to issue a decision granting access to the system or access to the network in the defined territory. The system operator or network operator shall respect the decision of the Commission and shall conclude with the eligible gas consumer or eligible electricity consumer a contract on access to the transmission system and transmission of electricity, contract on access to the distribution system and on the distribution of electricity, contract on access to the transmission network and gas transmission or contract on access to the distribution network and gas distribution.

Section 16

Keeping of registration

(1) For the purposes of preventing the discrimination and cross-subsidies, electricity producers, gas producers, transmission system operators, distribution system operators, transmission network operators, distribution network operators and storage system operators are obliged to keep records of facts that are the subject of accounting, to keep records on expenses, revenues, assets and liabilities, to determine rules for the allocation of assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues, and to determine rules for depreciation separately for each activity comprising the generation of electricity, transmission of electricity, distribution of electricity, production of gas, transmission of gas, distribution of gas and storage of gas; the cross subsidy shall apply to partly or fully cover losses or costs from one activity with a profit or revenues from another activity.

(2) The operators defined in subsection 1 are obliged to maintain separate records also on activities other than those defined in subsection 1, when performed as part of their business.

(3) Suppliers of electricity and suppliers of gas shall be obliged to maintain separate records on facts specified in subsection 1 relating to the supply of electricity or to the supply of gas to electricity consumers or gas consumers outside households, and separate for the supply of electricity

32) Section 9 (1)(b) third point, Section 10 (k) and Section 16 (1) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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or the supply of gas to gas consumer in households and separately for any other activity that it undertakes pursuant to business.

(4) The persons stated in subsections 1 to 3 shall be obliged:

a) to prepare separately for each activity their respective profit and loss statements and separate overviews of assets and liabilities, the quantity of supplied electricity or gas for a previous calendar year in classification according to the consumers of electricity or gas in household and the consumers of electricity or gas outside of household and to submit them annually to the office by 15 July.b) to submit for approval to the office also the rules for the allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues within 30 days from the start of performance,c) to submit new rules for the allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues within a period of 30 days from the change of the scope of business in the energy sector as per Section 8 or within a period of 30 days from a change of the manner for the allocation of assets, liabilities, costs, revenues,

(5) The rules for allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues as per subsection 4, items b) and c) shall be issued by the office for an indefinite period unless the applicant requests otherwise. These parties shall apply, from 1 January of the following year, the rules approved by the office for the allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues, unless a decision of the office determines otherwise. For the allocation of assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues not directly assignable to the activities mentioned under subsections (1) to (3), the ratio of income from activities mentioned in subsections (1) to (3) to other activities undertaken as part of business shall be applied.

(6) The submission of rules for the allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues for approval to the office is not obligatory for a party that:a) is a holder of a license, but which does not conduct activity in this area,b) has not been subject to a change in the business activity and which has rules for the allocation of assets and liabilities, expenses and revenues approved for an indefinite period,c) which as part of its business conducts only one of the activities as per subsection 1 and which does not conduct any other activity; this party shall be subject to subsection 3 and subsection 4 a) accordingly.

(7) The provisions of a special regulation on charts of accounts and accounting classifications shall apply accordingly33 to the keeping of records pursuant to subsections (1) to (4). The provisions of subsections (1) to (4) shall not prejudice the obligations of accounting entities laid down by separate regulation.

(8) The operators referred to in subsection (1) shall have their annual financial statements for

auditing verified by an auditor, attach to the annual financial statements a breakdown of mutual financial and other transactions with related undertakings, and publish the annual financial statements in accordance with the procedure laid down by separate regulation.33) If the publication of the annual financial statements is not required by separate regulation, they shall be obliged to disclose the annual financial statements available upon request. An overview of mutual financial and other transactions with affiliated undertakings is not part of the annual financial statement of the operator under subsection 1.

Section 17

Protection of consumers of electricity,consumers of gas and universal service

(1) A household consumer of electricity and a household consumer of gas, without prejudice to consumer protection rights laid down by separate regulations34), shall be entitled with regard to electricity supply and gas supply:

33) Act No. 431/2002 Coll. on Bookkeeping, as amended.34) Act No. 250/2007 Coll. on consumer protection and on amendment to Act of the Slovak National Council No. 372/1990 Coll. on offences, as amended, as amended.Section 52 through 54 of the Civil Code, as amended.

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a) to conclude with an electricity supplier or gas supplier a contract for combined electricity supply or contract for combined gas supply pursuant to subsection 7, which shall include, in particular:1. identification of the supplier and consumer, 2. the scope of the electricity supply or gas supply and services related to these supplies, 3. the conditions for the supply of electricity or the supply of gas and the supply of related

services, 4. the sources, method and possibilities for obtaining information on electricity or gas prices,

including price structure,5. the duration of the contract and the conditions under which the contract may be terminated,

including information about fees for termination of the contract or information that the contract may be terminated without a fee,

6. the method and amount of compensation for failure to provide the agreed quality of supplied electricity or supplied gas and services related to the supply, including compensation for wrongly or late settlement of payments for the supply of electricity or gas,

7. the place, method and deadlines for filing complaints and place, method and deadlines for applying available means for settling disputes,

8. information on the conditions under which the consumer may withdraw from the contract if they do not agree with a change in the price for supply of electricity or the price for supply of gas and related services, or with a change to the terms of electricity supply or gas supply,

9. the manner of notification of the term of exchange of the determined meter and information on the reasons for exchange of a specified meter,

10. information on the rights of household consumers of electricity or household consumers of gas, at least in the form of a reference to such information published on the website of the electricity supplier or gas supplier,

11.a substitute manner of specification of the quantity of supplied electricity or supplied gas in case of a breakdown of the determined meter or outside of the determined date of reading.

b) to be given information on each change of the price for supply of electricity or the price for supply of gas, and information on an amendment to commercial conditions for the electricity supply or gas supply and related services, and notification of the right to terminate the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas under subsection 4 in a transparent and comprehensible way specified in the commercial conditions under Section 34 (2) (f) third point or Section 69 (2) (a) third point, no later than 30 days prior to effectiveness of the amendment,

c) to choose an indiscriminate form and method of payment for the electricity supply or gas supply and related services, and to pay for the electricity supply or gas supply in the form of advance payments agreed with the supplier; when setting the level of advance payments, the electricity supplier or gas supplier will take into account the level of the advance payments for the same period of the preceding billing period; the agreed level of the advance payments shall reflect the actual consumption of electricity or actual consumption of gas for the previous billing period or the planned consumption of electricity or planned consumption of gas for the subsequent billing period and shall only be adjusted by the difference compared to the price of electricity or price of gas applied in the previous settlement period and the price of electricity or price of gas which shall apply in the following settlement period; suppliers of electricity or gas that refuse to agree with payment in the form of advance payments must substantiate its reasons for doing so,

d) to the provision of information about the content of the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas as per subsection 1, item a) reasonably in advance before the concluding of such contract; a reasonable period in advance is understood as the time that the household consumer of electricity or household consumer of gas requires to evaluate the information about the content of the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas as per subsection 1, item a),

e) for the provision of information on the right to withdraw from the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas in writing within fourteen business days upon the execution of such contract; the electricity supplier or gas supplier shall provide such information to a household consumer of electricity or a household consumer of gas in the form of written advice no later than at the execution of the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas.

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(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall also apply if a household consumer of electricity or a household consumer of gas conclude a contract for combined electricity supply or a contract for combined gas supply and related services with the electricity supplier or gas supplier through a third person.

(3) A household consumer of electricity and a household consumer of gas shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas without giving a reason in the period under subsection 1 letter e). The provisions of a special Act on the protection of consumer in household sale and consignment sale on the preservation of the period for withdrawal from the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas shall not apply.

(4) If a household consumer of electricity or a household consumer of gas does not agree to the amendment of the price for supply of electricity, the price for supply of gas or to the amendment to commercial conditions of the supply of electricity or supply of gas notified to them by an electricity supplier or a gas supplier under subsection 1 letter b), it shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas free of charge and effective no sooner than on the planned day of effectiveness of the amendment by delivering a termination notice to the supplier no later than 15 days before the planned day of effectiveness of the amendment; this right also applies to contracts executed for a definite period of time.

(5) If an electricity supplier or a gas supplier does not notify a household consumer of electricity or a household consumer of gas of the amendment of prices for supply of electricity, prices for supply of gas or the amendment to commercial conditions of electricity supply or gas supply in the period under subsection 1 letter b); a household consumer of electricity or a household consumer of gas is entitled to terminate the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas free of charge by delivery of a termination notice to the supplier no later than three months from the effectiveness of the amendment, effective no sooner than 15 days upon delivery of a notice of termination of the contract to the supplier.

(6) The contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas shall be terminated on the day of effectiveness of the termination notice fixed in the termination notice under subsection 4 or 5. A household consumer of electricity and a household consumer of gas shall be obliged to ensure that as of the day of effectiveness of the termination of the contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas the process of an exchange of supplier under Section 31 (3) (l) or Section 64 (7)(h) be completed.

(7) A household consumers of electricity and a household consumers of gas shall be entitled in the defined territory to electricity supply and gas supply as part of the universal service in the prescribed quality3) and at simply and clearly comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory prices, which reflect costs and fair profit, if they meet business conditions of the supplier providing the universal service.

(8) A distribution system operator and a distribution network operator in the part of the defined territory shall connect, under the conditions determined by the office and in accordance with the price or pricing methodology, the electricity consumer in households and gas consumer in households to the system and network, provided the technical conditions and commercial terms are met. A connection contract must also specify a time period by which the distribution system operator or distribution network operator is obliged to ensure the connection of electricity offtake equipment or gas offtake equipment.

(9) A consumer of electricity and a consumer of gas shall be entitled to change their electricity supplier or gas supplier. The electricity supplier or gas supplier may not request any financial compensation from a consumer of electricity or a consumer of gas for making such a change or any other payments. The condition to change an electricity supplier or a gas supplier is the termination of contract on supply of electricity executed with the original electricity supplier of a contract on supply of gas executed with the original gas supplier no later than of the making of such a change and the execution of a contract on supply of electricity with a new supplier of electricity or the execution of contract on supply of gas with a new supplier of gas, effective as of the day of making a change in the supplier of electricity or the supplier of gas. The provisions related to a contract on the supply of

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electricity and the contract on the supply of gas under this subsection and subsections 10 through 11 also apply to a contract on combined supply of electricity and a contract on combined supply of gas.

(10) Upon execution of a contract on the supply of electricity with a new supplier of electricity or upon execution of a contract on the supply of gas with a new gas supplier, the electricity consumer or the gas consumer shall be obliged to request, in writing or in electronic form, for a change in the electricity supplier or the gas supplier, by itself or by means of its new electricity supplier or its new gas supplier of the respective system operator or the network operator no later than 21 days prior to expiration of the notice period under Section 15 (16) or prior to the termination of validity of the contract on the supply of electricity or a contract on the supply of gas.

(11) The original electricity supplier or the original gas supplier may raise objection towards a change in the electricity supplier or the gas supplier for the relevant offtake point, to the system operator or the network operator within 10 days prior to the required date of making a change in the supplier, however, no sooner than 15 days before the required date of making the change in the supplier, exclusively for the reason of a failure to terminate a contract on the supply of electricity or a contract on the supply of gas no later than as of the change in the supplier. If the objection has been raised under the first sentence, the system operator or the network operator shall not make a change in the electricity supplier or the gas supplier and shall promptly notify of such fact the original electricity supplier, a new electricity supplier and the electricity consumer or the original gas supplier, gas supplier and gas consumer. The system operator or the network operator shall not assess the validity or invalidity of termination of the current contract on the supply of electricity or a contract on the supply of gas. If the original supplier of electricity or the original supplier of gas raises an objection against a change in the supplier unreasonably, it shall be liable for damage incurred by the electricity consumer, new supplier of electricity and the system operator or gas consumer, new supplier of gas and the network operator.

(12) The original supplier of electricity or the supplier of gas shall be obliged to deliver final balance of payments for the supply of electricity or the supply of gas to household consumers of electricity and household consumers of gas no later than four weeks after the change being effected. The final settlement of payment for electricity supply or gas supply shall be made based on reading of the actual status on a determined meter performed by the relevant system operator or network operator, unless this Act provides for otherwise.

(13) If a household electricity consumer or a household gas consumer fails to make an advance payment or any outstanding payment from a settlement invoice by the fixed maturity date, the electricity supplier or gas supplier shall be obliged to notify a household electricity consumer or a household gas consumer of such fact and fix a new maturity date of an obligation, which may not be shorter than 10 days upon notice of a failure to reimburse an obligation of a household electricity consumer or a household gas consumer. A written notice of the electricity supplier or gas supplier shall also contain note on the interruption of the supply of electricity or the supply of gas, if a household electricity consumer or a household gas consumer fails to perform its obligation even within an additional period.

(14) The electricity supplier and gas supplier are obliged to specify duly and in full on the invoice issued to a household consumer of electricity or household consumer of gas, or in documents forwarded simultaneously with the invoice, the structure of individual components of the price for electricity and gas supply, including their unit price. Information about the composition of individual components of the price for the supply of electricity or for the supply of gas shall contain in particular the unit price for:a) the purchase of electricity or gas including sales activity of the supplier of electricity or supplier of gas,

b) the transmission of gas,

c) the distribution of electricity including transmission, or the distribution of gas,

d) the storage of gas,

e) losses upon the transmission of electricity and distribution of electricity,

f) system services in the power sector,

g) operation of the system in the power sector,

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h) payment determined in a special regulations35) in the manner under a special regulations.36).

(15) A supplier that provides a universal service shall publish the pricelist of electricity or gas supplied as part of the provision of the universal service on its web seat before it takes effect; at the same time, the supplier shall deliver it to the office. The office shall publish at its web seat a list of the suppliers providing the universal service, together with a reference to their web seats.

(16) When arranging warranty claims, the electricity supplier, gas supplier, distribution system operator and distribution network operator shall proceed pursuant to separate regulation.37)

(17) A household consumer of electricity and a household consumer of gas are entitled to present a dispute to the office for out-of-court resolution of dispute that is has with an electricity supplier, gas supplier, distribution system operator or distribution network operator under the conditions and in the manner stipulated in a special regulation.38).

Section 18

Supplier of last resort

(1) The supplier of last resort is obliged to supply electricity or gas to those electricity consumers and gas consumer, who are connected to the system or the network and who are no longer entitled to supply electricity or gas under subsection 6 or there is the interruption of a process of change in the electricity supplier or the gas supplier, and at the same time as of the day of interruption of supplies of electricity or gas do not have the supply ensured in other manner.

(2) The supplier of last resort is obliged to supply electricity or gas to the consumers referred to in subsection (1) for a period not exceeding three months. The supplier of last resort shall promptly notify the office to that effect.

(3) Regarding the fact that the electricity supplier or the gas supplier is no longer entitled to supply electricity or gas to consumers under subsection 6, or there is the interruption of a process of change in the electricity supplier or the gas supplier, and at the same time the electricity consumer or the gas consumer as of the day of interruption of supplies of electricity or gas do not have the supply ensured in other manner, the system operator or network operator to which the electricity consumer or gas consumer is connected shall be obliged to notify this fact to consumers and the supplier of last resort to the scope as per the market rules.

(4) The office shall decide on the selection of a supplier of last resort in accordance with criterions under a special regulation.39). The decision on the selection of the supplier of last resort shall be served by the Office to the selected supplier and other candidates. The decision on the selection of the supplier of last resort shall be subject to a general regulation on administrative procedure, save for divisions 2 and 4 of the fourth part and the fifth part. An appeal against the decision on the selection of the supplier of last resort shall not have a postponing effect and provisions of a general regulation on proceedings before courts on the postponement of the enforceability of a decision shall not apply.

(5) The supplier of last resort may refuse to provide supply of electricity or supply of gas under subsection 1, if with a consumer of electricity or customer of gas has been ascertained an unauthorized offtake, or if the original supplier of electricity or supplier of gas supplier is no longer entitled to supply electricity or gas to the offtake point on other grounds than those specified in subsection 6.

35) Order of the government of the Slovak Republic No. 426/2010 Coll., which provides for the amount of payment from supplies of electricity to end consumers and on the manner of its collection for the National fund for decommissioning of nuclear power installations and handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.36) Act No. 238/2006 Coll. on the National fund for decommissioning of nuclear power installations and handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste (Act on Nuclear Fund) and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended.37) Section 18 of Act No. 250/2007 Coll. as amended by Act No. 397/2008 Coll.38) Section 37 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.39) Section 10 (4)(a) first point of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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(6) The supply of electricity or gas to an offtake point by a supplier of last resort shall start on the day following the day when the original supplier lost the capacity to supply electricity or gas to consumers, with which it has concluded a contract on supply of electricity or a contract on supply of gas, or a contract on combined supply of electricity or a contract on combined supply of gas. The original supplier is no longer entitled to supply electricity or gas to the offtake point if:

a) it fails to arrange for offtake points of consumers, with which it concluded a contract on combined supply of electricity or contract on combined supply of gas, access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity or access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity in the case of electricity supply, or access to the transmission network and the transmission of gas or access to the distribution network and the distribution of gas in the case of gas supply; the details are laid down by the marker rules.

b) it has not entered into a valid and effective contract on the settlement of deviation or a contract on assumption of responsibility for deviations; the details are laid down by the market rules; the obligation of the electricity supplier under Section 34 (2) (a) shall not be affected thereby,

c) it has its license to supply electricity or gas revoked or is no longer entitled to supply electricity or gas in the defined territory under Section 6 subsection 10.

(7) If the supplier loses its capacity to supply electricity or gas to consumers with which it concluded a contract on the supply of electricity or contract on supply of gas, or the contract on combined supply of electricity or the contract on combined supply of gas, contract on the supply of electricity or contract on supply of gas, or the contract on combined supply of electricity or the contract on combined supply of gas shall cease on the day when it loses the capacity to supply electricity or gas.

(8) A consumer who is supplied electricity or gas by the supplier of last resort is obliged to pay to the supplier of last resort the price for the supply of last resort, including payments as per separate regulation.40) The details are laid down by the market rules.

(9) If a settlement coordinator prematurely terminates a contract on settlement of deviations based on breach of contract on the side of the supplier, this fact must be published forthwith on its web seat and shall notify promptly in writing of such fact operators of regional distributions systems, transmission system operator and the office.

(10) If the office revokes the license to supply electricity or the license to supply gas of an electricity supplier or gas supplier, it must immediately publish this circumstance on its web seat and shall promptly notify the relevant operator of distribution system or operator of distribution network and the relevant supplier of last resort of such fact. The office shall send its decision to revoke a license promptly to the affected electricity supplier or the affected gas supplier, operators of regional distribution systems or operators of distribution networks, the transmission system operator or the transmission network operator, the supplier of last resort and the settlement coordinator.

(11) Termination of the license of a foreign person in the state under the laws of which it was established, shall be notified by the person under Section 6 subsection 7 in writing to operators of regional distribution systems or to operators of distribution networks, transmission system operator or transmission network operator, supplier of last resort and settlement coordinator promptly upon becoming aware of it.

(12) An electricity supplier or a gas supplier shall be obliged to inform in writing about the occurrence of facts under subsection 6 items a) and b) operators of regional distribution systems or operators of distribution networks, transmission system operator or transmission network operator, supplier of last resort and settlement coordinator and the office.

(13) The conditions for commencement and termination of a supply of last resort are laid down by the market rules.

Section 19

40) Section 7 (1)( b) of Act No. 238/2006 Coll.

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Technical conditions of the system and the network

(1) The system operator or network operator shall, with a view to ensuring non-discriminatory, transparent, and safe access to, connection to, and operation of the system and network, lay down technical requirements for access and connection to the system and the network, and rules for the operation of the system and network; it shall set and observe the criteria for technical safety of the system and network.

(2) The technical conditions for access and connection to the system and to the network and the rules for operation of the system and network, including a direct line for electricity and direct line for gas (hereinafter “technical conditions”), shall include, in particular, conditions for

a) access to the system and network,

b) connection to the system and network,

c) technical compatibility with the system and network, including interoperability of the system and network,

d) operation of the system and network,

e) operation of the direct line for electricity or direct line for gas,

f) ensuring operational safety and reliability of the system and network,

g interruption of supplies of electricity and gas,

h) disconnection from the system or network,

i) management of the system or network.

(3) The technical conditions shall also include criteria for technical safety of the system and network, the method for compiling and publishing the minimum technical, structural and operational requirements for access, connection and operation of the system and network. The system operator’s technical conditions shall specify the procedures for maintaining the safety of system operation.

(4) The technical conditions prepared pursuant to subsections (2) and (3) by the system operator or by the network operator must be non-discriminatory.

(5) The system operator or network operator shall publish the technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3) on its web site so that the conditions be available to all market participants no later than one month prior to their effectiveness and at the same time shall submit them to the office. The technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3) to the extent in which they determine minimum technical and construction requirements for a connection to other system and network and ensure mutual inter operability of such systems and networks shall be submitted by the system operator and network operator to the ministry to inform the Commission under Section 88 (9)( e). The technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3) shall be binding on electricity market participants and gas market participants.

(6) The office may request the system operator or network operator to change the technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3), if the technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3) are in conflict with this Act or special regulations.41) System operator or network operator shall be obliged to prepare and submit to the office within 30 days upon delivery of a justified request of the office under the first sentence, a proposal to change the technical conditions under subsections (2) and (3) to the extent required by the office. The office may request the system operator or network operator to change the proposal under the foregoing sentence within 30 days upon its submission, if the proposal is in conflict with this Act or special regulations; the provision of the foregoing sentence shall apply accordingly. System operator or network operator shall be obliged to change the technical conditions

41) For example Section 24 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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under subsections (2) and (3) in accordance with proposal submitted to the office, unless the office requires to change such proposal in the period under the foregoing sentence, within 40 days upon expiry of the period under the foregoing sentence.

(7) The system operator and network operator shall also be obliged to set out the commercial terms for access to, connection to, and operation of the electricity system and gas network. The scope of the commercial terms, which are part of the rules of operating of the system operator or network operator, shall be laid down in the market rules.

(8) The electricity system operator and gas network operator may refuse to provide access to the electricity system or gas network because the electricity system and gas network have insufficient capacity or because there is a threat of serious economic loss and serious financial difficulty related to gas supply contracts that include firmly agreed volumes of gas supply and the obligation to pay for the gas regardless of the volume taken. In refusing access to the electricity system or gas network, the electricity system operator and gas network operator shall be obliged to take into account fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest and the protection of consumers' rights. A decision to refuse access to the system must be substantiated.

Section 20

State of emergency in the electricity sector

(1) A state of emergency in the electricity sector means a sudden deficiency or threat of deficiency of energy, frequency change in the electricity grid above or below the level set for technical means ensuring automated disconnection of facilities from the system in compliance with the technical conditions of the transmission system operator specified in Section 19, or a disruption in the parallel operation of transmission systems that may cause a considerable reduction or interruption in energy supplies or put energy facilities out of operation or endanger the life and health of people living in the defined territory or part thereof as a consequence of

a) extraordinary events and emergency,42)

b) measures during economic mobilization,43)

c accidents that occur at facilities for electricity generation, transmission and distribution, even outside the defined territory,

d) situations posing a threat to the safety and operational reliability of the system,

e) shortage of energy sources,

f) an act of terrorism.

(2) A state of emergency in the electricity sector in the defined territory or part thereof shall be, upon review of consequences under subsection 1, declared and cancelled by the transmission system operator via public mass media and using the means of dispatch management. The transmission system operator shall notify the ministry without delay about the declaration and cancellation of the state of emergency.

(3) Where a state of emergency has been declared, electricity market participants are obliged to participate in elimination of the causes and consequences referred to in subsection 1 and in the restoration of electricity supply.

(4) Each electricity market participant is obliged to suffer measures aimed at prevention of a state of emergency (hereinafter “restrictive measures in the energy sector”) during their preparation

42) For example Section 3 (2) of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 42/1994 Coll. on civil protection of citizens, as amended, Art. 1 (4) of the Constitutional Act No. 227/2002 Coll. on safety of the state during war, war statues and emergency, Section 2 (a) of Act No. 387/2002 Coll. on governance of the state in crises, outside of war and war status.43) Section 5 of Act No. 179/2011 Coll. on economic mobilization and on amendment to Act No. 387/2002 Coll. on governance of the state in crises, outside of war and war status, as amended.

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and implementation and measures aimed at elimination of the state of emergency. The restrictive measures in the energy sector shall be applied in the following order

a) restriction of electricity supplies to consumers which operate production facility or provide services demanding high consumption of electricity,

b) interruption of electricity supplies to consumers referred to under item a),

c) restriction and interruption of electricity supplies to other non-household consumers and public service facilities,

d) restriction and interruption of electricity supplies to electricity producers,

e) restriction and interruption of electricity supplies to public service facilities,

f) restriction and interruption of electricity supplies to household consumers of electricity.

(5) The restrictive measures in the energy sector in the defined territory or part thereof shall be declared and cancelled by the transmission system operator via public mass media and by means of dispatch management.

(6) Restriction to electricity supplies where a state of emergency has been declared in the electricity sector shall comply with predetermined rules for balancing out imbalances by the transmission system operator. Restrictive measures in the energy sector are adopted following consultations with other major transmission system operators while complying with relevant bilateral agreements, including information exchange agreements.

(7) If the electricity market participant fails to comply with restrictive measures in the energy sector while in effect, the transmission system operator shall be entitled to claim compensation of damages from the electricity market participant incurred by the transmission system operator for such reason.

(8) Until the cancellation of a state of emergency, it shall not be possible to apply the right to claim damages and lost profit on the grounds for which the state of emergency has been declared or on grounds of complying with restrictive measures in the energy sector. In the energy sector, the right to claim compensation of damages and lost profit on the grounds for which the state of emergency has been declared or on grounds of complying with restrictive measures in the energy sector is also excluded where a system user’s facility was disconnected due to the operation of technical means ensuring automated disconnection of facilities from the system in compliance with the technical conditions as per Section 19. The assessment and settlement of deviations and balancing electricity is done to the scope as per the market rules.

Section 21

State of emergency in the gas sector

(1) The levels of emergency in the gas sector are the level of prompt warning (prompt warning), the level of alert (alert) and the level of emergency (emergency) under a special regulation.44)

(2) Emergency in the gas sector and its level in the defined territory or on part of defined territory is declared and recalled by the distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, in public mass media and by means of dispatching management. Such distribution network operator shall promptly notify the ministry of

a) declaration and recall of emergency and its level,

b) information about the measures under subsection 5, which it intends to adopt,

44) Art. 10 (3) of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 994/2010.

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c) upon request other information related to a declared emergency situation and its level or the measures under subsection 5,

d) information, whether the emergency situation may result in filing a request for the provision of aid from the European Union and its member states.

(3) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of a gas dispatching in the defined territory, shall be obliged to promptly recall an emergency situation upon request of the ministry.

(4) If an emergency situation was declared, gas market participants shall be obliged to share in the removal of its causes and consequences.

(5) Each gas market participant shall be obliged to follow the taken measures in an emergency situation (hereinafter the “restrictive measure in the gas sector“) and measures aimed at elimination of the state of emergency, declared or determined by the distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory. The restrictive measures in the gas sector, in which gas supply is restricted or interrupted, shall be applied in the following order

a) restriction of the offtake of gas with consumers which operate production facility or provide services demanding high consumption of gas,

b) interruption of gas supply to the consumers under item a),

c) restriction and interruption of gas supply to other consumers, except for protected consumers,

d) restriction and interruption of gas supply for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) points 16.2 and 16.8,

e) restriction and interruption of gas supply for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) point 16.3,

f) restriction and interruption of gas supply for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) points 16.4 through 16.7.

g) restriction and interruption of gas supply for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) point 16.1.

(6) The restriction and interruption of gas supply under subsection 5 shall not apply to the storage facility operator and gas producer.

(7) Restrictive measures in the gas sector in the defined territory or part of the defined territory shall be declared or recalled by the distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, in public mass media and by means of dispatching management. Such distribution network operator shall promptly notify the ministry of the declaration and recall of restrictive measures aimed to eliminate an emergency situation; a notification of the declaration and recall of restrictive measures in the gas sector aimed to eliminate an emergency situation shall also contain details on applied restrictive measures in the gas sector or measures aimed at the removal of an emergency situation and in case of the measures under subsection 8 also proper justification.

(8) The distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, may in duly justified extraordinary situations declare or determined restrictive measures in the gas sector or measures aimed at the removal of an emergency situation, which are not set out in the emergency plan under Section 23, if the following conditions are met:a) restrictive measures in the gas sector or measures aimed at the removal of an emergency situation do not restrict unreasonably a flow of gas as part of the internal market,

b) restrictive measures in the gas sector or measures aimed at the removal of an emergency situation do not endanger seriously a situation in gas supply in other member state, and

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c) a cross-border access to the infrastructure in accordance with a special regulation45) is preserved, if feasible from technical and safety aspects.

(9) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, shall be obliged, upon request of the ministry, to promptly recall or revoke a restrictive measure in the gas sector or a measure aimed to eliminate an emergency situation.

(10) If a gas market participant fails to comply with the restrictive measures in the gas sector, it shall be obliged to compensate the distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, for damage incurred for such reason by the distribution network operator.

(11) In emergency until its recall, the right to compensation for damage and lost profit for the reason for which the emergency was declared or for the reason of fulfillment of restrictive measures in the gas sector or measures aimed to eliminate an emergency situation is excluded.

Section 22

Standard of the safety of gas supplies

(1) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, gas supplier and protected consumer, which ensure gas supplies from the territory of the European Union or the territory of third states, shall be obliged for the purpose of solution of emergency and avoidance to emergency, to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for protected consumers.

(2) Standard of the safety of gas supplies is to ensure gas supply for protected consumers to the extent under a special regulation.46)

(3) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, for the purpose to solve emergency and avoidance to emergency ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) point 16.1. Gas supplier for the purpose to solve emergency and avoidance to emergency shall ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the protected consumers to which it supplies gas, except for the protected consumers under Section 3 (c) point 16.1. Protected consumer which ensures gas supplies from the territory of the European Union or the territory of third states ensures at the same time standard of the safety of gas supplies for the purpose to solve emergency and avoidance to emergency.

(4) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, gas supplier for protected consumers and protected consumer which ensure gas supplies from the territory of the European Union or the territory of third states ensures standard of the safety of gas supplies by gas reserves in gas storage facilities with availability of gas supplies from gas storage facilities in emergency in the defined territory, or contractually ensured supplies of gas produced in the defined territory. They may ensure no more than 50% of the volume of gas necessary to ensure standard of gas supplies by the utilization of a cross-border capacity of networks by contractually ensured gas supplies available in emergency in the defined territory.

(5) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, gas supplier and protected consumer, which ensure gas supplies from the territory of the European Union or the territory of third states, submit annually to the ministry by 28 February, a proposal of the manner to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the following period from 1 November to 31 March.

(6) The ministry by 31 March upon discussions with the office and the distribution network

45) Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 715/2009.46) Art. 8 (1) of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.

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operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, shall decide on the manner to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the following period from 1 November to 31 March.

(7) In extraordinary cases from the aspect of technical options and upon requests of the persons under subsection 1, the ministry may by decision grant an exemption from the manner to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies; the obligation to comply with standard of the safety of gas supplies shall not be affected thereby. If the gas supplier obtains a license for gas supply after 28 February, shall submit to the ministry a proposal of the manner to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the following period from 1 November to 31 March or its part no later than 60 days prior to starting to implement gas supplies.

(8) Distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching in the defined territory, gas supplier and protected consumer, which ensure gas supplies from the territory of the European Union or the territory of third states, shall submit annually to the ministry by 31 August information on ensuring standard of the safety of gas supplies for the following period from 1 November to 31 March. If ensuring standard of the safety of gas supplies is not sufficient, the ministry shall impose measures by a decision. A remonstrance against a decision of the ministry on measures to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies shall not have a postponing effect.

(9) The gas supplier and protected consumer set out in subsection 1 may assign, based on a contract, liability to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies, to another gas market participant. The duty to submit information under subsection 8 shall not be affected by the assignment of liability.

Section 23

Preventive action plan and emergency plan in the gas sector

(1) The ministry shall prepare, adopt and publish on its web site and in the Journal of the ministry a preventive action plan and an emergency plan under a special regulation .47)

(2) Each gas market participant shall be obliged to comply with obligations prescribed by a binding part of the preventive action plan or the joint preventive action plan under a special regulation48) and a binding part of the emergency plan or the joint emergency plan under a special regulation.49)

Section 24

Obligations in the general economic interest

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the general economic interest in the energy sector shall mean ensuring, in particulara) the security of the system or network, including the regularity, quality and price of electricity and gas supplies, environmental protection, and energy efficiency,

b) preferential access to the system in the case of supply of electricity generated from renewable energy sources and electricity generated from domestic coal,

c) utilization of renewable energy sources, co-generation, and domestic coal for the generation of electricity,

d) fulfillment of obligations arising under international treaties binding upon the Slovak Republic,

e) fulfillment of obligations arising from membership of the Slovak Republic in international organizations,

47) Art. 4 of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.48) Art. 5 of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.49) Art. 10 of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.

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f) environmental protection.

(2) The Government shall approve the general economic interest in the energy sector at the proposal of the ministry. Before submission of proposal for approval of general economic interest to the Government of the Slovak Republic, the ministry shall draw up and publish an analysis of the impact of the proposed measures in the general economic interest in respect to electricity and gas market participants, to a budget of public administration and to business environment. The ministry shall propose to the Government the approval of general economic interest only where the analysis of the impact of measures in general economic interest demonstrates their justifiability.

(3) The ministry may impose obligations in the general economic interest on electricity producer, system operator and network operator, electricity supplier and gas supplier and storage system operator, for them to ensurea) the security, regularity, quality and price of electricity supply and gas supply and the energy efficiency of electricity supplies,

b) utilization of renewable energy sources, co-generation, and domestic coal for the generation of electricity,

c) preferential access, connection, transmission, distribution and supply for electricity generated from renewable energy sources and for electricity generated from domestic coal,

d) the protection of household consumers of electricity and household consumers of gas,

e) the fulfillment of obligations laid down under subsection 1 (d) and (e),

f) the provision of ancillary services necessary for securing the reliable operation of the electricity system and for the provision of the system services in electricity generating facilities.

(4) The obligations imposed under subsection (3) must be unambiguous, enforceable, verifiable, transparent, non-discriminatory, and they must ensure that electricity companies and gas companies in Member States have equal access to end consumers in the defined territory.

Section 25

Tendering for new energy facilities

(1) The ministry may impose an obligation on an electricity facility operator toa) introduce technologies that ensure1. improvement of the management of energy efficiency of the system,2. reduced electricity consumption,

b take measures aimed at construction preparations or at construction of new electricity facilities.

(2) The ministry may only impose the measures outlined under subsection (1)(b) ifa) the existing capacity of electricity facilities insufficiently ensures or does not ensure the security and reliability of the system,

b) the measures outlined under subsection (1)(a) do not sufficiently ensure the security and reliability of the system.

(3) When imposing the obligations under subsection (1) the ministry may grant economic incentives in accordance with a separate law50)

(4) The supplier of technologies that ensure improvement of the management of energy efficiency of the system or reduced electricity consumption and the supplier ensuring construction preparations and the construction of new electricity facilities for which economic incentives shall be selected by way of a non-discriminatory and transparent tender. The tender shall be organized and

50) Section 4 of Act No. 231/1999 Coll. on state aid, as amended.

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controlled by the office.

(5) The office shall publish a notice of the commencement of a tender and details on a tender under subsection 4 in the Official Journal no later than six months prior to a deadline for acceptance of offers. The office shall forward a notice of the commencement of a tender and details on a tender to the Office for Publications of the European Union to be published in the Official Journal the European Union; a period for acceptance of offers shall not expire prior to expiry of six months upon publishing in the Official Journal the European Union.

(6) Details on a tender published by the office in a notice of the commencement of a tender in the Official Journal of the European Union under subsection 5, shall include in particulara) address to which offers are to be sent and deadline for acceptance of offers,

b) the subject of a tender,

c) conditions of participation in a tender; in a tender for the construction of new power facilities the office at the same time allows the existing electricity generators to submit offers for a long-term supply of electricity, if such procedure is sufficient to ensure the operational safety and reliability of the system,

d) requirements in respect to the contents of an offer from a tender participant,

e) criterion for the assessment of offers; in a tender for the construction of new power facilities the criterion of the assessment of offers shall reflect the performance of requirements under subsection 7,

f) description of provided economic incentives,

g) presumed term for the selection of a successful bidder.

(7) It shall be possible to implement the construction of new power facilities upon the fulfillment of the requirements related toa) safety of the system,

b) health and safety at work,

c) environmental protection,

d) the use of land and their deployment including the use of land owned by the state,

e) energy efficiency,

f) the nature of primary sources,

g) the technical, economic and financial capability of the applicant for the construction,

h) the minimum constructional and operational requirements for the connection of the electricity facility to the electricity system and for ensuring the interoperability of the electricity system,

i) contribution of the production capacity of a power facility to the achievement of a determined share of renewable sources of energy in the gross final energy consumption as per a special regulation,299)

j) contribution of the production capacity of a power facility to the savings of emissions.30)

CHAPTER THREE

ENERGY SECTORSUBCHAPTER ONE

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ELECTRICITY MARKET PARTICIPANTS

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Section 26

Basic contractual relations on electricity market(1) By an electricity supply contract, the electricity supplier undertakes to supply electricity in

the agreed volume and agreed time of performance to the electricity consumer and the electricity consumer undertakes to pay the agreed price to the electricity supplier.

(2) By a contract on connection to the transmission system, the transmission system operator undertakes upon the fulfillment of commercial conditions and technical conditions to connect to the transmission system a facility of the applicant for generation, distribution or offtake of electricity and ensure the agreed technical dimensioning of a connection to the transmission system in an amount as per the contract, and the applicant agrees to pay a determined share of costs incurred by the transmission system operator by a connection of the power facility; technical dimensioning of a connection to the transmission system is a technological dimensioning of the facility to connect a generator, consumer, distribution system operator to the transmission system, which shall be fixed for each individual point of connection, in accordance with the market rules.

(3) By a contract on connection to the transmission system, the distribution system operator undertakes to secure in the system the capacity for connection at the contractually agreed amount and, following satisfaction of commercial conditions and technical conditions, to connect the equipment of the applicant to the distribution system for the production, distribution or offtake of electricity, and to secure the agreed capacity to the amount as per the contract, and the applicant undertakes to pay the price for connection in relation to securing the necessary capacity and the connection or the price for connection.

(4) By the contract on access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity, the transmission system operator undertakes to allow access to the system and to transport for the electricity market participant the volume of electricity in the amount of the reserved capacity in the transmission system and the electricity market participant undertakes to pay the price for provision of transmission services and other related services. By the contract on access to the transmission system and the transit of electricity shall be agreed also the manner of determination of capacity of a connection to the transmission system for fixed time periods; capacity of a connection to the transmission system is the utilization of technical dimensioning of a connection in each individual point of connection in the fixed time period in accordance with the market rules.

(5) By the contract on access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity, the distribution system operator undertakes to reserve the agreed distribution capacity, to allow access to the system and to transport for the electricity market participant the volume of electricity restricted in terms of output by the amount of reserved capacity, including services linked to use of the transmission system, and the electricity market participant undertakes to pay the price for provision of distribution services and other related services.

(6) By the contract on settlement of deviations, the settlement coordinator undertakes to evaluate, co-ordinate and settle deviations of the entity for settlement and the entity for settlement undertakes to pay the price and the fees for services provided by the settlement coordinator. By concluding the contract on settlement of deviations, a person which entered into it with the settlement coordinator becomes an entity for settlement. By such contract the settlement coordinator undertakes to pay to the supplier of balancing electricity which has entered with the transmission system operator into a contract for provision of ancillary and supply of balancing electricity the payment for balancing electricity supplied to the transmission system operator based on data about volume and price of the balancing electricity provided to the transmission system operator or to pay to the transmission system operator for balancing electricity which was provided by the transmission system operator based on data on the quantity and price of balancing electricity provided by the transmission system operator.

(7) By a contract on settlement of balancing electricity the settlement coordinator agrees to pay to the balancing electricity supplier, which has entered with the transmission system operator into a contract on the provision of ancillary services and supply of balancing electricity for balancing

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electricity supplied to the transmission system operator based on data on quantity and price of balancing electricity provided by the transmission system operator.

(8) By a contract on assumption of responsibility for deviations, the electricity market participant undertakes to assume responsibility for the deviation of another electricity market participant.

(9) By a contract on the combined supply of electricity, the electricity supplier undertakes to supply the electricity consumer with electricity defined by volume and term of performance, to secure the distribution of electricity to the offtake point of the consumer, including related services, and to assume responsibility for the deviation on behalf of the electricity consumer, and the electricity consumer undertakes to pay to the supplier the price of supplied electricity and for the distribution of electricity and related services.

(10) By a contract on access and the conditions for participation on the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, the organizer of the short-term electricity market undertakes to allow the electricity market participant to take part in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, to arrange executed transactions and to pay the electricity market participant the payment for executed transactions with electricity. The electricity market participant undertakes to make payment for the executed transactions with electricity and services provided by the organizer of the short-term electricity market to the electricity market participant.

(11) By a contract on transmission of electricity via an interconnector, the transmission system operator undertakes, under the conditions prescribed for cross-border transmission of electricity and the rules for co-operation of transmission system operators, to transfer to the entity for settlement from the defined territory or to the defined territory the agreed volume of electricity and the entity for settlement undertakes to respect the conditions prescribed for cross-border transmissions of electricity.

(12) By a contract on the provision of ancillary services and the supply of balancing electricity, the ancillary services provider undertakes to provide to the transmission system operator the agreed volume of ancillary services and to supply the agreed volume of balancing electricity at the prescribed quality at the request of the transmission system operator, and the transmission system operator undertakes to pay the agreed price for the provided ancillary services; payment for supplied balancing electricity shall be made by the settlement coordinator based on a contract on settlement of deviation or a contract on the settlement of balancing electricity.

(13) By a contract on the provision of ancillary services the ancillary services provider undertakes to provide to the transmission system operator ancillary services and the transmission system operator undertakes to pay the agreed price for provided ancillary services.

(14) By a contract on the settlement of cross-border exchanges, the transmission system operator and the organizer of organized short-term cross-border electricity market commit to procedures and conditions connected with transmission of electricity between neighbouring transmission systems involved in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market.

(15) The particulars of the contracts under subsections 1 through 14 are laid down in the market rules.

Section 27

Rights and obligations of electricity producers

(1) An electricity producer shall be entitled:a) to connect an electricity generating facility to the system provided that it meets the technical

conditions and commercial conditions for access, the provision of Section 28 (1)(h) shall not be affected thereby;

b) to execute a contract on access to the system if it meets technical conditions and commercial conditions of access to the system;

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c) to supply electricity generated at its own facility for generating electricity for its own consumption;

d) to propose to the transmission system operator, on the principle of economic efficiency, the connection of its own electricity generating facilities in order to provide ancillary services and supplies of balancing electricity.

e) to participate in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market if it is an entity for settlement and has concluded a contract with the Short-term electricity market organizer on access and on the terms of participating in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market.

(2) An electricity producer is obliged: a) to conclude a contract on access to the system with the system operator; b) to conclude a contract with the market participant on the settlement of deviations, which

also contains obligation to deposit a bond, with the settlement coordinator, or a contract on assignment of liability for deviation with other electricity market participant which is an entity for settlement.

c) to allow the transmission system operator and distribution system operator to install a designated meter and to install a device for the transmission of information about measured data, and also to access this equipment;

d) to install continuously certify facilities for the provision of ancillary services where the total installed capacity of the electricity generating facility is more than 50 MW;

e) to provide the transmission system operator and distribution system operator with the necessary technical data to secure the safety and reliability of the system;

f) to provide the transmission system operator with the technical data necessary for the preparation of system operation in all of its stages (annual, monthly, weekly, daily) for the governance of operation of the system and for the assessment of operation of the system;

g) to provide the transmission system operator with the data necessary for the processing of proposals to address the balance of supply and demand of electricity, data required for the purposes of elaborating the energy policy, reports on monitoring the security of electricity supply and documents for development of the system to the extent of technical conditions of the transmission system operator under Section 19,

h) to provide the transmission system operator with data on electricity consumption, where concerning an electricity producer that consumes the generated electricity in its own facilities;

i) to provide the transmission system operator to which the electricity producer is connected, with data necessary for the billing of system services and system operation, in particular data on the quantity of electricity measured at the terminals of electricity generating facility, provided that the electricity producer is a producer that consumes the generated electricity in its own facilities and supplies the generated electricity to final electricity consumers connected to the distribution system to which the electricity generating facility of the producer is connected and which distributed less than 1,500,000 MWh of electricity in the previous year;

j) to provide the settlement coordinator with technical data on the supply of electricity necessary for assessing deviations and information required for the activities of the short-term electricity market organizer, to the scope under the market rules,

k to provide information to the electricity consumer, transmission system operator and upon request to the ministry and the office on the share of particular primary energy sources in the electricity generated during the previous year;

l) to provide information to the electricity consumer, transmission system operator and upon request to the ministry and the office on the impact of electricity generation on the environment;

m) to prepare a five-year development plan for the generation of electricity, and to submit the plan to the ministry annually by 30 November; this shall not apply if the total installed output of electricity generating facility of the electricity producer is no more than 1 MW,

n) to maintain the quality of the generated electricity and related services; o) to ensure over the long term the reliable, safe and efficient operation of the electricity

generating facility, in compliance of the conditions for environmental protection,p) to ensure the metering of produced electricity at terminals of the electricity production

installation; q) to submit to the Office by 30 May of each year data for the previous year, expected data for

the current year, and projected data for the next year regarding the generation of electricity from its own electricity production facilities, own consumption of electricity in the generation of electricity, other internal consumption of electricity, and the supply of its own generated electricity;

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r) collect and reimburse a payment determined by a special regulation35) under a special regulation;36)

(3) The electricity producer which is also an electricity supplier, may sell electricity in the form of auctions under regulations approved by the office.

(4) The electricity producer which is also an electricity supplier and shall sell electricity under subsection 3, shall be obliged to

a) prepare a proposal of regulations for a sale of electricity in the form of auctions under a special regulation,51)

b) submit to the office a proposal of regulations for a sale of electricity in the form of auctions for the following calendar year by 31 October of a calendar year,

c) comply with regulations for a sale of electricity in the form of auctions approved by the office.

(5) The obligations pursuant subsection 2 letters e), f), g), h), i), j), k), l) and q) shall not apply to electricity producer generating electricity from small source; the obligations pursuant subsection 2 letter j) shall not apply to electricity producer generating electricity from small source which does not undertake business in energy sector. Section 41 subsection 3 shall not apply to electricity producer generating electricity from small source while fulfilling obligation pursuant subsection 2 letter p).

Section 28

Rights and obligations of the transmission system operator

(1) A transmission system operator is entitled: a) to set up and operate an electronic communications network necessary for managing

system operation and ensuring the information transfer necessary for such management under a special regulation52),

b) to purchase ancillary services necessary for securing the provision of system services to maintain the quality of the electricity supply and ensure operational reliability of the system based on transparent, indiscriminate and market procedures; in the case of avoiding a threat to the safety and stability of the system, to purchase ancillary services directly from ancillary service providers in the defined territory, this on the basis of a contract on the provision of ancillary services and supply of balancing electricity or a contract on the provision of ancillary services concluded in line with the operating rules,53) in any threat to the safety of operation of the transmission system to a necessary period also directly; the transmission system operator shall be obliged to promptly notify the ministry and the office of any direct purchase of ancillary services and of contractual terms of the direct purchase of ancillary services

c) to purchase electricity necessary to cover losses in the system in a transparent and non-discriminatory way;

d) to purchase electricity for its own consumption in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner;

e) to secure in accordance with international obligations the provision of balancing electricity for emergency assistance and balancing electricity in the system of cooperation of transmission system operators;

f) to refuse access to the system because the system has insufficient capacity;g) to restrict or interrupt the transmission of electricity, insofar as is necessary in terms of

scope and time, and without giving rise to any right to compensation except if damage is caused by the fault of the operator, under the following situations:

1. an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons, or activities to eradicate such situations;

2. a state of emergency or upon activities to prevent its occurrence;3. an unauthorized offtake of electricity;

51) Section 40 (3) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.52) Section 2 (1) of Act No. 351/2011 Coll.53) Section 15 (6) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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4. if the electricity producer or electricity consumer prevents access or repeatedly disallows access to metering equipment;

5. upon the performance of planned work on system facilities or in the system protection zone;6. upon failures of system facilities or during their eradication;7. upon the supply or offtake of electricity by means of equipment posing a threat to the life,

health or property of persons;8. the offtake of electricity by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of

electricity supply and where the electricity consumer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

9. upon the supply of electricity by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of electricity supply and where the electricity producer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

10. upon failure to adhere to contractually agreed payment conditions for the transmission of electricity, following a prior notice;

11. at the request of the electricity supplier as per Section 34 subsection 1, item f),

h) to cancel the point of connection of the electricity consumer, electricity producer or distribution system operator in accordance with the market rules upon prior standpoint of the affected electricity market participant based on a decision of the office issued upon proposal of the transmission system operator;

i) to require electricity market participants to provide data necessary for the preparation of system operation in all of its stages (annual, monthly, weekly, daily data), for the planning of system capacity, for the management of system operation, for the management of system congestion, the assessment of operation of the system, for financial settlement for the provision of system services and system operation;

j) to require electricity market participants to provide data necessary for elaborating proposals to address electricity supply and demand balance, data required for the purposes of elaborating the energy policy, reports on monitoring the security of electricity supply and documents for development of the system to the extent of technical conditions of the transmission system operator under Section 19, as well as data necessary to perform duties related to publication to the extent under the market rules,

k) to request technical data on the transmitted electricity; data on the course of transmission over time, offtake and supply volumes of electricity, the point of electricity offtake from the system and the point of electricity supply to the system, the parameters of the transmitted electricity, and the utilization of assigned transmission capacity in accordance with concluded contracts;

l) demand from other power facilities information necessary to perform obligations of the transmission system operator to prepare and cooperate in the preparation of system development plans including the system outside the defined territory under this Act and a special regulation,54)

m) to modify the structure of connecting electricity generating facility of an electricity producer to the extent necessary to secure the required level of operational reliability of the system and to ensure the provision of system services.

n) to conclude a contract on settlement of deviation to the scope under the market rules,o) to participate in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market if an entity for

settlement and if having concluded a contract with the short-term electricity market organizer on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

(2) The transmission system operator shall be obliged to:a) ensure reliable, safe and efficient operation of the system over the long term under

economic conditions in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection;

b) manage electricity transmission in the system in the defined territory;

c) ensure balancing of system deviation in the defined territory in accordance with international rules based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory procedures;

d) ensure coordination and development of the system;

54) Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 714/2009.

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e) maintain minimum standards for maintenance and renewal of the transmission system for maintaining the transmission system capacity and development of the transmission system in accordance with technical conditions under Section 19;

f) ensure operability of the system;

g) ensure on a transparent and non-discriminate principle, excluding the fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest, access to the system including access to the system for cross-border exchanges of electricity; where access to the system is refused on grounds of insufficient capacity of the system, to provide substantiated reasons based on objective and technically and economically justified criteria,

h) ensure the transmission of electricity on the principle of transparency and non-discrimination;

i) ensure the purchase of ancillary services necessary for providing those system services needed to maintain the quality of electricity supply and to secure the operational reliability of the system on the basis of transparent, indiscriminate and market procedures; the provision of subsection 1 (b) shall not be affected thereby;

j) ensure measurement in the transmission system and provide the metered data on request to individual electricity market participants;

k) ensure the provision of system services in the defined territory, including services necessary for securing the safe operation of electricity generating facilities of the electricity producer and services provided as a reaction to demand,

l) conclude a contract on connection to the system with anybody who requests so, provided that technical conditions and commercial conditions for connection to the system are met;

m) conclude with anyone on request a contract on access to the transmission system and on the transmission of electricity, provided the technical conditions and commercial conditions for access to the system and transmission are met;

n) conclude a contract on the provision of ancillary services and provision of balancing electricity with providers of ancillary services; in case of subcontracts in the provision of ancillary services the market rules shall apply,

o conclude a contract on the provision of ancillary services with providers of ancillary services; in case of subcontracts in the provision of ancillary services the market rules shall apply,

p) adopt a compensation mechanism for cross-border flows of electricity and share in the system of financial compensations,53)

q) determine the principles and methods for system congestion management and collect congestion fees,53) and coordinate operation of the transmission of electricity in the territory of the European Union or with a system in a third-country territory, while refraining from favoring or discriminating between domestic and cross-border supply;

r) assign transmission capacity in a transparent and non-discriminatory way;

s) determine the rules for balancing out imbalances in the system and to ensure the availability of production reserve capacity for the purposes of operative management of the system,

t) set in a transparent and non-discriminatory way the available capacity of the transmission system and the conditions for its reservation, as well as the conditions for returning unused assigned transmission capacity, and to publish related information;

u) provide information necessary for ensuring the safety and reliability of the transmission system operation to the distribution system operator to which the transmission system is connected;

v) provide information necessary for access to the system;

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w) restrict electricity transmission on the basis of a decision by the Ministry pursuant to Section 88;

x) submit information on the total volume of cross-border exchange of electricity to the Office, including electricity provided in the system of cooperation of transmission system operators;

y) submit to the Office information on the volume of electricity imports not later than fifteen days after the end of the respective quarter;

z) submit to the Office a quarterly summary of the electricity transmitted by the transmission system.

(3) The transmission system operator shall be further obliged to:

a) submit to the Office annually by the end of February a list of electricity consumers connected to the transmission system who have changed their supplier of electricity during a year, and data on the quantity of purchased balancing electricity, own consumption of electricity and losses in the transmission system for a previous year;

b) every year prepare a development plan of the transmission system, including a plan for the development of interconnection for a period of the following ten years (the “ten-year system development plan”) and to submit the plan annually to the Ministry and the Office always by 30 November for the following ten years, including a report on the fulfillment of the ten-year system development plan;

c) prepare, in cooperation with electricity market participants, a preparation plan of the system operation for the annual, monthly, weekly and daily operation stage; the preparation plan of operation in the individual stages is to be approved by the transmission system operator, and is binding on electricity market participants; the details will be determined in accordance with technical conditions of the transmission system operator pursuant to Section 19;

d) prepare every year emergency plans for the system; e) publish on its website the commercial terms for access to the system and commercial

terms for access to the transmission system and electricity transmission;f) maintain the quality of electricity supplies and provided services; g) inform electricity consumers about the commencement of a planned restriction or

interruption in electricity transmission and the duration of the restriction or interruption, and to do so not later than 15 days prior to its planned commencement; the transmission system operator shall restore the transmission of electricity immediately after the causes of the restriction or interruption have been removed;

h) collect payments according to separate legislation40) and to pay it in favor of the budget revenue account of the Ministry55)

i) prepare, evaluate and approve the exchange of electricity between the transmission system within the defined territory and the transmission system within the territory of Member States and between the transmission system within the defined territory and the systems in third-country territories;

j) ensure effective utilization of existing interconnectors and the construction of new interconnectors, taking into account the balance between the costs of construction thereof and the benefit for final consumers in the defined territory; in the construction of new interconnectors, to cooperate with the concerned transmission system operators in the Member States or in third countries;

k) provide the Ministry upon request with information and proposals of the solution of balance between supply and demand of electricity for a period of five years and perspective of ensuring electricity supplies for a period of five to fifteen years for the purposes of drawing of the report on monitoring the security of electricity supply pursuant to Section 88 (2), item (j), information on the availability of production reserve capacities in the defined territory, and if necessary, cooperate with transmission system operators of the neighboring countries; in obtaining necessary data to ensure the protection of confidential information;

l) determine the minimum operational rules concerning the safety and reliability of system operation; when setting the minimum operational rules, to cooperate with cross-border transmission system operators in Member States and in third countries;

m) adhere to the minimum operational rules concerning the safety and reliability of system operation and ensure operational safety of the system;

55) Section 7 (4) of Act No. 238/2006 Coll.

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n) ensure technical transmission reserve capacity for the sake of operational safety of the system; in ensuring this, to cooperate with cross-border transmission system operators;

o) provide, if necessary, cross-border transmission system and distribution system operators in Member States or in third countries with the information necessary to ensure the operational safety of systems, in accordance with applicable international standards;

p) notify the affected electricity consumers connected to the transmission system and the supplier of last resort about the fact that the electricity supplier has lost the capacity to supply electricity to the offtake points of electricity consumers with which the electricity supplier concluded an electricity supply contract or contract on combined supply of electricity;

q) register and maintain records of registered offtake points of electricity market participants connected to the transmission system.

r) provide free daily capacity for the purposes of its allocation in the form of auction under the market rules)

s) ensure measurement of electricity in the transmission system, including the evaluation of measurement, and to provide the Short-term electricity market organizer and affected electricity market participants with measured and assessed data, as well as information necessary for the activities of the Short-term electricity market organizer to the scope and quality under the market rules,

t) provide assistance to the Short-term electricity market organizer in organizing the short-term electricity market to the scope under the market rules,

u) provide the settlement coordinator and affected electricity market participants with data necessary for settlement of deviations, corrective settlement of deviations and assessment of the organized cross-border short-term electricity market, to the scope and quality under the market rules and to electricity supplier data and corrective data for the purpose of settlement of electricity supplies to the extent and quality under the market rules,

v) ensure, upon request of the ministry, the elaboration of analyses of electricity supply and demand balance, for the purposes of preparing the energy policy, reports on monitoring the security of electricity supplies and documents for development of the system.

w) at the request of an electricity supplier acting in the name of an electricity consumer, to allow free-of-charge a change of registration of the electricity consumer’s offtake point to a new electricity supplier within a period of three weeks upon delivery of the request; the contractual obligations of an electricity consumer towards the transmission system operator and a previous electricity supplier shall not be affected thereby.

x) provide, in a free-of-charge and non-discriminatory manner, an electricity consumer that is connected to its system, or an electricity supplier requesting in the name of the an electricity consumer, with measured data on consumption at its offtake point in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2)(b).

y) provide information on the rights of electricity consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry under Section 88 (2) (q) to the electricity consumer with which it has concluded a contract on access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity, on its web site and in its operational premises or upon request by the dispatch thereof to the electricity consumer.,

z) secure appropriate sources necessary for the operation, maintenance and development the transmission system as per this Act and separate regulation,2)

aa) proceed when fulfilling the obligations of a transmission system operator as per this Act and separate regulation2) in a manner than assists integration the internal market with electricity.

ab) ensure installation of facility for continuous electricity metering with an option of a remote reading for an offtake point in the exchange of a determined meter for a new offtake point in case of the fulfillment of terms under the market rules.

ac) publish on its website data to the extent under the market rules. (4) The transmission system operator shall, when making decisions on the development of the

transmission system, give consideration to ensuring the management of the energy efficiency of the

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transmission system, including interconnection capacities, so that the transmission system is capable of ensuring energy efficiency without additional new investment into transmission equipment.

(5) The transmission system operator shall be obliged to have a decision on granting certification issued by the Office under a special regulation.56) The transmission system operator shall over which control is exercised, directly or indirectly, by a person or persons from a third state, shall be obliged to have a decision on granting certification rendered by the Office under a special regulation 57)

Section 29

Ten-year system development plan

(1) The transmission system operator shall be obliged in the preparation of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 28 (3)( b) to follow in particular from a) the current and forecasted future status of the supply and demand for the capacity of the transmission system,b) reasonable forecasts of the generation of electricity, supply of electricity, consumption of electricity, exchanges of electricity with other countries, taking into consideration the system development plan for the entire European Union and regional investment plans.

(2) The ten-year system development plan must contain effective measures to ensure the adequacy of the system and the safety of electricity supplies. The ten-year system development plan shall in particulara) specify the main parts of the transmission system, which should be constructed or refurbished in the following ten years, together with forecasted dates of the implementation thereof,b) specify all investments into the transmission system which relate to the construction of new capacities or the refurbishment of the transmission system,1. about the implementation of which the transmission system operator has already decided,2. which will have to be implemented in the following three years,c) determine the terms of implementation of the investments under item (b).

(3) The transmission system operator shall be obliged to reflect in the ten-year system development plan a decision of the office on the imposition of a duty to make a change of the ten-year system development plan under subsection 7 rendered in foregoing periods.

(4) The transmission system operator shall be obliged to consult a proposal of the ten-year system development plan prior to its submission to the office in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner with all engaged parties and allow them to give the standpoint thereto. Any information about the results of negotiations shall be submitted by the transmission system operator to the office together with the ten-year system development plan.

(5) The office shall consult the ten-year system development plan in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner with the existing and potential users of the system and allow them to apply reasonable comments thereto within a reasonable period. The office shall not deal with any comments which do not relate to the ten-year system development plan, comments applied by a person which is not an existing user of the system or fails to specify for which reasons it is a potential user of the system, comments without justification and comments applied upon the expiration of a period determined by the office. The office shall publish information about results of the consultations including information about requirements of existing and potential users of the system for the implementation of investments to the transmission system, on its web site.

(6) The office shall review compliance of the ten-year system development plan with requirements for the implementation of investments to the transmission system under subsection 5 and with the system development plan for the entire European Union. In case of any doubts as to the compliance of the ten-year system development plan with the system development plan for the entire European Union, the office shall consult the ten-year system development plan with the agency.

(7) The office shall impose on the transmission system operator a duty to change the ten-year

56) Section 25 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.57) Section 28 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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system development plan within a reasonable period determined by the office, if the ten-year system development plan fails to reflect reasonable and economically and technically feasible requirements for the implementation of investments to the transmission system under subsection 5, is in conflict with the system development plan for the entire European Union, or is not prepared in accordance with subsections 1 through 3. A party to the proceeding for the imposition of a duty to change the ten-year system development plan shall be the transmission system operator. A decision on the imposition of a duty to change the ten-year system development plan shall be the first action of the office in the proceeding. The provisions of a general regulation on proceedings before courts on postponement of the enforceability of a decision shall not apply.

(8) The office shall monitor and assess the implementation of the ten-year system development plan.

(9) If the transmission system operator fails to implement an investment, which was supposed to be implemented under the ten-year system development plan in the following three years under subsection 2 (b), in the period under subsection 2 (c), such investment shall be as per the latest ten-year system development plan still eligible, the office shall ensure the implementation of the given investment by the adoption of the following measures:a) shall impose on the transmission system operator a duty to implement the given investment within a period determined by the office,b) if the transmission system operator fails to meet the duty imposed by the office under item (a), the office shall organize in connection with the given investment a tender, allowing participation to all investors in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner; a successful investor shall implement an investment at its own responsibility.

(10) The office shall not adopt the measure under subsection 9 (a), if the transmission system operator demonstrates that it has been prevented from implementation of the investment by an obstacle, which has occurred independently on its will and it cannot be reasonably presumed that the transmission system operator could revert of overcome such obstacle or its consequences.

(11) If the office adopts the measure under subsection 9 (a), the transmission system operator shall be obliged to implement the investment within a period determined by the office. If the office adopts the measure under subsection 9 (b), the transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide to investors all information necessary to implement the investment, connect new electric power facilities to the transmission system and make every efforts, which can be fairly expected from it, with a view to facilitate implementation of the investment.

(12) If the office ensures implementation of the investment to the transmission system by the adoption of the measure under subsection 9, any contracts containing financial agreements related to the implementation of such investment to the transmission system shall become effective only upon the approval thereof by the office.

Section 30

Unbundling of transmission system operation

(1) A transmission system operator is obliged to own a transmission system.

(2) The same person or same persons are not entitled:a) to perform the functions of electricity production or supply, gas production or supply, or

directly or indirectly to exercise control over an undertaking performing any of the functions of gas or electricity production or supply, and at the same time directly or indirectly to exercise control or exercise any related right over a transmission system operator or over a transmission system,

b) directly or indirectly to exercise control over a transmission system operator or over a transmission system, and at the same time to perform the function of gas or electricity production or supply, or directly or indirectly exercise control or exercise any related right over an undertaking performing any of the functions of gas or electricity production or supply;

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c) to elect, appoint or otherwise determine a statutory body members of the statutory body, members of the supervisory board, or the confidential clerk of a transmission system operator, and to perform the functions of electricity production or supply, or directly or indirectly to exercise control or exercise any related right over an undertaking performing the functions of electricity production or supply;

d) to be a member of the managing body, supervisory body or control body of a person performing any of the functions of electricity production or electricity supply or of the body which acts on behalf of such person and at the same time the statutory body, a member of the statutory body, a member of the supervisory board, or the confidential clerk of a transmission system operator.

(3) The rights referred to in points a), b) and c) of subsection 2 shall include, in particular:a) the power to exercise voting rights in the undertaking,b) the power to elect, appoint or otherwise determine members managing body, supervisory body or control body of an undertaking or body which act on behalf of the undertaking,c) the holding of over half of the share capital.

(4) If the person stipulated under subsection 2 constitutes the Slovak Republic, a state authority, a regional self-government body, a legal entity established by law in order to fulfill tasks in the public interest58), or a legal entity established by a state authority to fulfill tasks in the public interest, two independent state authorities, regional self-government bodies or legal entities established by law to fulfill tasks in the public interest, or legal entities established by state authorities to fulfill tasks in the public interest, where one of them exercises control over the transmission system operator and the other exercises control or any right over a person performing the function of electricity production or supply or gas production or supply, this shall be deemed not to be the same person.

(5) The obligation set out in subsection 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be fulfilled also where the transmission system operator is one of the founders of a legal person that acts as a transmission system operator in two or more Member States, or if it acquires a participation in such a party and allows this person to retain the transmission network with the aim of its operation. This shall not apply where the person as per the previous sentence is constituted or acquires a share thereof, a person whose independence has not been approved by a competent authority of a Member State in proceedings on certification by similar proceedings under a special regulation2) and which is not approved and determined as a transmission system operator by a Member State.

(6) A producer or supplier of electricity or a producer or supplier of gas shall not be entitled to acquire control over a person performing the function of electricity transmission in a Member State that is not part of a vertically integrated undertaking. A person performing the function of electricity production or supply or gas production or supply shall not be entitled to acquire control over a transmission system operator that is not part of a vertically integrated undertaking.

(7) A transmission system operator may not provide to persons which are engaged in its activity or commercial information acquired during its activities that constitutes the subject of corporate secrecy,59) or other confidential commercial information, to parties performing the function of electricity production or supply except for cases if the provision of such information is necessary for the concluding or performance of a contract with a party performing the function or electricity production or supply. The transmission system operator is obliged to take steps necessary for fulfillment of the obligations as per the first sentence and to monitor fulfillment of these steps by persons who participate in its activities.

(8) For the purposes of subsection 1, items b) and c), a final consumer shall not be deemed a person performing the activity of electricity production or supply, if directly or by way of parties over which it exercises control independently or together with others it performs the activity of electricity production or supply, if after accounting for the volume of electricity generated by persons over which it exercises control independently or together with others, and if on a year-round average it is a net

58) For example Section 27 through 40a of Act No. 92/1991 Coll. on conditions of the transfer of state property to other persons, as amended.59) Sections 17 through 20 of the Commercial Code.

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consumer of electricity and revenues from the sale of electricity that it sells to third parties are negligible compared to the revenues from its other business activities.

Section 31

Rights and obligations of distribution system operators

(1) A distribution system operator has the right:a) to set up and operate an electronic communications network necessary for managing the

system operation and for ensuring the transfer of information required for automation of the management under a special regulation;2)

b) to purchase electricity necessary to cover losses of electricity from the system in a transparent and non-discriminatory way;

c) to purchase electricity for its own consumption in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner;

d) to refuse access to the system because the system has insufficient capacity; e) to restrict or interrupt the distribution of electricity, insofar as is necessary in terms of

scope and time, and without giving rise to any right to compensation except if damage is caused by the fault of the operator, if:

1. there is an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons, or activities to eradicate such situations;

2. there is a state of emergency or in preventing a state of emergency;3. there is an unauthorized offtake of electricity, until compensation for damage caused

by an unauthorized offtake and fulfillment of the terms under Section 46 (5), unless the distribution system operator, the electricity supplier and the electricity consumer agree upon otherwise;

4. the electricity consumer or producer prevents access or repeatedly disallows access to the metering equipment;

5. performing planned work on system facilities or in the system protection zone;6. there are failures of system equipment or upon their elimination;7. the supply or offtake of electricity is by means of equipment posing a threat to the life,

health or property of persons;8. the offtake of electricity is by means of equipment that impairs the quality and

reliability of the electricity supply and where the electricity consumer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

9. the supply of electricity is by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of the electricity supply and where the electricity producer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

10. the contractually agreed payment conditions for the distribution of electricity are not respected following prior notice or failure to meet the requirements under Section 35 (2)(g) and Section 36 (2)(d);

11. requested by an electricity supplier as per Section 34 (1), item f),

f) to install at an offtake point a technical device to regulate the offtake volume;g) to request electricity market participants to provide data necessary for the preparation and

management of system operation in all of its stages (annual, monthly, weekly, daily), for the planning of system capacity and for financial arrangements concerning the provision of system services and system operation.

h) to transfer its responsibility for an electricity market participant’s deviation to another electricity market participant, based on a contract on the assumption of responsibility for deviation.

i) to participate in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market if an entity for settlement and having a contract concluded with the Short-term electricity market organizer on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market.

(2) The distribution system operator shall: a) ensure the reliable, safe and efficient operation of the system under economic conditions in

compliance with conditions for the protection of environmental protection and energy efficiency; b) ensure that users of the distribution system have non-discriminatory conditions for

connection to the system;c) ensure access to the system on the principle of transparency and non-discrimination,

except for the fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest; if access to the system is

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refused on grounds of insufficient capacity of the system, it must stipulate substantiated reasons based on objective and technically and economically justified criteria,

d) ensure the development and operability of the system so that over the long term the capacity of the system meets the justified requirements of electricity market participants to access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity,

e) ensure the distribution of electricity;f) ensure metering of electricity in the system and provide the metered data on request to

individual electricity market participants to the extent and quality under the market rules;g) conclude a contract on the settlement of a market participant's deviation with the settlement

coordinator unless it has transferred its responsibility for deviation to another electricity market participant pursuant to subsection 1 (h);

h) conclude a contract on connection to the system with the owner of offtake electrical facility or electrical facility, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms for connection to the system are met;

i) conclude with anyone on request a contract on access to distribution system and on electricity distribution, provided the technical terms and commercial terms of access to the system and the and electricity distribution are met;

j) assign distribution capacity in a transparent and non-discriminatory way; k) set in a transparent and non-discriminatory way the conditions for the reservation of

distribution capacity, and publish related information;l) provide information necessary for securing the safety and reliability of the distribution system

operation to the transmission system operator and to the distribution system operator to which the system is connected;

m) provide information necessary for access to the system; n) provide information necessary for ensuring cooperation with other system operators;o) connect energy facility or offtake electrical facility to the distribution system within five

business days, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms for connection to the system are met;

p) restrict electricity distribution on the basis of and within the terms of a decision by the Ministry pursuant to Section 88;

q) prepare every year a five-year plan for the development of the system, and submit the plan annually to the Ministry by 30 November, including a report on fulfillment of the distribution system development plan for a previous year; this shall not apply if no more than 100 000 offtake points is connected to a distribution system of the distribution system operator,

r) draw up in cooperation with distribution system operators in the defined territory and the transmission system operator, a preparation plan for system operation for the respective year;

s) prepare every year emergency plans for the system and prepare plans of restrictive measures in the energy sector under instructions of the transmission system operation;

t) inform electricity consumers in the local customary manner and publication on its website about the commencement of any planned restriction or interruption of electricity distribution and the duration of the restriction or interruption and do so not later than 15 days prior to its planned commencement; the distribution system operator shall restore the distribution of electricity immediately after the causes of the restriction or interruption have been eliminated; the reporting obligation does not arise when performing essential operational work on a low voltage level, where the restriction or disruption in the distribution of electricity does not last longer than 20 minutes during 24 hours, but the distribution system operator is obliged to exert appropriate effort to avoid damages that could be incurred by electricity consumers as a result of the restriction or disruption to electricity distribution,

u) publish, on its website the commercial terms for access and connection to the system and the commercial terms for access to the distribution system and electricity distribution;

v) maintain the quality of electricity supplies and provided services.w) collect a levy under a special regulation33) and pay it in favor of the budget revenue account

of the Ministry;55)

x) register and maintain records of registered offtake points of electricity market participants connected to the distribution system in a part of the defined territory;

y) submit to the Office, each year always by 31 January, a list of the electricity consumers connected to a distribution system that changed their electricity supplier in the previous year;

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z) provide the transmission system operator with the technical data necessary for the preparation of system operation in all its stages (annual, monthly, weekly, daily), to govern operation of the system and to assess operation of the system.

aa) change the amount of a daily distribution capacity upon request of the distribution system user within 15 days upon delivery of the request, also for the term of the contract on access to the distribution system and distribution of electricity executed for one year; an annex to trequest shall be documents which demonstarate that the consumer of electricity has not caused by its activity any reasons to justify the request to change the amount of a daily distribution capacity; the request to change the amount of a daily distribution capacity may be filed in the following cases: 1. serious industrial accident,60)2. serious economic reasons not caused by the electricity consumer, resulting in the termination of production, dissolution of the company or bankruptcy declaration,

ab) keep the registration of complaints of household electricity consumers in an electronic database and annually submit data from the registration of complaints to the Office by 28 February of the following year.

(3) The distribution system operator shall be further obliged:

a) ensure regular maintenance and modernization of the distribution system in order to maintain the distribution system capacity;

b) adhere to the minimum operational rules concerning safety and reliability of system operation and ensure the safety of system operation;

c) ensure technical distribution reserve capacity for the operational safety of the system; when ensuring this, it shall cooperate with the transmission system operator in the defined territory;

d) notify affected electricity consumers and the supplier of last resort about the fact that the electricity supplier lost the capacity to supply electricity to offtake points of electricity consumers with which the electricity supplier concluded an electricity supply contract or contract on combined supply of electricity,

e) provide the transmission system operator with data necessary for making financial arrangements concerning the provision of system services and system operation;

f) determine an electricity offtake model diagram for electricity consumers without installed electricity flow meters; the distribution system operator is obliged to communicate the prescribed model diagram to the electricity supplier and the settlement coordinator

g) secure the measurement of electricity in the system, including the assessment of measurement, and to provide the measured and assessed data to the Short-term electricity market organizer, as well as information necessary for the activity of the Short-term electricity market organizer, to the scope and quality under the market rules,

h) provide the settlement coordinator with types of model diagrams with respective parameters determined for the following year by 30 September of a previous year,

i) provide the settlement coordinator and affected electricity market participant, on request, with data necessary for settlement of deviations, corrective settlement of deviations and evaluation of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, to the scope and quality under the market rules and to an electricity supplier data and correction data for the purpose of settlement of electricity supplies to the extent and quality under the market rules,

j) provide the transmission system operator with data necessary for the elaboration of proposals for addressing the balance between electricity supply and demand, data necessary for the purposes of preparing the energy policy, reports on monitoring of the security of electricity supply and documents for development of the system to the extent of technical terms of the transmission system operator under Section 19.

k) provide information to the dispatching center on planned exchanges of electricity through cross-border lines, which are not part of the transmission system in the defined territory,

l) at the request of an electricity non-household consumer or electricity supplier acting in the name of an electricity consumer, to allow free-of-charge a change of registration of the electricity

60) Section 2 (h) of Act No. 261/2002 Coll. on the prevention of serious industrial accidents, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.

53


consumer’s offtake point to a new electricity supplier within a period of three weeks from delivery of the request, the contractual obligations of an electricity consumer towards the distribution network operator and previous electricity supplier are not affected thereby.

m) provide, in a free-of-charge and non-discriminatory manner, an electricity consumer whose offtake point is connected to the system of the distribution system operator, or an electricity supplier requesting in the name of the electricity consumer, with measured data on consumption at its offtake point in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2)( b),

n) provide information on rights of consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry under Section 88 (2)(q) to the electricity consumer with which it concluded a contract on access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity on its web site and in its operational premises or upon request by the dispatch thereof to the electricity consumer,

o) keep records of vulnerable household electricity consumers whose offtake points are connected to its system, and to inform in writing the operator of a superior distribution system about such fact, inform these electricity consumers in writing about each planned restriction or disruption to distribution of electricity to their offtake points, and to perform planned interruptions to distribution of electricity only after the vulnerable electricity consumer has confirmed receipt of the information about disruption of distribution of electricity and to enable direct communication of these electricity consumers with the distribution system operator for the purposes of reporting faults; the particulars of the procedure for keeping records of vulnerable household electricity consumers and communication with vulnerable electricity consumers are laid down in the market rules; the records of vulnerable household electricity consumers shall contain

1. name, surname,2. address of permanent residency,3. contact phone number, fax number, address of electronic mail, if available,4. date of birth,5. address of an offtake point,6. number of an offtake point of a vulnerable electricity consumer,

p) install implement intelligent metering systems as per Section 42.

q) ensure installation of facility for continuous metering of electricity with remote reading for an offtake point in the exchange of a determined meter and for a new offtake point in case of the performance of conditions under the market rules,.

r) pay to the electricity supplier compensations which the electricity supplier paid to the electricity consumer under Section 17 (1)(a) sixth point for any erroneous or delayed settlement of a payment, if caused by any erroneous or delayed provision of data on electricity consumption from the side of the distribution system operator.

s) upon change of the electricity supplier to provide free of charge, within ten working days, measured data on consumption to the original and to a new electricity supplier based on the reading of the designated meter or the reading of the designated meter carried out based on mutually agreed status of the designated meter between the distribution system operator and the consumer or the electricity supplier authorized by it.

(4) The distribution system operator shall, upon making decisions on the development of the distribution system, take into account the need to ensure the management of the energy efficiency of the distribution system, so that the distribution system is able to provide energy efficiency without additional new investment into distribution facilities.

(5) The distribution system operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall prepare a compliance program, specifying measures to ensure that the distribution system operator behave in a non-discriminatory manner. The compliance program shall specify particular obligations for employees with the aim of excluding possible discriminatory conduct by the distribution system operator.

(6) The distribution system operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall publish a report on the fulfillment of measures adopted as part of the compliance program, together

54


with the Annual Report61) of the distribution system operator, for a previous year, elaborated by a person liable for ensuring compliance as per Section 32 (8), item b).

(7) The distribution system operator shall carry out electricity transit on electrical lines and a power facility on which electricity transit is ensured from part of the territory of the European Union or from part of the territory of third states to the defined territory or part of the defined territory and which does not connect the transmission system to a transmission system of a member state or a transmission system of third states, in accordance with conditions approved by the office. The distribution system operator is obliged to elaborate conditions for electricity transmission through the distribution system under the foregoing sentence and submit them for approval to the office no later than 40 days prior to beginning of the period for which such operation is required; the office shall approve conditions for electricity transmission through the distribution system under the foregoing sentence no later than 10 days before the term for which this operation is required, unless in conflict with this Act or with special regulations.34)

(8) The distribution system operator shall ensure that the installation of a producer of electricity from renewable energy sources and combined production has priority connection to its grid, after receiving payment for connection to the grid, provided that the producer meets the technical conditions and commercial conditions for grid connection so that the security, reliability and stability of the grid operation is maintained.

(9) The distribution system operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall ensure due performance of tasks of the person liable to ensure compliance under Section 32 (8).

(10) ) The distribution system operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall submit to the office any contract between it and other person which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking, within 15 days upon the execution thereof.

(11) The distribution system operator the annual electricity distribution of which is lower than 1 500 GWh, shall be obliged to deliver data necessary for invoicing for the provision of system services and for operation of the system to an operator of the system into which it is connected, at each time for the relevant month within the seventh day of the following month.

Section 32

Unbundling of distribution system operation

(1) A distribution system operator which is part of a vertically integrated undertaking must be independent, in terms of its legal form, organization and decision-making, from other activities not relating to electricity distribution.

(2) The independence referred to in subsection (1) does not mean that the ownership of assets of the distribution system operator must be separated from the ownership of assets of the vertically integrated undertaking.

(3) The independence of the distribution system operator referred to in subsection (1) shall be ensured by:

a) the fact that those persons responsible for the distribution system management are neither directly nor indirectly involved in the management of the production, transmission or electricity supply activities of the integrated undertaking;

b) the adoption of measures to ensure that persons responsible for the distribution system management act independently; persons responsible for the distribution system management may not have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking as the distribution system operator, nor to accept from it any share in profit or other property performance; remuneration of persons responsible for management of the distribution system may in no manner depend upon economic results of persons other than the distribution system operator;

61) Section 20 of Act No. 431/2002 Coll. as amended.

55


c) the fact that decision-making rights related to those assets necessary for the operation, maintenance or development of the distribution system are independent from the decision-making rights related to other assets of the integrated undertaking; the distribution system operator must have the resources available, including human, technical, material and financial resources, which are necessary for the purposes of operating, maintaining and developing the distribution network; this does not exclude the possible existence of appropriate mechanisms to ensure the right of the integrated undertaking to the protection of assets; the integrated undertaking may approve the annual financial plan of the distribution system operator and set the extent of the operator's indebtedness; the integrated undertaking is not authorized to issue instructions regarding day-to-day activities of the distribution system operator, nor regarding decisions concerning the construction or upgrading of the distribution system, provided that the decisions of the distribution system operator comply with the approved values of the financial plan;

d) preparation of a compliance program pursuant to Section 31(5), e) the appointment or other determination of a person liable for ensuring compliance as per

subsections 4 to 8.

(4) The distribution system operator which is part of a vertically integrated undertaking appoints or otherwise determines, and recalls, the person liable for ensuring compliance upon prior consent of the office; The distribution system operator which is part of a vertically integrated undertaking ensures that by it appointed or determined person liable for ensuring compliance

a) meets the conditions of independency under subsection 5,

b) has qualification in the energy sector no less than five years; if a person liable for ensuring compliance is a legal person, the requirement of qualification in the energy sector must be met by its competent representative,

c) has university education of the second level of technical, economical or legal specification; if a person liable for ensuring compliance is a legal person, the requirement of university education must be met by its competent representative,

d) had conditions created for an independent performance of its tasks pursuant to subsection 8; conditions for an independent performance of tasks of a person liable for ensuring compliance are also contractual terms related to the period and termination of its contractual relationship with the distribution system operator and its remuneration,

e) if it performs activity for the distribution system operator in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship, be in matters related to the performance of tasks pursuant to subsection 8 in direct governance competence of the statutory body of the distribution system operator.

(5) Person liable for ensuring compliance may not

a) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated energy undertaking as the distribution system operator or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated energy undertaking as the distribution system operator, directly or indirectly, control, or for such person or persons to perform activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or to be with such person or persons directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relation; the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the transmission system, a contract on connection to the distribution system, a contract on access to the transmission system and electricity transmission, a contract on access to the distribution system and electricity distribution, a contract on assumption of responsibility for deviation, a contract on combined supply of electricity and a contract on electricity supply for the own consumption of consumer,

b) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relation with a person which is part of the same vertically integrated energy undertaking as the distribution system operator or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated energy undertaking as the distribution system operator,

56


directly or indirectly, control, the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the transmission system, a contract on connection to the distribution system, a contract on access to the transmission system and electricity transmission, a contract on access to the distribution system and electricity distribution, a contract on assumption of responsibility for deviation, a contract on combined supply of electricity and a contract on electricity supply for the own consumption of consumer.

(6) Any appointment or designation of a person liable for ensuring compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise such appointment or designation is invalid; the office shall not grant prior consent to the appointment or designation, unless terms related to a person liable for ensuring compliance pursuant to subsection 4 are met. The recall of a person liable for ensuring compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the recall is invalid; the office shall not issue prior consent to the recall, if it has justified doubts as to the legitimacy of reasons for the recall of a person liable for ensuring compliance. If the office does not issue a decision on the issuance of prior consent under this section within three weeks upon delivery of a complete request of the distribution system operator, it is presumed that the office issued a decision on the issuance of prior consent. The office shall notify the distribution system operator of the day of delivery of a complete application for prior consent.

(7) The recall of a person liable for ensuring compliance is a condition of the termination of a labor relationship of a person liable for ensuring compliance, which pursues activity in a labor relationship, by a termination notice62) or prompt termination of a labor relationship from the side of employer63) the periods according to the Labor Code for termination of a labor relationship by a notice of termination or prompt termination of a labor relationship64) during a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office to the recall of a person liable for ensuring compliance, shall not run.

(8) The person liable for ensuring compliance is obligeda) to monitor fulfillment of the compliance program,b) to prepare and submit annually to the Office by 30 April an Annual Report for the previous

year, in which it states measures adopted for fulfillment of the compliance program,c) to issue recommendations to the distribution system operator with regard to the compliance

program and its fulfillment,d) to inform the Office forthwith about each major breach of the compliance program.

(9) Everyone who takes part in the activities of the distribution system operator is obliged to provide the person liable for ensuring compliance with information and documents required for performance of tasks set out under subsection 8 and to provide this person with all other necessary collaboration.

(10) A distribution system operator that is part of a vertically integrated undertaking is obliged to act in a way so that it is not confused with an electricity supplier or electricity producer that is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking.”

(11) A vertically integrated undertaking serving less than 100,000 connected consumers is not subject to the obligations under subsection 1 Section 31 (5), (6), (9) and (10), the obligations under subsections 1 through 10 and the obligations under Section 96 (19).

(12) The provisions of the first and second parts of the Commercial Code shall apply where appropriate to the fulfillment of obligations pursuant to subsections (1) to (3).

Section 33

System management in the defined territory

62 Section 63 of the Labor Code, as amended.63 Section 68 of the Labor Code, as amended.64 Section 63 (4) and (5) and Section 68 (2) of the Labor Code.

57


(1) The system in the defined territory is managed by the dispatching center which is responsible for the safe and reliable operation of the system, for management of the system on a day-to-day basis, and for setting the capacities for the utilization of interconnectors.

(2) The Dispatching center shall be established by the transmission system operator to ensure the management of electricity generation and electricity consumption in the defined territory and to ensure cooperation with dispatching centers in the territory of Member States and dispatching centers in the territories of third countries.

(3) The electricity producer may request from the Dispatching center a preferential connection to electricity generating facility from renewable energy sources, by co-generation, or from domestic coal.

(4) The Dispatching center is obliged toa) ensure adherence to the rules for the day-to-day management of the system in

cooperation with the transmission system operators in the territory of the European Union and in the territories of third countries;

b) determine the rules of system management and the utilization of interconnectors in a transparent and non-discriminatory way, taking account of obligations under the general economic interest and also technical limitations of the system.

c) publish the rules of system management and the rules of system operation on the website of the transmission system operator;

d) announce restrictive measures in the energy sector in a state of emergency as per Section 20

e) determine measures aimed at eliminating a state of emergency.

(5) The Dispatching center shall be entitled to information from the electricity supplier and the organizer of short-term electricity market concerning the volume of all planned business transactions in the defined territory, and information from distribution system operators concerning planned electricity exchanges through cross-border lines that are not part of the transmission system in the defined territory

(6) The dispatching center of the distribution system operator shall be established by the distribution system operator to ensure the management of electricity generation and electricity consumption in part of the defined territory, and to ensure cooperation with the dispatching centers of other distribution system operators in the defined territory, as well as to ensure cooperation with dispatching centers in the defined territory.

(7) The dispatching center of a distribution system operator shall:a) ensure compliance with the rules for reciprocal utilization of distribution system

connections in part of the defined territory and the rules for the utilization of distribution system connections with the transmission system in the defined territory;

b) evaluate and approve the exchange of electricity between distribution systems and with the transmission system in the defined territory.

(8) The dispatching centers within the defined territory or within part of the defined territory are obliged to cooperate with each other. The Dispatching center of the transmission system operator is superior to the dispatching center of a distribution system operator.

(9) The rules of mutual cooperation among dispatching centers and between the distribution system dispatching center and the Dispatching center of the transmission system operator, as well as rules of cooperation among other electricity market participants, are to be set out by the Dispatching Rules in such a way as to comply with subsection 8. The Dispatching Rules will be issued by the transmission system operator after approval by the Office, and shall be binding for all electricity market participants.

Section 34

Rights and obligations of electricity suppliers

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(1) An electricity supplier shall be entitleda) to transmit and distribute electricity provided it has concluded a contract on access to the

transmission system and a contract on electricity transmission with the transmission system operator or a contract on access to the distribution system a contract on electricity distribution with the distribution system operator,

b) to transmit electricity provided it has entered into a contract on settlement of electricity market participant deviations with the settlement coordinator,

c) to supply electricity to the electricity consumer, including a household consumer of electricity,

d) to participate in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market it is the entity for settlement and having concluded a contract with the Short-term electricity market organizer on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

e) to the provision of data and corrective data from the settlement coordinator for the purposes of billing electricity supplies and deviations of the entity for settlement to the extent and quality under the market rules and data and correction data from the system operator for purposes of the settlement of electricity supplies to the extent and quality under the market rules,

f) to request the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator to discontinue or restrict the transmission or distribution of electricity to an electricity consumer with whom the electricity supplier concluded a contract on combined electricity supply, if the electricity consumer fundamentally breaches the contract on combined supply of electricity even after being presented with a prior written warning.

(2) The electricity supplier shall be obliged: a) to conclude with the settlement coordinator a contract on settlement of deviation, including

also the obligation to deposit a financial bond; such duty shall not apply to the local distribution system operator which supplies electricity to end electricity consumers connected to it local distribution system and assigned its responsibility for deviation to another electricity market participant based on a contract on assumption of responsibility for deviation in accordance with Section 15 (7);

b) to provide the settlement coordinator with technical data on the electricity supply pursuant to the concluded contract;

c) to provide information to the electricity consumer about the shares of individual types of primary energy sources in the electricity purchased or produced by the producer for the purpose of its supply to electricity consumers, including electricity consumers outside the defined territory, for the previous year, upon the provision of this information the supplier shall also take account of electricity purchased or produced in other Member States and in third countries; the supplier shall provide such information on request also to the ministry and the office;

d) to provide information to the electricity consumer regarding the impact of electricity purchased or produced by the supplier in the previous year for the purpose of its supply to electricity consumers, including electricity consumers outside the defined territory, on the natural environment, including data about CO2 emissions and radioactive waste produced upon the generation of this electricity, or to state a reference to a public source of such information; when providing this information the supplier shall take account also of electricity purchased or produced in other Member States and in third countries; the supplier shall provide such information on request also to the ministry and the office;

e) to restrict the supply of electricity from Member States or from third countries to the scope of the decision of the Ministry pursuant to Section 88;

f) if an electricity supplier providing a universal service1. to conclude an contract on combined supply of electricity in the defined territory under

Section 17 (1) with each household consumer of electricity that so requests it and which satisfies the commercial terms of the electricity supplier,

2. to inform household consumers of electricity on its website and at its contact points about the possibility of concluding a contract on combined supply of electricity, by which it provides a universal service,

3. to prepare commercial terms for the provision of a universal service under a special regulation65) and submit them and any change thereof to the office for approval no later than 30 days prior to the validity thereof; a new electricity supplier shall submit commercial terms for the provision of a universal service to the office for approval within 30 upon delivery of a permit; the commercial terms for the provision of a universal service must satisfy the requirements of the Civil Code on consumer

65) Section 45 (6) of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

59


contracts66), must contain a manner of the sale of electricity and complaints rules, must be formulated in a clear and comprehensible way and must not contain provisions that excessively hinder or prevent the exercising of rights of household consumers of electricity;

4. to publish the commercial terms for the provision of the universal service and any change thereof on its website; the electricity supplier shall be obliged to publish each change in the commercial terms for the provision of the universal service on its website no less than 30 days prior to the effectiveness of such change,

5. provide information in line with Section 17 (1)(b), (d) and (e).

g) to purchase in the general economic interest electricity generated in the defined territory from renewable energy sources, from sources of co-generation, and from domestic coal;

h) to provide the final electricity consumer with basic information about its rights related to available means for dispute settlement,

i) provide to the dispatching center information on the volume of all planned commercial transactions in the defined territory,

j) to provide the transmission system operator with data to the extent as per technical terms of the transmission system operator under Section 19 required for the preparation of proposals for resolving the balance between electricity supply and demand for purpose of preparing reports on the results of monitoring the security of electricity supplies.

k) provide information on rights of consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry under Section 88 (2) (q) to the electricity consumer with which it has concluded a contract on combined supply of electricity , on its web site and in its operational premises or shall forward them upon request to the electricity consumer ,

l) to collect and settle the levy as determined by separate regulation35) in the manner as per the operating rules of the transmission system operator.36)

m) to enable free-of-charge electricity consumers to change their electricity supplier,

n) to preserve data on transactions between the electricity supplier and persons that purchase electricity for the purpose of resale, or with transmission system operators concerning contracts on electricity supply, for a period of five years following the year they relate to, and to provide these data on request to the Ministry, the Office, the Anti-Trust Office of the Slovak Republic, other state authorities to the scope of their jurisdiction and the Commission;, for the purpose of this provision, the contract on the supply of electricity shall mean a contract on the supply of electricity, except for a contract in respect to a derivate related to electricity; the derivate related to electricity is a financial tool under a special regulation67) which relates to electricity,

o) to preserve data on transactions between the electricity supplier and parties that purchase electricity for the purpose of resale, or with transmission system operators concerning electricity derivatives, for a period of five years following the year they refer to, in line with separate regulation that is issued by the Commission, and to provide these data on request to the Ministry, the Office, the Anti-Trust Office of the Slovak Republic, other state authorities to the scope of their jurisdiction and the Commission,

p) keep the registration of complaints of household electricity consumers in an electronic database and annually submit data from the registration of complaints to the office by 28 February of the following year,

q) request the distribution system operator for the elimination of an offtake point of the electricity consumer from its balance group as of termination of the contract on the supply of electricity.

66) Sections 52 through 54 of the Civil Code.67) Section 5 (1)(e) through (g) of Act No. 566/2001 Coll. on securities and investment services, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws (Securities Act) as amended.

60


(3) The information as per subsection 2 items c), d) and h) must be reliable; the electricity supplier is obliged to state such information on issued bills for the supply of electricity or in materials sent together with such a bill and in promotional materials sent to final electricity consumers.

The electricity supplier is obliged to state the information as per subsection 2 item c) in a manner that is comprehensible to electricity consumers and which enables them to compare easily with similar information provided by other suppliers supplying electricity in the defined territory.

(4) The Office may request the electricity supplier providing universal service to submit a draft amendment to commercial conditions for the provision of universal service, if commercial conditions for the provision of universal service fail to meet requirements under subsection 2 (f) of third point or if the Office reasonably believes that the electricity supplier applies commercial conditions for the provision of universal service in an unfair or discriminatory manner.

(5) The electricity supplier providing universal service shall prepare and submit to the Office within 30 days upon delivery of the justified request of the Office under subsection 4 a draft amendment to commercial conditions for the provision of universal service to the extent required by the Office. The Office may request the electricity supplier providing universal service to change the draft under the foregoing sentence within 30 days upon its delivery, if the draft under the foregoing sentence is in conflict with this Act or special regulations;68 the provision under the foregoing sentence shall apply accordingly.

(6) The electricity supplier providing universal service shall change commercial conditions for the provision of universal service in accordance with a draft submitted to the office, unless the Office requires an amendment to such draft in the period under subsection 5, within 40 days upon expiration of such period.

(7) An electricity supplier shall be obliged to keep records on consumers of electricity in household, which shall contain

a) the name, surname and date of birth of electricity consumer in household,b) the address of permanent residence of electricity consumer in household,c) the address of the offtake point,d) the number of the offtake point,e) the date, since which the electricity consumer in household is recorded in the registry of

electricity consumers in household”.

(8) If the electricity supplier has no available data necessary to fulfill the duties under subsection 2 (c) or (d) related to part of electricity purchased for the purpose of its supply to electricity consumers including electricity consumers outside the defined territory, the supplier shall use instead of actual data related to such part of electricity, aggregate statistical data for a previous year related to electricity generated in member countries, in which such data are available.

(9) The electricity supplier may sell electricity in the form of auctions under rules approved by the office.

(10) The electricity supplier which shall sell electricity under subsection 9, shall be obliged toa) prepare a draft of rules for the sale of electricity in the form of auctions under a special

regulation,51)

b) submit to the office a draft of rules for the sale of electricity in the form of auctions for the next calendar year by 31 October of a calendar year,

c) comply with the rules for the sale of electricity in the form of auctions approved by the office.

Section 35

Rights and obligations of electricity consumers

(1) An electricity consumer has the right:

68) For example Sections 52 through 54 of the Civil Code, Act No. 250/2007 Coll. as amended, Section 24 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

61


a) to conclude a contract with an electricity supplier; if the electricity supplier refuses to conclude the contract, they must substantiate the reasons for so doing;

b) to conclude a contract on the access to the transmission system and transmission of electricity with the transmission system operator or a contract on access to the distribution system and distribution of electricity with the distribution system operator where such services are not already provided by the electricity supplier;

c) to be connected to the system provided that the electrical offtake equipment of the electricity consumer complies with the technical requirements and commercial conditions for the connection; the provision of Section 11 (13) through (15) and Section 28 (1)(h) shall not be affected thereby.

d) to conclude a contract with the transmission system operator or distribution system operator on connecting their own electricity generating facility to the system, provided that the technical conditions and commercial conditions for the connection are met.

e) transfer its responsibility for an electricity market participant’s deviation to another electricity market participant, based on a contract on the assumption of responsibility for deviation in accordance with Section 15 (7).

f) to participate in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market if an entity for settlement and if having concluded a contract with the Short-term electricity market organizer on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

g) to the provision of data and corrective data from the settlement coordinator for the purposes of billing electricity supplies and deviations of entities for settlement to the extent and quality under the market rules,

h) to a free-of-charge change of registration of its offtake point to a new electricity supplier within a period of three weeks from delivering the request;

i) to gain, free of charge, measured data on consumption at its offtake point in a free and simple way in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2) (b),

j) to direct communication regarding all technical issues of the connection with the operator of the system to which its offtake point is connected, regardless of whether it has a contract on access to the transmission system and the transmission of electricity or a contract on access to the distribution system and the distribution of electricity concluded with the system operator,

k) to enter into electricity supply contract with various electricity suppliers simultaneously in accordance with conditions under the market rules; this shall not apply to a household consumer of electricity.

(2) An electricity consumer shall:a) in the situations referred to in subsection (1)(b), conclude a contract with a settlement

coordinator on the settlement of an electricity market participant's deviation, including an obligation to deposit a financial bond unless it transferred its responsibility for deviation to other electricity market participant pursuant to subsection 1(e);

b) enable the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator to install a designated meter and a device for the transfer of information on metered data and to access the determined meter, 4))

c) maintain the electricity offtake equipment in a condition that complies with technical requirements;

d) comply with the relevant technical requirements and the commercial terms for and access to the system;

e) follow the instructions of the dispatching center and the dispatching center of the relevant system operator into which the electricity consumer is connected;

f) provide the respective transmission system operator and settlement coordinator with the technical data contained in the contracts referred to in subsection 1 (a) and (b);

g) adopt technical measures that prevent the quality of the electricity supply from being influenced.

h) to reimburse a payment determined by a special regulation35) in a manner under a special regulation.36)

Section 36

Rights and obligations of household consumers of electricity

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(1) A household consumer of electricity has the right

a) to protection as per Section 17, including the right to the universal service,

b) ) to the connection of its own facility for electricity generation to the distribution system, provided it meets technical terms and commercial terms for connection to the distribution system.

(2) A household consumer of electricity shall:a) allow the distribution system operator to install the designated meter and grant it necessary

access to the meter;b) maintain the electricity offtake equipment in an adequate technical condition;5c) comply with the technical requirements and the commercial terms for connecting to the

system; d) take respective technical measures, communicated to the distribution system operator, to

prevent the quality of the supplied electricity from being influenced,e) reimburse a payment determined by a special regulation35) in a manner under a special

regulation.36)

Section 37

Short-term electricity market organizer

(1) The Short-term electricity market organizer is a joint stock company established by the transmission system operator. The transmission system operator is the owner of 100% of shares.

(2) Members of the Board of Directors of the Short-term electricity market organizer are approved by the transmission system operator.

(3) Members of the Board of Directors may not participate directly or indirectly in terms of assets, legal or management activities, in the performance of activities of the transmission system operator and entities for settlement.

(4) The Short-term electricity market organizer shall

a) organize and evaluate the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

b) settle deviations,

c) related activities, in particular;

1) administration and collection of measured data to the extent under the market rules. 2) central billing to the extent under the market rules.

(5) The Short-term electricity market organizer is entitled

a) to the provision of data required for fulfillment of its obligations from participants of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market and other entities for settlement,

b) to the provision of measured and evaluated data from the transmission system operator and distribution system operator and to the provision of data required for fulfillment of its obligations, to the scope and quality under the market rules,

c) to withdraw from a contract on settlement of deviations and from a contract on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, and to cancel registration of an entity for settlement if it fails to satisfy its payment obligations in relation to the Short-term electricity market organizer,

d) to perform activities that are not subject to regulation in network industries2).

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(6) The Short-term electricity market organizer is obliged

a) to organize the organized short-term cross-border electricity market in the defined territory and to secure evaluation of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market,

b) based on evaluation of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market, to secure the settlement and balancing of the organized short-term cross-border electricity market for participants to the short-term electricity market;,

c) to evaluate deviations of entities for settlement in the defined territory and to present their evaluation to the entity for settlement and the transmission system operator,

d) based on evaluation of deviations, to secure, in accordance with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory rules, the settlement and balancing of deviations of entities for settlement; they are obliged to settle their liabilities toward the Short-term electricity market organizer on time,

e) based on data provided by the transmission system operator, to secure the settlement and arrangement of balancing electricity,

f) to publish on its website the parameters of procured balancing electricity, to the scope under the market rules,

g) to participate in the elaboration of background documents for draft electricity market rules and to hand them over to the Ministry and the Office,

h) to publish on its website the types of model diagrams for electricity supplies together with respective parameters,

i) to keep records on entities for settlement; to publish the current list of entities for settlement on its website,

j) to keep records on the administration and collation of measured data to the extent under the market rules,

k) to conduct central billing of fees related to operation of the system and related activities for entities for settlement to the extent under the market rules,

l) to provide measured data to affected electricity market participants; particulars shall be specified in the operational rules of the short-term electricity market organizer,

m) to notify the distribution system operator of any failure to deliver a daily diagram by the entity for settlement which has a registered offtake point in the relevant distribution system.

(7) The short-term electricity market organizer is obliged to prepare and submit to the Office for approval, the commercial terms for organizing and evaluating the organized short-term cross-border electricity market and the terms for evaluating and settling deviations to the extent under the market rules and following approval by the Office, to publish them on its website.

(8) The Short-term electricity market organizer is obliged to conclude a contract on settlement of market participant deviations with the entity for settlement and to allow trading on the organized short-term cross-border electricity market to each entity for settlement that requests it, if satisfying the commercial terms of the Short-term electricity market organizer and having concluded with the Short-term electricity market organizer a contract on access to and the terms of participation in the organized short-term cross-border electricity market.

SUBCHAPTER TWO

SPECIAL FORMS OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION

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Section 38

Generation of electricity from domestic coal

(1) The Ministry may, in the general economic interest and with regard to the security of electricity supplies, decide to impose an obligation:

a) on the electricity producer to generate electricity from domestic coal, b) on the transmission system operator and distribution system operator to ensure preferential

access and preferential connection to the system, and preferential transmission or preferential distribution of electricity generated from domestic coal,

c) on the electricity supplier to supply preferentially electricity generated from domestic coal.

(2) The preferential right may be applied only where the share of electricity generated from domestic coal does not exceed 15 percent of the total amount of generated electricity needed to cover electricity consumption in the defined territory. The preferential right shall not apply to interconnectors.

(3) The Ministry shall decide on the conditions under which the electricity producer, transmission system operator, distribution system operator and electricity supplier must fulfill their obligation under subsection (1). No remedial measure against this decision is admissible.

(4) The Ministry shall publish the decision in the official journal of the Ministry and on the website of the Ministry.

SUBCHAPTER THREE

TECHNICAL FACILITIES

Section 39

Electricity connection and offtake equipment

(1) An electricity connection is the equipment of low voltage, high voltage, very high voltage, or ultra high voltage which is designated for connection of the electricity consumer’s offtake equipment to the transmission system or distribution system.

(2) The electricity connection begins at the point where the electric line separates from the distribution system or transmission system and leads towards the electricity consumer, or where it forms a part of the distribution system or transmission system. Separation of the electric line at the transformer station means its separation from the switching and breaker elements, and in certain cases from the bars. In other cases, the separation of an electric line means its separation from the overhead line or cable line.

(3) A low voltage electricity connection terminates in the case of an external line at the main home cut-out box and in the case of a cable line at the main home cable box, which are part of the electricity connection and shall be located in a publicly accessible area. Where a main home cut-out box is not installed at the premises, the external electricity connection shall terminate at the last suspension point or at the border of the electricity consumer’s premises.

(4) A high voltage or very high voltage electricity connection terminates in the case of overhead lines at the guy insulators in the consumer’s station, and in the case of cable lines at the cable terminal in the consumer’s station; the guy insulators and cable terminals are part of the electricity connection.

(5) Electric lines used to connect several consumers to one electricity connection are not parts of the electricity connection.

(6) The electricity connection shall be set up by the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator or by another authorized person under conditions specified by the operator. The costs of setting up an electricity connection shall be met by the beneficiary of the

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connection, unless agreed otherwise between the electricity consumer and the transmission system operator or distribution system operator.

(7) The electricity connection is owned by whoever met the cost of setting it up. The owner of the electricity connection shall ensure its operation, maintenance and repair so that it poses no threat to life, health, or property of persons, and does not cause malfunction in the distribution system or in the transmission system. The owner of the electricity connection may interfere with the connection only with the prior consent of the transmission system operator or distribution system operator.

(8) The transmission system operator or distribution system operator shall conclude a contract on the operation, maintenance and repair of the electricity connection with the owner of the electricity connection upon the owner’s request.

(9) Electricity offtake equipment is the equipment which is used for the offtake of electricity and which can be connected to the transmission system or distribution system or an electricity connection. The installation and operation of the electricity offtake equipment, and its maintenance, safe and reliable operation, is the responsibility of the party that concludes a contract on connection with the system operator. The party that concluded a contract on connection with the system operator is obliged to maintain the electricity offtake equipment in an adequate technical condition and to provide the system operator upon request with the technical data and reports from expert inspections and tests of the equipment, this within a period of 90 days from the request; If it fails to provide the system operator with the requested data and reports within 90 days, its electricity offtake equipment shall be deemed technically inappropriate..

(10) Where the applicant for electricity offtake equipment or an electricity connection is not the owner of the property whereat the electricity offtake equipment or electricity connection should be installed, they shall request from the owner of the property prior consent for installing the electricity offtake equipment or electricity connection. The owner of the property shall grant consent unless they can prove that their rights would be violated to an unreasonable extent by the installation of the electricity offtake equipment or electricity connection; the provision of subsection 12 shall not be affected thereby. A refusal of the request must be substantiated by the property owner.

(11) The electricity consumer shall allow free-of-charge the transmission system operator and distribution system operator to transmit and distribute electricity through the electricity offtake equipment connected to the transmission system or to the distribution system by means of looping.

(12) The owner of the property or the administrator of the property shalla) allow the distribution system operator to install a determined meter and necessary Access

to the meter,

b) allow electricity supply to an electricity consume in household, who is situated in the property and has authorization to use such property,

c) maintain the electricity offtake equipment which serves for the supply of electricity to several electricity consumers in household, in a corresponding technical condition,

d) provide technical data on the technical condition of electricity offtake equipment, which it has in ownership or in administration, to the distribution system operator,

e) allow access, to a necessary extent, to the distribution system operator to the electricity offtake equipment which it has in ownership or in administration.

(13) Any interference with the electricity offtake equipment through which unmeasured electricity passes, is without prior written consent of the distribution system operator forbidden.

Section 40

Electricity metering

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(1) Electricity metering in the transmission system shall be ensured by the transmission system operator and electricity metering in the distribution system shall be ensured by the distribution system operator. Electricity metering under the first sentence may also be performed, upon a contract with the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator, by other professionally qualified person. Electricity offtake may only be metered with a designated meter.

(2) The distribution system operator shall be obliged to carry out the physical reading of a designated meter at the offtake point, which is not equipped with the designated meter with remote reading annually; for the electricity consumer out of household annually as of 31 December, not later than 30 days upon the end of a year. Physical reading of the designated meter at the off-take point means also reading of the designated meter carried out on the basis of mutually agreed balance of the designated meter between distribution system operator and the consumer. Consumption of electricity determined by physical reading at the off-take point carried out in time after duly closed final clearance of deviations of the given off-take point in a relevant period does not affect the amount of deviation determined for purposes already duly closed final clearance of deviations; details shall be regulated by market rules.

(3) The installation of the designated meter shall be carried out by the electricity producer, transmission system operator, distribution system operator and the direct line owner at their own expense. Adjustments to the placement of the designated meter shall be provided for by the electricity consumer and the electricity producer at their own expense.

(4) The transmission system operator or distribution system operator has the right to secure the electricity connection and electricity offtake equipment against unauthorized tampering up to the point where the metering equipment is installed.

(5) Any tampering with the designated meter or the circuits of the designated meter in conflict with a special regulation69) is prohibited.

(6) The transmission system operator or the distribution system operator shall ensure verification of the accuracy of the designated meter under a special regulation.69)

(7) If the electricity consumer doubts the accuracy of the data read from the designated meter or finds the meter otherwise defective, it shall ask the transmission system operator or distribution system operator to test the meter. The transmission system operator or the distribution system operator shall be obliged to ensure testing of the designated meter within 30 days upon delivery of request. The transmission system operator or distribution system operator shall be obliged during testing to ensure a substitute designated meter. If the designated meter is found to be defective, which exceeds an error permitted under a special regulation,70) the costs of testing and replacement shall be paid by the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator. If the meter is found to be free of defects, which exceed an error permitted under a special regulation, the costs shall be paid by the person who requested the testing and replacement.

(8) When replacing a designated meter, the transmission system operator and the distribution system operator shall inform the electricity consumer in writing about the term of planned exchange of the designated meter at least 15 days in advance; this shall not apply if the electricity consumer agrees to a later notice of the term of the planned exchange of the designated meter; in any unplanned exchange of the designated meter shall promptly notify the electricity consumer of the date of exchange of the designated meter. The transmission system operator and the distribution system operator shall inform the electricity consumer in writing about the quantity of electricity taken off and at the same time communicate the reading of the designated meter before replacement and the reading of the new designated meter after the replacement. If the electricity consumer is not present at the replacement of the designated meter, the system operator is obliged to inform the electricity consumer about the replacement, the balance of the designated meter before the replacement and the balance of the new designated meter after replacement, and to store the dismantled meter for a minimum period of 60 days for the purposes of allowing the electricity consumer to check the designated meter balance.

69) Act No. 142/2000 Coll., as amended.70) Section 19 (6) of Act. No. 142/2000 Coll. as amended by Act. No. 431/2004 Coll.

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(9) The electricity producer or the final electricity consumer shall grant the transmission system operator, the distribution system operator or an authorized person access to the designated meter and electricity offtake equipment in order to perform checks, replace or remove the designated meter or read the quantity of electricity taken off. The transmission system operator and distribution system operator shall notify the electricity producer or final electricity consumer any related interruptions in the supply of electricity.

(10) Coefficient of calculation of load to residual diagram of the distribution system is determined in the amount of one; details shall be regulated by market rules.

Section 41

Metering of produced electricity at terminalsof the electricity production installation

(1) The metering of produced electricity at terminals of the electricity production installation shall be ensured by the electricity producer at its own cost. Only the designated meter may be used to meter the electricity produced. The metering points shall be the terminals of the generator installed in the electricity production installation.

(2) The electricity producer shall ensure the verification of designated meters under a separate regulation69).

(3) The metering of produced electricity at terminals of the electricity production installation shall be carried out by the electricity producer

a) through continuous metering of electricity with remote reading of the data, where the total installed output of the facility is more than 1 MW; in case of facilities for generation of electricity from renewable sources, where the total installed output of the facility is more than 100 kW,

b) through metering without continuous metering in other facilities.

(4) The electricity producer shall ensure the installation of equipment to measure meteorological data with all facilities generating electricity from the sun power, if the total installed capacity of the facility is more than 100 kW and provide the measured data to the transmission system operator in accordance with the market rules.

(5) The electricity producer shall without delay notify the operator of the regional distribution system to which it is connected of

a) the replacement of the designated meter;

b) the reading on the designated meter prior to the replacement of the meter.

(6) Where the electricity production installation is connected to a grid to which the entire quantity of the produced electricity, except for the electricity used in the electricity production, is supplied, the electricity producer is not required to ensure metering of the produced electricity at terminals of the electricity production installation. In that case, the produced electricity, except for the electricity used in the electricity production, shall be metered by the designated meter which the electricity producer's delivery point is equipped with; the delivery point is a point of delivery of electricity consisting of one measuring point.

(7) The electricity producer shall notify the Office in writing and without delay of the fact, or change in the fact, mentioned in subsection (6).

Section 42

Intelligent metering systems

(1) The Ministry in co-operation with the Office and the operators of regional distribution systems and other electricity market participants, shall elaborate an analysis of the economic benefits

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arising from the introduction of new forms of intelligent metering systems and costs for their procurement, installation and operation for individual categories of final consumers of electricity.

(2) Based on the analysis as per subsection 1, the Ministry in cooperation with the office shall determine categories of final consumers of electricity for which justification of the use of intelligent metering systems has been demonstrated, and it shall impose the obligation on system operators to introduce intelligent metering systems to a minimum scope of 80 percent of offtake points falling to these defined categories of final consumers of electricity.

(3) The Office shall take into consideration the costs for the procurement, installation and operation of intelligent metering systems for individual categories of final consumers of electricity as per subsection 1 in the proposed manner of price regulation upon the procurement and installation of intelligent metering systems and putting them into operation.

(4) The electricity market participants shall provide to the system operator assistance in installation and operation of intelligent metering systems in the manner and under the terms provided for in a generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (1)(h).

Section 43

Protection zones

(1) Protection zones are set up to protect system facilities. A protection zone is the area in the immediate vicinity of the system facilities designed to ensure the reliable and smooth operation of the facility and the protection of the life and health of persons and property.

(2) The protection zone of an external overhead power line is demarcated by the vertical planes along both sides of the line at a horizontal distance measured perpendicularly to the marginal conductor of the line. The distance of both planes from the marginal conductors shall be, for the following voltages:

a) for voltages from 1 kV to 35 kV inclusive, 1. 10 m for uninsulated cables and 7 m for uninsulated cables in forest clear-cut strips;2. 4 m for conductors with basic insulation and 2 m in forest clear-cut strips; 3. 1 m for suspended cable lines;b) 15 m for voltages from 35 kV to 110 kV inclusive; c) 20 m for voltages from 110 kV to 220 kV inclusive; d) 25 m for voltages from 220 kV to 400 kV inclusive; e) 35 m for voltages above 400 kV.

(3) The protection zone of a suspended cable line with a voltage of 35 kV to 110 kV inclusive is 2 m from the marginal cable on each side.

(4) Within the protection zone of an overhead power line and underneath the line, except for subsection 14, it is prohibited:

a) to erect buildings71) , structures or create landfills;b) to plant and grow permanent crops more than 3 m high; c) to plant and grow permanent crops more than 3 m high within 2 m from a marginal

cable with basic insulation;d) to store easily inflammable or explosive substances; e) to perform activities threatening to the safety of persons or property;f) to perform activities endangering the electric line or the operational safety and

reliability of the system.

(5) Permanent crops more than 3 m high may be planted and grown within 5 m of the marginal cable of an overhead power line only if they would not, upon falling, cause damage to the line cables.

(6) The owner of immovable property shall grant the operator of an external overhead power line access of persons and vehicles to the line and, for that purpose, enable the operator of the external overhead power line to maintain a clear strip of forest-free land extending 4 meters from the

71) Section 39a, Section 39b (5), Section 57 (5) and Section 85 of Act No. 50/1976 Coll. as amended.

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external overhead power line on both sides. This distance is measured from the point where the perpendicular, dropped from the marginal conductor of the overhead power line, intersects with the horizontal plane at the foot of the suspension pole.

(7) The protection zone of an underground power line is demarcated by vertical planes on both sides of the marginal cables, at a horizontal distance measured perpendicular to the marginal cable. The distance is:

a) 1 m for voltages of up to 110 kV, including lines for regulation control and security; b) 3 m for voltages above 110 kV.

(8) Within the protection zone of an underground power line and above the line it is prohibited, except for subsection 14:

a) to erect buildings, structures, create landfills, plant permanent crops and use exceptionally heavy mechanisms;

b) to carry out, without the prior consent of the power line operator, ground works and other activities that could endanger the line, the reliability and safety of its operation, or hinder access to it.

(9) The protection zone for an external transformer station:a) with a voltage of 110 kV and above is demarcated by vertical planes set at a horizontal

distance of 30 m perpendicular to the fence or edge of the station; b) with a voltage of up to 110 kV is demarcated by vertical planes set at a horizontal distance

of 10 m perpendicular to the fence or edge of the station; c) for an internal transform station, the protection zone is demarcated by the fence or the outer

masonry of the facility; access to the station for the purpose of replacing equipment must be ensured.

(10) Within the protection zone of a transformer station referred to in subsection (9)(a) or (b), it is prohibited to perform activities that threaten the safety of persons, property or the operational reliability and safety of the station.

(11) Before engaging in construction works or another activity in the vicinity of an electric facility referred to in subsections (2), (4) and (7) to (9), a person shall give notice of such activity to the transmission system operator, distribution system operator and direct line operator and shall abide by the conditions stipulated by them.

(12) Any operator whose electric facility is in the vicinity of the protection zone and is connected by a direct current from which stray currents may cause damage to underground power lines shall take measures to protect those lines and give notice thereof to the operator of the underground power line.

(13) The protection zones specified in subsection (9)(a) apply to the protection of the electricity producer's generating facilities unless separate regulations72) stipulate otherwise

(14) Possibility to establish structures in a protective zone of electrical facility only with prior written consent of the system operator.

(15) Buildings, structures, landfills, permanent crops or work carried out inside the protection zone must be removed at the expense and by the party who did or had such activity done without consent. Consent of the system operator to establish a structure inside the protection zone shall be underlying document for zoning and construction proceedings.

Section 44

Intersection and convergence of an electricity facility

A facility of the transmission system, distribution system, direct line and electricity connection may intersect roads, railway lines, water flows, telecommunication lines and other facilities, or converge with them, provided that such intersection or convergence does not endanger life, health or property of persons.

72) For example Section 26 of Act No. 541/2004 Coll. as amended.

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Section 45

Relocation of an electric distribution facility

(1) The relocation of an electric distribution facility for the purpose of this Act is the relocation of certain elements of the electric distribution facility or a change in its route.

(2) The costs incurred by the relocation of an electric distribution facility shall be met by the party which necessitated the relocation, unless that party and the owner of the electric distribution facility agree otherwise. Relocation of the electric distribution facility shall be made by the system operator or also by other eligible person under conditions stipulated by the operator. Ownership of the electric distribution facility shall not be affected by relocation.

Section 46

Unauthorized offtake of electricity

(1) The unauthorized offtake of electricity is the offtake of electricity: a) without a concluded contract on1. connection to the transmission system or on connection to the distribution system or in

conflict with such contract,2. electricity supply or combined supply,3. deviation settlement or assumption of responsibility for deviation, or4. access to the transmission system and to electricity transmission or access to

distribution system and electricity distribution,

b) performed without a designated meter or with a designated meter which, as a result of unauthorized tampering by the electricity consumer, does not meter the offtake of electricity or meters it defectively;

c) measured by a designated meter whose anti-tampering protection has been damaged and which incorrectly records or fails to record electricity offtake or by a designated meter that was not installed by the system operator;

d) where an electricity consumer prevents disconnection of electricity distribution or if after a previous call of the distribution system operator did not allow the disconnection of electricity distribution based on the request of the supplier with which a contract on combined supply of electricity is concluded; such an offtake is regarded as unauthorized from the day the consumer prevents the disconnection of electricity distribution or did not allow the disconnection of electricity distribution.

(2) In the event of unauthorized offtake of electricity, the person found to have taken electricity shall pay the damages actually incurred. When the actually incurred damage cannot be quantified on the basis of objective and reliable data, the calculation method of damage caused by unauthorized offtake of electricity shall be used, as established by generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (1) (i).

3) In the event of the first unauthorized offtake of electricity by the household electricity consumer measured by a meter located at publicly accessible place, on which security against the unauthorized tampering under subsection 1 (c) was invaded, the amount of damage caused by any unauthorized offtake of electricity shall be fixed as the price of quantity of electricity consumed in an unauthorized manner, determined by an offtake diagram. For the calculation of damage caused by the second and another such unauthorized offtake of electricity on the same offtake point shall apply the procedure under subsection 2.

(4) The distribution system operator is authorized to take necessary technical steps in the distribution system with the aim of preventing or reducing any unauthorized offtakes of electricity.

(5) The distribution system operator is authorized to demand prior to renewal of electricity distribution to the offtake point, in which an unauthorized offtake has been found repeatedly, for the reconstruction of an electrical connection, including placement of the designated meter at a publicly available place according to valid commercial terms and technical terms of the connection.

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C H A P T E R F O U RTHE GAS SECTOR

SUBCHAPTER O N ERIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF GAS MARKET PARTICIPANTS

Section 47 Basic contractual relations on gas market

(1) By a gas supply contract, the gas supplier undertakes to supply gas in the agreed volume to the gas consumer and the gas consumer undertakes to pay the agreed price for it to the gas supplier.

(2) By a contract on connection to the transmission network, the transmission system operator undertakes to connect the gas equipment of the applicant to the transmission network following fulfillment of the technical and commercial conditions for connection to the transmission network.

(3) By a contract on connection to the distribution network, the distribution system operator undertakes to connect the gas equipment of the applicant to the distribution network following fulfillment of the technical and commercial conditions for connection to the distribution network.

(4) By the contract on access to the transmission network and the transmission of gas, the operator of the transmission network undertakes to reserve the agreed fixed transmission capacity or interruptible transmission capacity, to provide access to the network and to secure the transmission of gas from the entry point to the exit point for the whole of the contractual term to the level of the agreed fixed transmission capacity or interruptible transmission capacity and the gas market participant undertakes to pay the price for the provision of transmission services and other related services; in the case of a contract on access to the transmission network and the transmission of gas with interruptible transmission capacity, the transmission network operator may under the agreed conditions interrupt or reduce the transmission capacity.

(5) By the contract on access to the distribution network and the distribution of gas, the distribution network operator undertakes to allocate to the gas market participant the agreed distribution capacity, to provide access to the network and to secure the distribution of gas from the entry point to the exit point for the whole of the contractual term to the level of the agreed fixed distribution capacity and the gas market participant undertakes to pay the price for the provision of distribution services and other related services.

(6) By a contract on access to a storage system and the storage of gas, the storage system operator undertakes, following fulfillment of the conditions set out in the operating rules of the storage system operator, to allocate the gas market participant the agreed fixed storage capacity or interruptible storage capacity and to secure the storage of gas for the whole contractual term to the level of agreed fixed storage capacity or interruptible storage capacity and the gas market participant undertakes to pay for the storage services and related services; in the case of a contract on access to the storage system and the storage of gas with interruptible transmission capacity, the storage system operator may under the agreed conditions interrupt or reduce the storage capacity.

(7) By a contract on transfer of responsibility for deviations, a gas market participant in line with the conditions set out in the operating rules of the distribution network operator transfers responsibility for deviation to its gas supplier. By a contract on transfer of responsibility for deviations, a gas producer in line with the conditions set out in the operating rules of the distribution network operator transfers responsibility for deviation to its gas consumer.

(8) By a contract on the combined supply of gas, the gas supplier undertakes to supply gas to the gas consumer to the agreed volume, to secure the distribution of gas to the offtake points of the gas consumers, including related services, and to assume responsibility for deviation of the gas

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consumer, and the gas consumer undertakes to pay the gas supplier the price for supplied gas and related services.

(9) The particulars of the contracts under subsections 1 through 8 are provided for by the market rules.

Section 48Rights and obligations of the gas producer

(1) A gas producer shall be entitled: a) to set up and operate an electronic communication network necessary for managing the operation of the upstream network and for ensuring the information transfer required for management as per separate regulation,51)

b) to conclude with the transmission system operator or distribution system operator a contract for connecting the upstream network to the transmission system or distribution system;

c) to refuse access to the upstream network for reasons of insufficient capacity or unsuitable technical conditions.

(2) A gas producer shall:a) conclude a contract on gas supply with the gas consumer, transmission system operator, distribution system operator, or gas supplier;

b) ensure metering of the supplied quantity of gas and quality of gas, including assessment and submission of the necessary information to the transmission system operator or distribution system operator, unless otherwise agreed between the gas producer and the transmission system operator or distribution system operator;

c) ensure reliable, safe and effective operation of the upstream network;

d) grant a gas undertaking or gas consumer access to the upstream network, save for that part of the network which is used for gas extraction and the transport of gas from the point of extraction to the processing plant, or to the point of delivery to the transmission system or distribution system or to a gas storage facility;

e) allow the transmission system operator, distribution system operator or storage system operator to install the designated meter;

f) grant the transmission system operator, distribution system operator or storage system operator access to the designated meter in order to inspect its operation and to read the data on the quantity of gas supplied;

g) provide the transmission system operator, distribution system operator or storage system operator with the information necessary to ensure operability of the network, about gas extraction and the upstream network;

h) publish on its web site the commercial terms for access to and utilization of the upstream network; business conditions shall be published annually by 31 October for the following year;

i) prepare a five-year plan for gas production and the development of the upstream network, and submit the plan to the Ministry annually by 30 November for the following year;

j) prepare every year emergency plans for the upstream network.

Section 49Rights and obligations of the transmission system operator

(1) The transmission system operator has the right: a) to set up and operate an electronic communication network necessary for managing the operation of the transmission system and for ensuring the transfer of information required for this management as per separate regulation,51)

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b) to purchase, store and sell gas to gas market participants in order to ensure a balance in the transmission system and a balance between the quantity of gas entering and exiting the transmission system and performance of other activities of a transmission system operator based on transparent, indiscriminate and market procedures,

c) to refuse access to the transmission system for reasons specified in Section 74 or for the reason that the transmission system has insufficient capacity;

d) to refuse access to the transmission system if such access would prevent fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest;

e) to require from other gas undertakings information necessary to perform obligations of the transmission system operator to prepare or cooperate in the preparation of network development plans, including a network outside of the defined territory under this Act and a special regulation.45)

(2) The transmission system operator shall be entitled to restrict or interrupt the transmission of gas, insofar as is necessary in terms of scope and time, and without giving rise to any right of compensation save if damage is caused by the fault of the operator, only in the event of: a) performance of planned reconstruction, modernization, repair, maintenance or inspection of gas facilities;

b) an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons, or upon elimination of such situations;

c) a state of emergency and the prevention of a state of emergency in the gas sector under a special regulation44);

d) accidents or malfunctions at gas facilities and during the removal of their consequences;

e) non-adherence to the contractual conditions for gas transmission;

f) the offtake of gas by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of gas supply and where the consumer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

g) the supply of gas by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of gas supply and where the gas producer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means,

h) the gas consumer hindering access to the metering equipment;

i) a contract being concluded on gas transmission, containing the right of interruption.

(3) If gas transmission is to be restricted or interrupted for reasons mentioned in 2(a), the transmission system operator shall notify all gas market participants to whom the transmission is provided about the start and end of the restriction or interruption, this in writing at least thirty days beforehand; this period may be shortened by agreement between the transmission system operator and the affected gas market participant.

(4) The transmission system operator shall restore the transmission of gas immediately after the causes of the restriction or interruption have been eliminated.

(5) A gas market participant that suffers damage as a result of the restriction or interruption of gas transmission for the reasons mentioned in 2(a) shall be entitled to claim compensation and lost profits only if the transmission system operator did not fulfill its duty of notification as per subsection (3).

(6) The transmission system operator shall: a) ensure reliable, safe and efficient operation of the transmission network in the interest of creating an open market with gas,

b) ensure maintenance and development of the transmission system in compliance with conditions for the protection of environmental protection;

c) ensure the establishment of cross-border connections necessary for integration of the transmission networks in Member States with sufficient capacity to enable satisfaction of all economically justified and technically feasible requests of gas market participants for the capacity of cross-border interconnections, while accounting for the requirements of gas supply security; the transmission system operator shall assess the economic justification of requirements based on binding offers of

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participants of the testing of market demand for the given cross-border connection made on the basis of testing rules for the market demand approved by the office,

d) provide gas transmission and related ancillary services;

e) conclude with anyone on request a contract on access to the gas transmission system and on gas transmission, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms of access to the gas transmission system and gas transmission are met;

f) ensure access to the transmission system, ancillary services and linepack on the principle of transparency and non-discrimination;

g) conclude with anyone on request a contract on connection to the gas transmission system, provided the technical terms and commercial terms of access and connection to the transmission system are met and the connection of a gas offtake equipment to the transmission system is not in conflict with subsection 8;

h) ensure that all gas market participants are treated in a non-discriminatory way;

i) ensure the metering of transmitted gas, including its assessment, and submit the metered data to gas market participants at their request;

j) ensure balancing of the transmission system and the settlement of balancing of the transmission network in accordance with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory rules;

k) purchase, store and sell gas to gas market participants for the purpose of the performance of activities of the transmission network operator based on transparent, indiscriminate and market procedures,

l) restrict gas transmission pursuant to a decision of the Ministry as per Section 88;

m) connect the distribution system operator to the transmission system, if technical conditions and commercial conditions of the connection to a transmission network are met;

n) provide the transmission network operator, distribution system operator and storage facility operator with any information necessary for ensuring the operability of the interconnected system;

o) notify the applicant for connection to the transmission network of technical conditions and commercial conditions of a connection to the transmission network.

(7) The transmission network operator shall be further obliged to

a) provide gas market participants with information necessary for access to the system;

b) grant gas market participants access to the designated meter or other meter agreed in the contract on access to gas transmission network and gas transmission for the purpose of metering the gas or inspecting the functionality of the designated meter or the meter agreed in the contract;

c) set up and operate where necessary points for monitoring the quality of gas supplies;

d) submit to the Ministry and the Office a quarterly report on the state of the system, utilization of transmission system capacity and an assessment of transmission by the transmission system, this within thirty days from the end of the quarter;

e) publish commercial terms for access and utilization of linepack in the system; the conditions for the following year must be published annually by 31 October;

f) prepare a quarterly summary of gas import and gas export to and from the defined territory and submit it to the Ministry within thirty days from the end of the quarter;

g) prepare emergency plans annually;

h) prepare a ten-year plan every year for development of the transmission system, including a development plan for cross-border interconnection, (hereinafter „ten-year system development plan“) and submit it for the following ten years to the Ministry and the Office annually by 30 November, including a report on fulfillment of the ten-year network development plan;

i) notify the Ministry and the gas dispatching center about information necessary for declaration of a state of emergency in the gas sector under a special regulation44).

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j) publish information on the application of the agreed access to linepack,

k) at the request of a gas non-household consumer or gas supplier acting in the name of a gas consumer free of charge, to enable free-of-charge the designation of the offtake point of the gas consumer to a new gas supplier within a period of three weeks from delivering the request,; the contractual obligations of the gas consumer towards the gas transmission system operator and previous gas supplier shall not be affected thereby,

l) provide, in a free-of-charge and non-discriminatory manner, a gas consumer whose offtake point is connected to the system of the transmission network operator, or a gas supplier requesting in the name of the gas consumer, with measured data on consumption at its offtake point in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2) (e),

m) provide information about the rights of consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry under Section 88 (2) (q) to a gas consumer with which it has concluded a contract on access to the transmission network and the transmission of gas, at its web site and in its operational premises or upon request by the dispatch thereof to the gas consumer,

n) secure resources required for the operation, maintenance and development of a transmission network as per this Act and separate regulation,2) and inform the Office thereof,

o) submit upon request of the ministry and the office a proposal of capacity of back flow of gas or request for exemption from the duty to allow two-way capacity under a special regulation73)

p) secure upon request of the office, transparent, detailed and non-discriminatory testing of the gas market demand in accordance with rules approved by the office with a view to assess whether the gas market requires investments to the gas transmission system which is necessary to meet obligations under a special regulation 74)

(8) The transmission network operator shall refuse the connection of a gas offtake equipment of a non-household gas consumer to a transmission network, if on the defined territory or its part in which the gas offtake equipment of a non-household gas consumer is located, is constructed a distribution network or a distribution network planned in the distribution network development plan for construction and at the same time the capacity of the current or proposed distribution network is not utilized in full.

(9) For the purpose of assessment of the request of a non-household gas consumer to connect its gas offtake equipment to a transmission network, the transmission network operator shall ask the relevant distribution network operator for standpoint whether a) a distribution network is established in the area at issue,

b) the current distribution network is utilized and covers forecasted needs of a non-household gas consumer,

c) a distribution network is scheduled to be established under the distribution network development plan under Section 64 (7) (f) and whether such network covers the forecasted needs of a non-household gas consumer.

(10) The transmission network operator shall be obliged to have a decision of certification issued by the office under a special regulation.55) The transmission network operator over which control is exercised directly or indirectly by person or persons from a third state, shall be obliged to have a decision of certification issued by the office under a special regulation.56)

Section 50Ownership Unbundling of the transmission network operator

73) Art. 6 (6) of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.74) Art. 6 (1) and (5) of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.

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(1) A transmission network operator is obliged to own a transmission network.

(2) The same person or same persons are not entitled:a) to perform the functions of gas production or supply, electricity production or supply, or directly or indirectly to exercise control over an undertaking performing any of the functions of gas or electricity production or supply, and directly or indirectly to exercise control or exercise any right over a transmission system operator or over a transmission system,

b) directly or indirectly to exercise control over a transmission network operator or over a transmission network, and at the same time to perform the function of gas production or supply, electricity production or supply, or directly or indirectly exercise control or exercise any right over an undertaking performing any of the functions of gas or electricity production or supply;

c) to elect, appoint or otherwise determine a statutory body, members of the statutory body, the supervisory board, or the confidential clerk of a transmission system operator, or to perform the functions of gas production or supply, or directly or indirectly to exercise control or exercise any right over an undertaking performing the functions of gas production or supply;

d) to be a member of a governing body, supervisory body or control body, of a person performing any of the functions of gas production or supply or a body which acts on behalf of such person and at the same time be a statutory body, a member of the statutory body or supervisory board, or the confidential clerk of a transmission network operator.

(3) The rights referred to in points a), b) and c) of subsection 2 mean, in particulara) the power to exercise voting rights in the undertaking,b) the power to elect, appoint or otherwise determine members of the governing body, supervisory body or control body of an undertaking or a body acting on behalf of the undertaking ,c) the holding of over half of the share capital.

(4) If the person stipulated under subsection 2 constitutes the Slovak Republic, a state authority, body of territorial self-government, a legal entity established by law in order to fulfill tasks in the public interest57) or a legal entity established by a state authority to fulfill tasks in the public interest, two independent state authorities, bodies of territorial self-government or legal entities established by law to fulfill tasks in the public interest, or legal entities established by state authorities to fulfill tasks on the public interest, where one of them exercises control over the transmission network operator and the other exercises control or any right over a person performing the function of electricity production or supply or gas production or supply, this shall be deemed not to be the same person.

(5) The obligation set out in subsection 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be fulfilled also where the transmission network operator is one of founders of a legal person that acts as a transmission system operator in two or more Member States, or if it acquires a participation in such a person and allows this person to retain the transmission network with the aim of its operation. This shall not apply where the party as per the previous sentence is established, or a share thereof is acquired by a person whose independence has not been approved by a competent authority of a Member State in proceedings on certification by similar proceedings as per separate regulation2)2) and which is not approved and determined as a transmission network operator by a Member State.

(6) A producer or supplier of gas or a producer or supplier of electricity shall not be entitled to acquire control over a person performing the function of gas transmission in a Member State that is not part of a vertically integrated undertaking. A person performing the function of gas production or supply or electricity production or supply shall not be entitled to acquire control over a transmission network operator that is not part of a vertically integrated undertaking.

(7) A transmission network operator may not provide persons which are engaged in its activity nor commercial information acquired during its activities that constitutes the subject of corporate secrecy58) or other confidential commercial information, to parties performing the function of gas production or supply save for cases if the provision of such information is necessary for the concluding or performance of a contract with the person performing the function or gas production or supply. The transmission network operator is obliged to take steps necessary for fulfillment of the obligations as

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per the first sentence and to monitor fulfillment of these steps by persons who participate in its activities.

(8) The government may determine by 1 December 2012, upon proposal of the ministry, that the ownership unbundling of the gas transmission system operator which is part of vertically integrated gas undertaking under subsections 1 through 7 shall not be used.

(9) If the government determines that the ownership unbundling shall not apply to the gas transmission system operator which is part of the vertically integrated gas undertaking under subsections 1 through 7, the gas transmission system operator which is part of vertically integrated gas undertaking shall be subject to the terms of independency of the gas transmission system operator under Section 51 through 60 shall apply to the gas transmission system operator which is part of the vertically integrated gas undertaking; the right of the vertically integrated gas undertaking to implement ownership unbundling of the gas transmission system operator in accordance with the provisions of subsections 1 through 7 shall not be affected thereby. Terms of independency of the gas transmission system operator under Section 51 through 60 shall not apply to the gas transmission system operator which is subject to the provisions of subsections 1 through 7.

Independent gas transmission system operator

Section 51

Legal form, organization and governance of independent gas transmission system operator

(1) The gas transmission system operator must have the form of a joint stock company or a limited liability company.

(2) The gas transmission system operator is subject to the Commercial Code unless the provisions of Section 51 through 60 provide for otherwise.

(3) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to issue Statutes, which in addition to prerequisites provided for in the Commercial Code must provide fora) organizational structure and governance system of the gas transmission system operator in the manner which ensures the compliance of the conditions of independency of the gas transmission system operator pursuant to Section 52 through 60,

b) powers and responsibility of the statutory body, supervisory commission, other bodies of the gas transmission system operator according to the Commercial Code, employees of the gas transmission system operator under item c) and of a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to Section 58, relationships and rules of cooperation between them,

c) the specification of positions of employees of the gas transmission system operator, which are in direct governance powers of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator in matters related to the operation, maintenance and development of the system,

d) appointment of a person liable to ensure compliance, which performs for the gas transmission system operator activity in a labor relationship, by the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator as a requirement for the performance of its office,

e) other prerequisites, if this Act stipulates so.

(4) A copy of full wording of the Statutes must be delivered by gas transmission system operator to the office within 15 days upon issuance of the Statutes and upon any amendment thereof.

Section 52

Statutory body of independent gas transmission system operator

(1) Competence of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator to make

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decisions in matters which relate to day-to-day activity of the gas transmission system operator, management of the transmission system and preparation of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 59, may not be entrusted to other body of the gas transmission system operator.

(2) A person which is not a statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator, may not be entrusted by the overall governance of the gas transmission system operator.

(3) The statutory body or members of the statutory body shall be elected or appointed and recalled by the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator. Any appointment or election and recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the appointment or election and recall is invalid.

(4) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide for legal relationships with the statutory body or members of the statutory body by a contract on the performance of office, to which requirements under the Commercial Code apply, no later than on the day of commencement of the performance of their office.

(5) The contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body must contain terms for the performance of office including terms related to the length and termination of term of office and rules for remuneration of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body; the provisions of the Commercial Code on powers of the general meeting of the company to approve rules for remuneration of the statutory body or members of the statutory body of the company shall not apply.

(6) Any execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body shall be approved by the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator. Any execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body requires prior consent of the office; any provision of the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body, the wording of which is not approved by the office in a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent, is invalid.

(7) The proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office pursuant to subsection 3 and subsection 6 is commenced upon a proposal of the gas transmission system operator. A party to the proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office pursuant to subsection 3 and subsection 6 is the gas transmission system operator; a party to the proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office for recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body is a person, for the recall of which the gas transmission system operator requires consent.

(8) An application of the gas transmission system operator for prior consent to the appointment or election of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body must also contain documents allowing to assess the independency of a person being proposed as a statutory body or a member of the statutory body pursuant to Section 53.

(9) An application of the gas transmission system operator for prior consent to the execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body must also contain a draft contract on the performance of office or a draft of its amendment.

(10) An application of the gas transmission system operator for prior consent to the recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body must contain reasons for such recall.

(11) The office shall notify the gas transmission system operator of the day of delivery of a complete application for prior consent pursuant to subsections 8, 9 or 10. If the office does not issue a request to supplement the application for prior consent pursuant to subsections 8, 9 or 10 within five business days upon filing the application or day of supplement to the application, the application shall be deemed complete for the purposes of subsection 13.

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(12) The office shall not issue prior consenta) to the appointment or election of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body, if the office has justified doubts as to the independency of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body pursuant to Section 53,

b) to the execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body, if it reasonably believes that the proposed terms of the performance of office or amendment thereto do not allow the independent performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body,

c) to a recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body, if the office has justified doubts as to the legitimacy of reasons for a recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body.

(13) If the office does not make a decision on an application of the gas transmission system operator for issuance of the prior consent pursuant to subsections 8, 9 or 10 within three weeks upon delivery of a complete application, it is presumed that the office has issued a decision on issuance of the prior consent; the office shall issue, upon request, confirmation of such fact to the gas transmission system operator promptly.

(14) If the gas transmission system operator files a remedy against a decision of the office, by which the office fails to comply with a proposal for issuance of the prior consent to the appointment or election of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body, it shall be entitled to file a request for prior consent to the appointment or election of another proposed person. If a proceeding for the remedy is terminated by a decision of the office, by which it shall issue prior consent to the appointment or election of the originally proposed person, the appointment or election of originally proposed person shall be deemed a legitimate reason to recall the person under the preceding sentence pursuant to subsection 12 item c) also without prior consent of the office.

(15) Any resolution of the general meeting of the gas transmission system operator on amendment to the Statutes, by which the term of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator is shortened for the period of its duration, is invalid.

Section 53

Independency of the statutory body, members of the statutory body and employees of independent of the gas transmission system operator

(1) The statutory body or a member of the statutory body and the employees under Section 51 (3)(c) may not be a person which in a period of three years prior to its appointment or election or execution of a labor contract for the performance of its officea) had, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or was a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or other person pursuing the activity of gas distribution in other member state or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercised control, or for such person or such persons performed activities in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or was with such person or with such persons in the performance of its business activity directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship.

b) had, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or was a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is or was in the performance of its business activity, directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or other person pursuing the activity of gas transmission in other member state or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercised control.

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(2) The restriction pursuant to subsection 1 applies to an absolute majority of persons, which perform office of the statutory body or members of the statutory body and an absolute majority of the employees under Section 51 (3)(c); other persons which perform office of the statutory body, or members of statutory bodies and other employees under Section 51 (3)(c) may not be persons, which in a period of six month prior to their appointment or election or the execution of a labor contract for the performance of their office, were members of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or other person performing the activity of gas transportation in other member state or performed for such person activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship.

(3) The statutory body or members of the statutory body and persons performing activity for the gas transmission system operator in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship, may nota) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, or for such person or such persons to pursue activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or to be with such person or such persons in the performance of its business activity, directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship,

b) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is in the performance of its business activity directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control.

(4) The statutory body or members of the statutory body and persons performing activity for the gas transmission system operator in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship may not have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business of a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator, nor to accept from it directly or in the form of mediation, a share in the profit or other similar performance. Remuneration of the statutory body or members of the statutory body and persons performing activity for the gas transmission system operator in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship may not depend in any manner on economic results of persons other than the gas transmission system operator.

(5) A person which performs office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body or the employee under Section 51 (3)(c) of the gas transmission system operator, may not during a period of four years upon its recall or other termination of the performance of its officea) have an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or other person performing the activity of gas transportation in other member state or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control or perform for such person or persons activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or be with such person or persons in the performance of its business activity directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship,

b) have an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is in the performance of its business activity directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, except for the gas transmission system operator or other person performing the activity of gas transportation in other member state or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly, exercises control.

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(6) Any termination of a labor relationship of the employee under Section 51 (3)(c) by a notice of termination62 or prompt termination of a labor relationship from the side of the employer63) requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the termination of a labor relationship is invalid; periods according to the Labor Code for termination of a labor relationship by a notice of termination or prompt termination of a labor relationship64 during a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office to the termination of a labor relationship of the employee under Section 51 (3)(c), shall not run. The proceeding for the issuance of prior consent to the termination of the employee under Section 51 (3)(c), is subject to the provisions of Section 52 subsections 7 and 10 through 13 accordingly.

(7) The other contractual relationship under subsections 1, 3 and 5 is not a contractual relationship established by the contract pursuant to Section 47 subsections 3, 5, 7 and 8 or by a contract for gas supply, which relate to the own consumption of a gas consumer, or similar contractual relationship under the laws of other country.

Section 54

Supervisory commission of the independent gas transmission system operator

(1) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to establish a supervisory commission as a company’s body with competences under this Act; the competence of company’s bodies according to the Commercial Code shall not be affected, unless this Act provides for otherwise. Competence of the supervisory commission shall includea) approval of decisions which materially affect the value of shares of partners of the gas transmission system operator in the gas transmission system operator, specifically1. approval of annual and long-term financial plans,2. approval of the maximum level of debts of the gas transmission system operator,3. approval of a proposal of the statutory body for profit distribution or payment of losses prior to its submission to the general meeting of the gas transmission system operator; the competence of the general meeting to decide on a proposal for profit distribution or payment of losses according to the Commercial Code shall not be affected, unless this Act provides for otherwise,4. approval of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 59 and decisions on the commencement of implementation of individual investments according to the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 59,

b) appointment or election and recall of the statutory body or members of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator,

c) approval of rules for remuneration of the statutory body or members of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator,

d) approval of the execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator,

e) appointment and recall of a person liable to ensure the compliance pursuant to Section 58,

f) approval of the execution or amendment to a contract75) among the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance.

(2) Decisions of the supervisory commission adopted to the extent of its competence pursuant to subsection 1 are binding on the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator. Competence of the supervisory commission shall not include decisions on matters, which relate to day-to-day activity of the gas transmission system operator, management of the gas transmission system and activity related to preparation of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 58.

(3) The general meeting of the gas transmission system operator may decide only on a proposal of the statutory body for profit distribution or payment of losses, which was approved by the

75) For example Section 591 of the Commercial Code, Section 42 of The Labor Code.

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supervisory commission. Any resolution of the general meeting, which is in conflict with the foregoing sentence, is invalid.

(4) The supervisory commission must have no less than three members. The number of members and composition of the supervisory commission shall be provided for in the Statutes of the gas transmission system operator.

(5) Members of the supervisory commission shall be appointed and recalled by the general meeting of the gas transmission system operator. The term of office of a member of the supervisory commission shall be provided for in the Statutes of the gas transmission system operator; any resolution of the general meeting of the gas transmission system operator on amendment to the Statutes, by which the term of office of a member of the supervisory commission is shortened for the period of its duration, is invalid. Any election and recall of a member of the supervisory commission requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the election and recall are invalid; consent of the office is not required to the election of a member of the supervisory commission, if at the time of his/her election the term of office of members of the supervisory commission under the first sentence of subsection 7 is running.

(6) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide for legal relationships with members of the supervisory commission by the contract on the performance of office, to which requirements of the Commercial Code apply, no later than on the day of commencement of performance of their offices. A contract on the performance of office of a member of the supervisory commission must contain terms of the performance of office, including terms related to the period and termination of the term of office and rules for remuneration of a member of the supervisory commission. Any execution or amendment to the contract on the performance of office of a member of the supervisory commission, for the election of which consent of the office is required, requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the contract on the performance of office, or its amendment, is invalid.

(7) The provisions of Section 52 subsection 7 through 14 and Section 53 subsections 1 and 3 through 5 shall apply accordingly to a half of members of the supervisory commission decreased by one member, unless the Statutes provide for a higher number. The provisions of Section 52 subsections 7, 10,11, 12 item c) and 13 shall apply accordingly to the recall of a member of the supervisory commission.

(8) If a successor company has, in case of a merger, amalgamation, split-up of companies, the supervisory commission under this Act, a merger contract, an amalgamation contract or a split-up project shall contain names of members of the supervisory commission. A decision on a change in a legal form of the gas transmission system operator contains names of members of the supervisory commission. The provisions of the Commercial Code shall not be affected thereby.

(9) Members of the supervisory commission are similarly subject to the provisions of Section 66 (1) and 2, Section 194 (5) through (9), Section 196, Section 196a, Section 197(2), Section 200 (4) and Section 201 of the Commercial Code; the provision of Section 201 (2) of the Commercial Code shall apply similarly only to the extent providing for the notification of a standpoint of a minority of members of the supervisory board to the general meeting.

Duties and sources of the independent gas transmission system operator

Section 55

(1) Gas transmission system operator shall be obliged, in addition to activities pursuant to Section 49, to ensure:a) representation of the gas transmission system operator in relation to third parties, office, regulatory bodies of other member states and the Agency for cooperation of regulatory bodies in the energy sector (hereinafter „agency“),

b) representation of the gas transmission system operator within the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators,76)

76) Art. 5 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 715/2009.

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c) granting and governance of the access of third parties to the transmission system on a non-discriminatory basis,

d) collection of fees related to the operation of the transmission system, including fees for access to the transmission system and gas the transmission and fees for the provision of auxiliary services,

e) operation, maintenance and development of a safe, effective and economical transmission system,

f) investment planning ensuring long-term ability of the transmission system to satisfy adequate demand and ensuring the safety of gas supply,

g) activities relates to establishment, if any, of joint ventures with other transmission system operators, stock exchanges, which deal in gas, or with other persons for the purpose of creation of regional markets or to facilitate a process of liberalization of the gas market and with participation in such joint ventures,

h) standard intra-company activities which relate to the operation of an undertaking, including legal services, bookkeeping and services related to information technology.

(2) The gas transmission system operator must dispose of sufficient human, technical, material and financial resources necessary for the performance of obligations arising out of this Act and special regulations.77)

(3) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to

a) own assets necessary to transport gas including the transmission system,

b) employ a sufficient number of persons necessary to ensure gas transport and a performance of all related obligations.

(4) Other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, may not

a) allocate its employees for the performance of work to the gas transmission system operator,

b) provide to the gas transmission system operator any services.

(5) The gas transmission system operator may not allocate its employees for the performance of work to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control. The gas transmission system operator may provide services to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, only upon prior consent of the office to the terms of the provision of services. The office prior shall issue such consent, if the gas transmission system operator demonstrates that

a) the provision of services of the gas transmission system operator to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, does not lead to the discrimination of other users of the gas transmission system,

b) services of the gas transmission system operator are available to all users of the system under the

77) For example Act No. 250/2012 Coll., Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 715/2009, Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 994/2010.

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same conditions,

c) the provision of services of the gas transmission system operator to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, neither distort nor restricts economic competition on the gas market, nor prevents from such competition.

(6) The gas transmission system operator and other persons which are part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, may not use joint services including legal services; such restriction shall not apply in administrative services, in which there is no risk of the violation of obligations of gas transmission system operator related to the confidentiality of information under Section 94.

Section 56

(1) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to ensure sufficient resources necessary for correct and effective gas transport and development and maintenance of an effective, safe and economical transmission system.

(2) Other persons, which are part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, shall be obliged to make available on time to the gas transmission system operator upon his justified request, adequate financial resources necessary for future investment projects and replacement of the existing assets; the competence of the supervisory commission pursuant to Section 54 shall not be affected thereby. The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to inform annually by 30 November the office about financial resources it has available for future investment projects and replacement of the existing assets, .

(3) The gas transmission system operator shall be entitled to obtain necessary financial resources also through a credit financing and by an increase in the registered capital; competence of the supervisory commission pursuant to Section 54 shall not be affected thereby.

(4) The gas transmission system operator must have in relation to the assets necessary for the operation, maintenance and development of the gas transmission system, effective decisive powers, which it may exercise independently from other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control; the competence of the supervisory commission pursuant to Section 54 shall not be affected thereby.

(5) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to ensure that confusion of the operator occurs with another person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, in particular in connection with separate undertaking identity, communication, designation and operational premises of the gas transmission system operator.

(6) The gas transmission system operator may not with other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, use common systems and equipment of information technology, operational premises and systems for the protection against unauthorized entry.

(7) The gas transmission system operator may not use the same suppliers of systems and equipment of information technology and systems for the protection against unauthorized entry as is used by a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, unless this Act provides for otherwise.

(8) The gas transmission system operator may use the same system of information technology as other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas

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transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, only if they have entered with a supplier of such system of information technology into separate contracts and such system of information technology was not adjusted to their special operational conditions.

(9) The gas transmission system operator may use the same equipments of information technology as other person which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, only ifa) such information technology equipments are located outside of operational premises of the gas transmission system operator and other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control,

b) such information technology equipments are made available and operated by a third party as a supplier of information technology equipment.

(10) The gas transmission system operator may not use the same suppliers of advisory services related to systems and equipment of information technology and systems for the protection against unauthorized entry as used by other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control.

(11) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to ensure the verification of its financial statement by an auditor, who in the same year does not verify the financial statement of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control.

(12) The auditor, who verifies the financial statement of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, shall be entitled to inspect books of the gas transmission system operator to the extent necessary to verify the consolidated financial statement of the vertically integrated gas undertaking; shall be obliged in the inspection to keep confidentiality of information, which is the subject-matter of a business secret,58) or other business confidential information, in particular not to provide such information to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control.

Section 57

Independency of the gas transmission system operator

(1) A subsidiary which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator and which pursues the activity of production or supply of gas, may not have a direct or indirect interest in the registered capital of the gas transmission system operator. The gas transmission system operator may not have a direct or indirect interest in the registered capital of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator and which pursues the activity of production or supply of gas, nor from other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, directly or indirectly accept a share in profit or other similar performance.

(2) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to

a) ensure that in commercial and financial relationships between the gas transmission system operator and other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, including borrowings of the gas transmission system operator to other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system

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operator, terms standard in ordinary course of business be complied with,

b) keep detailed records on commercial and financial relationships between the gas transmission system operator and other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, and upon request disclose them to the office,

c) submit to the office for approval the proposals of commercial and financial agreements with the vertically integrated gas undertaking; a contract executed between the gas transmission system operator and other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, or its amendment shall be invalid without prior consent of the office; the office shall grant consent to the execution of the contract or its amendment, if the gas transmission system operator demonstrates that the terms of the contract or its amendments correspond to the terms standard in ordinary course of business, otherwise the office shall not grant consent to the execution of the contract or its amendment.

(3) Other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, and a person, which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, shall be obliged to refrain from any actions, by which it

a) would directly or indirectly determine competitive behavior of the gas transmission system operator in matters related to day-to-day activity of the gas transmission system operator, management of the gas transmission system and preparation of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 59,

b) could limit or restrict the gas transmission system operator or make to it damage in the performance of obligations pursuant to Section 51 through 60,

c) would demand from the gas transmission system operator, to obtain for the performance of obligations pursuant to Section 51 through 60 permit from other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control.

(4) For the purposes of this Act the subsidiary shall mean a person over which control is exercised directly or indirectly by a person which is part of the vertically integrated gas undertaking within the defined territory.

Section 58

Program of compliance and person liable to ensure compliance

(1) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged toa) prepare a compliance program in which it shall determine1. measures to ensure non-discriminatory behavior of the gas transmission system operator,2. specific obligations of employees of the gas transmission system operator aimed to fulfill the purpose of the compliance program,

b) submit a proposal of the compliance program for approval to the office,

c) ensure performance of the compliance program and monitoring its performance,

d) appoint or otherwise name a person liable to ensure compliance; a physical person or a legal person may be appointed or otherwise named as a person liable to ensure compliance.

(2) The compliance program shall be approved by the office. The office shall not approve the compliance program, if it reasonably believes that the compliance program fails to ensure non-discriminatory behavior of the gas transmission system operator.

(3) A person liable to ensure compliance shall be appointed or otherwise named and recalled

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by the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator. Any appointment or selection and recall of a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise any such appointment or selection and recall is invalid. The supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to recall a person liable to ensure compliance upon request of the office for the reason of her/his insufficient independency or disqualifications of a person.

(4) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide for legal relationships with a person liable to ensure compliance by a contract no later than on the day of commencement of performance of its office. A contract between the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance must stipulate the terms of the performance of activity of a person liable to ensure compliance under this Act, including terms related to the period and termination of its contractual relationship with the gas transmission system operator and its remuneration in the manner which will ensure its independency and shall provide to it sources necessary for the performance of its duties. Any execution or amendment to the contract between the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance shall be approved by the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator. Any execution or amendment to the contract between the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office; the provisions of the contract between the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance, the wording of which is not approved by the office in a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent, is invalid.

(5) An application of the gas transmission system operator for prior consent to the appointment or designation of a person liable to ensure compliance must also contain documents which allow to review the independency and qualification of the person proposed as a person liable to ensure compliance.

(6) The office shall not issue prior consent to

a) the appointment or designation of a person liable to ensure compliance, if it has justified doubts as to the independency and qualification of a person liable to ensure compliance,

b) the execution or amendment to the contract between the gas transmission system operator and a person liable to ensure compliance, if it reasonably believes that the proposed terms or amendment thereto will not allow independent performance of obligations of a person liable to ensure compliance or will not provide to it resources necessary for the performance of its obligations,

c) the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance, if it has justified doubts as to the legitimacy of the reasons for the recall of such person liable to ensure compliance.

(7) The provisions of Section 52 subsections 7, 9 through 11 and 13 and Section 53 subsections 1, 4, 5 and 7 shall apply accordingly to a person liable to ensure compliance.

(8) A person liable to ensure compliance may not, save for activities under this Act pursued based on the contract executed with the gas transmission system operator pursuant to subsection 4

a) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which exercises over a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, directly or indirectly, control, or for such person or persons pursue activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or be with such person or persons directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relation,

b) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, directly or indirectly exercises control.

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(9) A person liable to ensure compliance, which pursues activity for the gas transmission system operator in a labor relationship, must be in direct management competence of the statutory body of the gas transmission system operator. A recall of a person liable to ensure compliance is the condition of termination of the labor relationship of a person liable to ensure compliance, which pursues activity for the gas transmission system operator in a labor relationship, by a termination notice61) or prompt termination of a labor relationship from the side of the employer62) the periods according to the Labor Code for the termination of an employment relationship or immediate termination of an employment relationship63) during a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office to the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance, shall not run.

(10) A person liable to ensure compliance shall be entitled:

a) participate in meetings of the executive management or of the statutory body, the supervisory commission, the general meeting of the transmission system operator and other bodies of the gas transmission system operator according to the Commercial Code,

b) to be disclosed documents and records related to activity of the gas transmission system operator and to be provided all information necessary to fulfill obligations of a person liable to ensure compliance,

c) to have access to a seat and operational premises of the gas transmission system operator without prior notice.

(11) A person liable to ensure compliance shall be obliged to:

a) monitor fulfillment of the compliance program,

b) annually prepare and submit to the office an annual report, specifying measures adopted for the fulfillment of the compliance program,

c) file reports to the gas transmission system operator on the fulfillment of the compliance program and render recommendations related to the compliance program and its fulfillment,

d) file regular oral or written reports to the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator,

e) promptly notify the office in writing of each material violation related to the fulfillment of the compliance program,

f) provide to the office a report on each commercial and financial relationship between the gas transmission system operator and other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator,

g) submit to the office proposals of decisions on an investment plan or on the commencement of implementation of individual investments to the system; shall submit them no later than when the executive management or a statutory body of the gas transmission system operator submits such proposal for approval to the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator,

h) file regular oral or written reports to the office of the fulfillment of the compliance program,

i) monitor the compliance of obligations of the gas transmission system operator pursuant to Section 55 subsection 6 and Section 94,

j) participate in meetings of the executive management or bodies of the gas transmission system operator to discuss:1. terms for access to the system stipulated in a special regulation,44) in particular if this relates to the prices for access, services related to access of third parties, allocation of capacity and control of overload, transparency, balancing of the system and trading in secondary market,2. projects related to the operation, maintenance and development of the gas transmission system including investments related to a connection of gas facilities to the gas transmission system, increase

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in capacity and optimization of the existing capacity of the gas transmission system,3. the purchase or sale of energy necessary to operate the gas transmission system,

k) inform the office about each actions of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, at the general meeting or a member of the supervisory commission at a meeting of the supervisory commission of the gas transmission system operator, which prevents the gas transmission system operator to make the investment, which is to be, under the ten-year network development plan, implemented in the next three years,

l) monitor the fulfillment of the compliance program of a legal person pursuant to subsection 12, if the gas transmission system operator has an equity participation in its business.

(12) The provisions of subsection 1 shall apply accordingly to a legal person, which was established by gas transmission system operators, of which at least one is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking, for the purpose to pursue cooperation; the compliance program of a legal person pursuant to this section is approved by the agency; the provision of subsection 2 shall not apply.

(13) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide to a person liable to ensure compliance necessary assistance in the exercise of its rights and obligations under subsections 10 and 11 and ensure that all persons, through which the gas transmission system operator performs its activity, provide to it such assistance.

(14) A person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator, or which over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator directly or indirectly exercises control, shall be obliged upon request of the office to provide to the office justification of the proceeding pursuant to subsection 11 item k) and demonstrate that by the procedure pursuant to subsection 11 item k) no discriminatory proceeding has occurred in favor of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas transmission system operator.

Section 59

Ten-year system development plan

(1) The gas transmission system operator shall be in the preparation of the ten-year system development plan pursuant to Section 49 subsection 7 item h) obliged to follow in particular a) from the current and foreseen future status of supply and demand in respect to capacity of the gas transmission system,

b) from appropriate presumptions of the development of extraction, supply, consumption, exchange with other states, taking into account the system development plan for the entire European Union and regional investment plans according to a special regulation78) and investment plans for storage facilities and facilities for liquefaction of natural gas,

(2) The ten-year system development plan must contain effective measures to ensure adequacy of the system and safety of gas supplies. The ten-year system development plan in particular:a) shall specify the main parts of the gas transmission system, which are to be erected or refurbish in the following ten years, together with foreseen terms of their implementation,

b) specify investments to the gas transmission system, which relate to the construction of new capacities or upgrade of the transmission system,1. on the implementation of which the gas transmission system operator has already decided,2. which will have to be implemented in the next three years,

78 Art. 8 (5) and art. 12 (1) of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 715/2009.

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c) determines terms of the implementation of investments pursuant to letter b).

(3) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to reflect in the ten-year system development plan any decisions of the office on the imposition of duties to carry out a change in the ten-year system development plan pursuant to subsection 7 issued in previous period. The gas transmission system operator shall not be obliged under the foregoing sentence, if results of the testing of market demand pursuant to subsection 9 demonstrate that the market does not require investment to the gas transmission system, which follows from such decision of the office; this shall not apply if this relate to investment to the gas transmission system, which is required to perform obligations according to a special regulation.74 For the purposes of this provision it is presumed that the market shall require an investment, if the transmission network operator receives a sufficient number of binding reservations of capacity from network users showing interest in the capacity in accordance with the rules of testing of the market demand under subsection 9..

(4) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to consult a proposal of the ten-year system development plan prior to its submission to the office in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner with all engaged parties and allow them to give their position in that respect. The gas transmission system operator shall submit information about results of consultations to the office together with the ten-year system development plan.

(5) The office shall consult the ten-year system development plan in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner with existing and potential users of the system and allow them to apply justified comments in a reasonable period. Comments which do not relate to the ten-year system development plan, comments applied by the person which is not an existing user of the system or does not specify for which reasons it is a potential user of the system, comments without justification and comments applied upon expiry of the period determined by the office, the office shall not take into account. The office shall publish information about results of the consultations including information on the requirements of existing and potential users of the system for implementation of the investments to the gas transmission system at its web seat.

(6) The office shall review compliance of the ten-year network development plan with requirements for implementation of the investments to the gas transmission system pursuant to subsection 5 and with the system development plan for the entire European Union according to a special regulation. 78 In any doubts as to compliance of the ten-year system development plan with the system development plan for the entire European Union the office shall discuss the ten-year system development plan with the agency.

(7) The office shall impose on the gas transmission system operator the duty to change the ten-year system development plan in a reasonable period fixed by the office if the ten-year system development plan fails to reflect economically reasonable and technically feasible requirements for implementation of the investments to the gas transmission system pursuant to subsection 5, is in conflict with the system development plan for the entire European Union or is not prepared in accordance with subsections 1 through 3. A party to a proceeding for the imposition of a duty to change the ten-year system development plan shall be the gas transmission system operator. A decision on the imposition of a duty to change the ten-year system development plan is a first action of the office in the proceeding. The provisions of a general regulation on proceedings before courts on postponement of the enforceability of a decision shall not apply.

(8) The office shall monitor and assess implementation of the ten-year system development plan.

(9) The gas transmission system operator may carry out, prior to making investment under the ten-year system development, testing of market demand in respect to such investment in accordance with rules approved by the office; the rules of the testing of market demand must ensure economical adequacy of investments while reflecting the required period for reservations, proposed tariffs, minimum reservable capacity, overall available capacity and other relevant factors. The office shall approve rules of the testing of market demand for individual investment upon proposal of the gas transmission system operator; a party to the proceeding shall be the gas transmission system operator. The office shall not approve a proposal of the gas transmission system operator, if the proposed rules of the testing of market demand

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a) are in conflict with standard principles of making a testing of market demand, which are generally accepted by national regulatory bodies in the European Union, or

b) are not economically reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory.

(10) The gas transmission system operator shall not be obliged to implement investment under the ten-year system development plan, if it makes the testing of market demand pursuant to subsection 9 prior to expiry of the period for its implementation pursuant to subsection 2 item c), and results of the testing of market demand pursuant to subsection 9 demonstrate that the market does not require such investment into the gas transmission system; this shall not apply, if this relates to investment into the gas transmission system, which is necessary to fulfill obligations according to a special regulation. 73) For the purposes of this provision it is presumed that the market shall require an investment, if the transmission network operator receives a sufficient number of binding reservations of capacity from network users showing interest in the capacity in accordance with the rules of testing of the market demand under subsection 9.

(11) If the gas transmission system operator does not implement the investment which according to the ten-year system development plan was supposed to be implemented in the next three years pursuant to subsection 2 item b), in the period pursuant to subsection 2 item c), such investment is as per the latest ten-year system development plan still relevant and the terms pursuant to subsection 10 are not fulfilled, the office shall ensure implementation of the given investment by the adoption of such measures;a) impose on the gas transmission system operator the duty to implement the given investment in a period stipulated by the office,

b) if the gas transmission system operator fails to meet the duty imposed by the office pursuant to item a), it shall implement a tender in connection with the given investment, in which the office will allow participation to all investors in a transparent and non- discriminatory manner; a successful investor shall make the investment at its own responsibility.

(12) The office shall not adopt the measure pursuant to subsection 11 item a), if the gas transmission system operator demonstrates that it is prevented from implementation of the investment by an obstacle, which occurred independently on its will, and it cannot be reasonably presumed that the gas transmission system operator could revert or overcome such obstacle or its consequences.

(13) If the office adopts the measure pursuant to subsection 11 item a), the gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to implement the investment in a period fixed by the office. If the office adopts the measure pursuant to subsection 11 item b), the gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to provide to investors information necessary to implement the investment, connect a new gas facility into the gas transmission system and make every efforts which may be reasonably expected from it, with a view to facilitate implementation of the investment.

(14) If the office ensures implementation of the investment into the gas transmission system by adoption of the measure pursuant to subsection 11, contracts containing financial arrangements related to implementation of such investment into the gas transmission system shall become effective only upon approval the same by the office.

(15) The office may adopt the measure pursuant to subsection 11 item b) with a view to ensure implementation of the investment into the gas transmission system also if that results of the testing of market demand pursuant to subsection 9 demonstrate that the market does not require such investment into the gas transmission system; the previous imposition of a duty pursuant to subsection 11 item a) is not required in such a case; a successful investor shall make the investment at its own responsibility. The provisions of subsections 13 and 14 shall apply accordingly.

Section 60

Connection of a new storage facility, facility for liquefaction of natural gas and offtake gas facility of gas consumer outside household

(1) The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to prepare and publish transparent

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and effective procedures for non-discriminatory connection of a new storage facility, facility for liquefaction of natural gas and offtake gas facility of gas consumer outside household into the gas transmission system; such procedures are part of the operational rules of the gas transmission system operator and are subject to approval by the office according to a special regulation2);2) in case of LNG facilities the gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to prepare such procedures only upon request of an interested party in the construction of an LNG facility.

(2) The gas transmission system operator shall not be entitled to reject the connection of a new storage facility, facility for liquefaction of natural gas and offtake gas facility of gas consumer outside household into the gas transmission system for the reason of possible restrictions of the available capacity of the transmission system in the future, nor for the reason of additional costs connected to necessary increase in capacity. The gas transmission system operator shall be obliged to ensure for the connection of a new storage facility, facility for liquefaction of natural gas and offtake gas facility of gas consumer outside household into the gas transmission system sufficient capacity in the given input and output point of the connection. The provisions of Section 49 (8) shall not be affected thereby.

Independent gas transmission system operator

Section 61

Entrustment of operation of the gas transmission system to an independent gas transmission system operator

(1) Persons, which are part of the vertically integrated gas undertaking, part of which is the gas transmission system operator, and persons, which over them directly or indirectly exercise control, shall be obliged to ensure, within six months from the validity and effectiveness of a decision of the office according to a special regulation79) on the imposition of obligation to entrust operation of the gas transmission system to an independent gas transmission system operatora) unbundling of the owner of transmission system in accordance with Section 62,

b) the selection of a person to which the owner of gas transmission network will entrust operation of the gas transmission system in accordance with Section 63, based on a transparent and non-discriminatory tender, the terms of which shall be approved by the office,

c) the execution of contracts necessary to operate the gas transmission system to the person under item b) in accordance with Section 63, between the owner of gas transmission network and the person under item b) or third parties,

d) the filing of joint proposal for the issuance of a decision on certification according to a special regulation55) by the owner of gas transmission network and the person under item b).

(2) The person pursuant to subsection 1 item b) shall be obliged to pursue the activity of an independent gas transmission network operator pursuant to Section 62 on the day of determination for an independent gas transmission network operator according to a special regulation. 56

(3) The owner of gas transmission network shall be obliged to operate the gas transmission network in accordance with Section 51 through 60 until appointment of the person pursuant to subsection 1 item b) for an independent gas transmission network operator according to a special regulation.

Section 62

Unbundling of the owner of gas transmission system

(1) If the office decides according to a special regulation79) on the imposition of the duty to entrust operation of the gas transmission system to the independent gas transmission system operator, the owner of gas transmission network, which is part of the vertically integrated gas undertaking, must be from the aspect of legal personality, organization and decision-making

79) Section 9 (4) of the Act No.250/2012 Coll.

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independent on other activities, which do not relate to the transmission, distribution and storage of gas.

(2) Independency of the owner of gas transmission network listed in subsection 1 shall be ensured bya) the fact that persons responsible for the governance of the owner of gas transmission network are neither directly nor indirectly engaged in governance of the activity of production and supply of gas of an integrated undertaking,

b) adoption of measures by which independent acting of persons responsible for governance of the owner of gas transmission network is ensured,

c) creation of the compliance program pursuant to subsection 3,

d) appointment or other designation of a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to subsections 5 through 9.

(3) The owner of gas transmission network pursuant to subsection 1 shall be obliged to prepare a compliance program, in which it shall determine measures to ensure non-discriminatory behavior of the owner of gas transmission network. The compliance program shall stipulate specific obligations on employees, aimed to expel a possible discriminatory behavior of the owner of gas transmission network.

(4) Owner of gas transmission network pursuant to subsection 1 shall be obliged together with the annual report60) of the owner of gas transmission network to publish the annual report on the performance of measures adopted in the compliance program for a previous year prepared by a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to subsection 11 item b).

(5) The owner of gas transmission network pursuant to subsection 1 shall appoint or otherwise designate and recall a person liable to ensure compliance. The owner of gas transmission network pursuant to subsection 1 shall be obliged to ensure that by it appointed or otherwise designated person liable to ensure compliancea) fulfills the terms of independency pursuant to subsection 6,

b) has qualification in the gas sector no less than five years; if a person liable to ensure compliance is a legal person, the requirement of qualification in the gas sector must be met by its competent representative,

c) has university education of the second level of technical, economical or legal specification; if a person liable to ensure compliance is a legal person, the requirement of university education must be met by its competent representative,

d) had conditions created for an independent performance of its tasks pursuant to subsection 11; conditions for an independent performance of tasks of a person liable to ensure compliance are also contractual terms related to the period and termination of its contractual relationship with the owner of gas transmission network and its remuneration,

e) if it performs activity for the owner of gas transmission network in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship, be in matters related to the performance of tasks pursuant to subsection 11 in direct governance competence of the statutory body of the owner of gas transmission network,

f) duly performs tasks of a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to subsection 11.

(6) A person liable to ensure compliance may nota) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the owner of gas transmission network, or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the owner of gas transmission network, directly or indirectly, control, or for such person or persons to perform activity in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship or to be with such person or persons directly or in

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the form of mediation, in other contractual relation; the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the gas transmission system, a contract on connection to the distribution system, a contract on access to the gas transmission system and gas transmission, a contract on access to the gas distribution system and gas distribution, a contract on combined supply of gas and a contract on gas supply for own consumption of consumer,

b) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the owner of gas transmission network, or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the owner of gas transmission network, directly or indirectly exercises control; the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the gas transmission system, a contract on connection to the distribution system, a contract on access to the gas transmission system and gas transmission, a contract on access to the gas distribution system and gas distribution, a contract on combined supply of gas and a contract on gas supply for own consumption of consumer.

(7) Any appointment or designation of a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise such appointment or designation is invalid; the office shall not grant prior consent to the appointment or designation, unless terms related to a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to subsection 5 item a) through e) are met.

(8) The recall of a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the recall is invalid; the office shall not issue prior consent to the recall, if it has justified doubts as to the legitimacy of reasons for the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance.

(9) If the office does not issue a decision on the issuance of prior consent under subsections 7 and 8 within three weeks upon delivery of a complete request of the owner of gas transmission network, it is presumed that the office issued a decision on the issuance of prior consent. The office shall notify the owner of gas transmission network of the day of delivery of a complete application for prior consent..

(10) The recall of a person liable to ensure compliance is a condition of the termination of a labor relationship of a person liable to ensure compliance, which pursues activity in a labor relationship, by a termination notice61 or prompt termination of a labor relationship from the side of the employer; 62) periods according to the Labor Code for the termination of a labor relationship by a termination notice or prompt termination of a labor relationship63) during a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office to the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance, shall not run.

(11) A person liable to ensure compliance shall be obliged toa) monitor the fulfillment of the compliance program,

b) prepare and annually by 30 April submit to the office the annual report for a previous year, in which it shall specify measures adopted to fulfill the compliance program,

c) render to the owner of gas transmission network recommendations related to the compliance program and its fulfillment,

d) promptly inform the office about any material violation of the compliance program.

(12) Anyone, who is engaged in the activity of the owner of gas transmission network, shall be obliged to provide to the person liable to ensure compliance information and documents necessary to fulfill the tasks pursuant to subsection 11 and to provide to it other necessary assistance.

(13) In the fulfillment of obligations under subsections 1 and 2 shall be applied the provisions of the first and second parts of the Commercial Code accordingly.

Section 63

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Rights and obligations of the independent gas transmission network operator and the owner of gas transmission network

(1) The independent gas transmission network operator shall have the rights and obligations of the gas transmission network operator pursuant to this Act.

(2) The independent gas transmission network operator shall be further obliged toa) be equipped financial, technical, material and human resources necessary to fulfill tasks of the gas transmission system operator pursuant to Section 49,

b) submit the ten-year network development plan pursuant to Section 49 subsection 7 letter h) for approval to the office and comply with the ten-year network development plan approved by the office,

c) perform obligations of the gas transmission network operator including obligations related to cooperation with gas transmission network operators at the European and regional levels under a special regulation44),

d) ensure granting of access to the gas transmission network to third persons and governance of access to the gas transmission network, including collection of fees for access and fees for overloading, for operation, maintenance and development of the gas transmission network and for ensuring long-term ability to satisfy fair demand through investment planning,

e) ensure, in development of the gas transmission network, the planning, including obtaining of necessary permits and construction of a new infrastructure and its putting into operation.

(3) The independent gas transmission network operator is subject to requirements pursuant to Section 50 subsection 2 accordingly.

(4) The owner of gas transmission network shall be obliged toa) provide to the independent gas transmission network operator assistance including the provision of information necessary for the fulfillment of tasks of the independent gas transmission network operator,

b) finance investments, on which the independent gas transmission network operator decided and which were approved by the office, or give consent with financing of such investments by a third person, including the independent gas transmission network operator,

c) ensure the coverage of liability related to assets of the gas transmission network save for liability related to tasks of the independent gas transmission network operator,

d) provide guarantees to facilitate financing of extension of the gas transmission network, save for those investments, in which it gave under item b) its consent with financing by a third person, including the independent gas transmission network operator.

(5) Agreements on investments financing of the gas transmission network by a third person pursuant to subsection 4 letter b) shall become effective only upon their approval by the office. The office shall publish information about a proposal of the decision on approval of an agreement on investments financing of the gas transmission network by a third person pursuant to subsection 4 item b) at the web seat of the office and allow to give positions in a reasonable period to the proposal of such decision to the owner of the gas transmission network and persons, who will demonstrate to the office, within 15 days upon publication of the information about a proposal of the decision at the web seat, that they may be affected by such decision.

(6) The owner of gas transmission network must not provide the granting of access to gas transmission network to third parties and the control of access to gas transmission network nor investment planning related to the gas transmission network.

(7) The owner of gas transmission network and other person which are part of the same integrated undertaking as the owner of gas transmission network, may not use joint services including legal services; such restriction shall not apply in administrative services and services of information

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technologies in which there is no risk of the violation of obligations of the owner of gas transmission network in respect to the confidentiality of information under Section 94.

Section 64

Rights and obligations of distribution system operators

(1) A distribution system operator shall be entitled to: a) set up and operate an electronic communications network necessary for managing of the distribution network and transfer of information necessary for governance in accordance with a special regulation 51)

b) to purchase, store and sell gas to gas market participants, with a view to ensuring a balance in the distribution system and a balance between the quantity of gas entering and exiting the distribution system;

c) to refuse access to the distribution system for the reasons set out in Section 74 or for the reason that the distribution system has insufficient capacity;

d) to refuse access to the distribution system if such access prevents fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest;

(2) The distribution system operator shall also be authorized to restrict or interrupt the distribution of gas, insofar as is necessary in terms of scope and time, and without giving rise to any right of compensation save if damage is caused by the fault of the distribution system operator, only in the event of: a) performance of the planned reconstruction, modernization, repair, maintenance, or inspection of gas facilities;

b) an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons, or upon elimination of such situations;

c) a state of emergency and the prevention of a state of emergency in the gas sector;

d) accidents or malfunctions at gas facilities and upon elimination of their consequences;

e) non-adherence to contractual conditions for gas distribution;

f) the offtake of gas by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of gas supply and where the consumer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

g) unauthorized offtake of gas;

h) the supply of gas by means of equipment that impairs the quality and reliability of the gas supply and where the gas producer has not mitigated these effects by available technical means;

i) the gas consumer hindering access to the metering equipment;

j) repeated disallowance of access to gas facilities located on third party real estate or in third party real estate,

k) negative inspection report of a gas offtake equipment.

(3) If gas distribution is to be restricted or interrupted for reasons mentioned in subsection 2(a), the distribution system operator shall notify in writing all gas market participants to whom the distribution is provided, about the commencement and end of the restriction, or interruption of gas distribution, at least fifteen days beforehand; this period may be shortened by agreement between the distribution system operator and the affected gas market participant.

(4) The distribution network operator shall restore the distribution of gas immediately after the causes of the restriction or interruption have been eliminated.

(5) A gas market participant that suffers damage as a result of a restriction or interruption to gas distribution for the reasons set out in 2(a) shall be entitled to claim compensation and lost profits only if the distribution system operator did not fulfill its duty of notification pursuant to subsection (3).

(6) The distribution network operator shall:

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a) ensure reliable, safe and effective operation of the distribution network under economically efficient conditions in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection and energy efficiency,

b) ensure development of the distribution system in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection and under economic conditions so that over the long-term the capacity of the network meets the justified requirements of gas market participants for access to the distribution network and the distribution of gas,

c) provide gas distribution and related ancillary services;

d) ensure access to the distribution system, ancillary services and linepack on the principle of transparency and non-discrimination;

e) conclude a contract on access to the distribution network and on gas distribution with anyone upon request, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms of access to the distribution network and distribution of gas are met;

f) conclude a contract on connection to the distribution system with anyone upon request, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms of connection to the distribution network are met;

g) ensure that all gas market participants are treated in a non-discriminatory way;

h) ensure the metering of the distributed gas including its assessment and, upon request, submit the data metered or determined on the basis of a supply model diagram to those gas market participants with a concluded contract on access to the distribution network and on gas distribution to the given offtake point;

i) ensure balancing of the distribution system;

j) ensure settlement of distribution system balancing;

k) restrict gas distribution pursuant to a decision of the Ministry under Section 88;

l) connect the distribution system operator and the consumer to the distribution system;

m) set up and operate points for monitoring the quality of gas supplies, where necessary;

n) grant a gas market participant access to the designated gas meter for the purposes of metering the gas or inspecting the functionality of the designated meter;

(7) The distribution network operator further shall

a) provide the distribution system operator and transmission system operator with information necessary for ensuring operability of the interconnected system;

b) provide gas market participants with information necessary for access to the system;

c) submit to the gas dispatching center the balance of the distribution system and its assessment;

d) publish the commercial terms for access and utilization of linepack in the system; the conditions for the following year must be published annually by 31 October;

e) prepare emergency plans every year;

f) prepare a five-year plan for development of the distribution system, and submit the plan for the following year to the Ministry annually by 30 November, including a report on fulfillment of distribution network development plan;

g) notify the Ministry of the declaration and cancellation of the state of emergency in the gas sector under a special regulation.43)

h) upon request of a gas supplier acting in the name of the gas consumer to allow, free of charge, the allocation of an offtake point of the gas consumer to a new gas supplier in a three week period upon delivering the request; the contractual obligations of a gas consumer towards the gas distribution network and previous gas supplier are not affected thereby; if the original or new gas supplier does not ask the gas distribution network for data on the status of a determined meter, determination of data on gas supply shall be made at the time of change of a gas supplier based on data specified by a type diagram of a supply or data reported by gas consumer,

i) provide, in a free-of-charge and non-discriminatory manner, to a consumer whose offtake point is connected to the system of the distribution network operator through its gas supplier or other gas

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supplier requesting in the name of the consumer, with measured data on consumption at its offtake point in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2)(e),

j) provide information about the rights of consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry under Section 88 (2) (q) to the gas consumer with which it concluded a contract on access to the distribution network and the distribution of gas, at its web seat and in its operational premises or upon request by the dispatch thereof to a gas consumer,

k) keep records of vulnerable household gas consumers whose offtake points are connected to its system, and to inform these gas consumers in writing about each planned restriction or disruption to gas distribution that is to be implemented in the period from 1 November to 31 March, and to perform planned interruptions of gas distribution to their offtake points in the period from 1 November to 31 March only after the vulnerable gas consumer has confirmed receipt of the information about disruption of gas distribution, and to enable direct communication of these gas consumers directly with the distribution network operator for the purposes of reporting faults; the particulars of the procedure for keeping records of vulnerable household gas consumers are laid down by market rules; the records of vulnerable household gas consumers shall contain 1. name, surname,2. address of permanent residence,3. contact telephone number, fax number, address of an electronic mail, if available,4. date of birth,5. address of an offtake point,6. number of an offtake point of the vulnerable gas consumer

l) install intelligent metering systems as per Section 77.

m) determine for a consumer restrictive measures in the gas sector, if the gas consumer has an executed contract on access to the distribution network and gas distribution,

n) provide data on the restrictive measures in the gas sector to the distribution system operator, which fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching center in the defined territory,

o) provide to the transmission network operator the standpoint under Section 49 (9) within 15 business days upon delivery of a request of the transmission network operator,

p) publish at its web seat 1. a form request for access to the distribution system,2. conditions for the connection of a gas market participant to the distribution system, in particular2.1. a form request for connection to the distribution system,2.2. procedure in the execution of a contract on connection to the distribution system,2.3. a form contract on connection to the distribution system, 2.4. a form request for connection to the distribution system for a household gas consumer,2.5. a form request for connection to the distribution system and the installation of a meter for a

non-household gas consumer, 2.6. periods to connect to the distribution system if not being fixed individually depending upon

technical conditions of the gas offtake required by the gas consumer,

q) notify users of the distribution system in writing of a planned revocation of a license or change in a license, which result in the termination of gas distribution on part of the defined territory no later than six months prior to the filing of a request to the office,

r) keep records of complaints of household gas consumers in electronic databases and submit annually data from the registration of complaints to the office by 28 February of the following year,

s) upon any change in the gas supplier to provide free of charge, within ten days upon delivery of a written request, measured data on consumption to a new gas supplier and the gas consumer.

(8) The distribution system operator which is part of vertically integrated undertaking shall prepare a compliance program, specifying measures to ensure non-discriminatory behavior of the distribution system operator. The compliance program shall specify particular obligations for

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employees with the aim of excluding possible discriminatory conduct by the distribution system operator.

(9) The distribution network operator which is part of a vertically integrated undertaking shall be obliged to publish an annual report on fulfillment of measures adopted in the compliance program together with the Annual Report60) of the distribution network operator, for the previous year prepared by the person liable to ensure compliance as per Section 65 subsection 8 letter b).

(10) The distribution network operator which is part of vertically integrated undertaking shall be obliged to ensure the due performance of tasks of the person liable to ensure compliance under Section 65 (8).

(11) The distribution network operator which is part of vertically integrated undertaking shall be obliged to submit to the office any contract between it and other person which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking, within 30 days upon the execution thereof.

(12) The distribution network operator shall be obliged to change the amount of a daily distribution capacity upon request of the distribution system user within 15 days upon delivery of the request, also for the term of the contract on access to the distribution system and gas distribution executed for one year. Documents proving that the gas consumer has not caused by its own activity cases justifying a request to change the amount of daily distribution capacity shall form annex to the request. The request to change the amount of daily distribution capacity may be filed in the following case:

a) material industrial accident,59)

b) serious economic reasons not caused by the consumer, resulting in the interruption of production, dissolution of the company or bankruptcy declaration.

(13) The distribution network operator providing services to more than 100 000 connected gas consumers, shall be obliged upon request of the distribution network operator providing services to less than 100 000 connected gas consumers (hereinafter only the “selling distribution network operator”) or upon request of the distribution network owner, to buy out the distribution network, for which a building permit was issued, which came into legal force after 1 September 2012, at the regulated price determined by the Office, which will take into consideration also the economic efficiency of the distribution network being bought out. If the selling distribution network operator is not the owner of land on which a distribution network is located, the sale of a distribution network requires preceding entry of easement into the properties register in favour of the distribution network operator providing services to more than 100,000 connected consumers. The distribution network operator providing services to more than 100,000 connected consumers, may apply to the purchase of distribution networks in one calendar year the funds, the maximum amount of which may not exceed 50% of the annual value of the total sum of a fair profit determined by the Office and by the Office permitted planned investments.

Section 65Unbundling of the distribution network operator

(1) A distribution network operator that is part of a vertically integrated undertaking must be independent in terms of its legal personality, organization and decision-making, from other activities not relating to gas distribution.

(2) The independence referred to in subsection (1) does not mean that the ownership of assets of the distribution network operator must be separated from the ownership of assets of the vertically integrated undertaking.

(3) The independence of the distribution system operator referred to in subsection (1) shall be ensured by:

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a) the fact that those persons responsible for the distribution system management are neither directly nor indirectly involved in the management of production, transmission or gas supply activities of the integrated undertaking;

b) by the adoption of measures to ensure independent acting by persons responsible for management of the distribution network; persons responsible for management of the distribution network may not have, directly or indirectly, an equity participation in the business of other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the distribution network operator, nor to accept from it any share in profit or other property performance; remuneration of persons responsible for governance of the distribution network may in no manner depend upon economic results of persons other than the distribution network operator,

c) the fact that decision-making rights related to those assets necessary for the operation, maintenance or development of the distribution network are independent from the decision-making rights related to other assets of the integrated undertaking; the distribution network operator must have resources at its disposal, including human, technical,, material and financial resources necessary for operation, maintenance and development of the distribution network; this shall not exclude the existence of appropriate mechanisms to ensure the right of the integrated undertaking to the protection of assets; the integrated undertaking may approve the annual financial plan of the distribution system operator and set the extent of the operator's indebtedness; the integrated undertaking is not authorized to issue instructions regarding the day-to-day activities of the distribution system operator, nor regarding decisions related to the construction or upgrading of the distribution system, provided that the decisions of the distribution system operator comply with the approved values of the financial plan;

d) preparation of the compliance program as per Section 64 (8).

e) the appointment or other determination of the person liable to ensure compliance as per subsections 4 to 8.

(4) The distribution network operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking shall appoint or otherwise determine, and recall, the person liable to ensure compliance upon prior consent of the office. The distribution network operator which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking shall ensure that by it appointed or otherwise designated person liable to ensure compliance

a) meets the terms of independency under subsection 5,

b) has professional practice in the gas sector no less than five years; if a person liable to ensure compliance is a legal person, the requirement of professional practice in the gas sector must be met by its competent representative,

c) has university education of the second level of technical, economical or legal specification; if a person liable to ensure compliance is a legal person, the requirement of university education must be met by its competent representative,

d) had conditions created for an independent performance of its tasks pursuant to subsection 8; conditions for an independent performance of tasks of a person liable to ensure compliance are also contractual terms related to the period and termination of its contractual relationship with the distribution network operator and its remuneration,

e) if it performs activity for the distribution network operator in a labor relationship or in other similar relationship, be in matters related to the performance of tasks pursuant to subsection 8 in direct governance competence of the statutory body of the distribution network operator.

(5) A person liable to ensure compliance may not

a) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the distribution network operator, or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the distribution network operator, directly or indirectly, control, or for such person or persons to perform activity in a labor relationship or

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in other similar relationship or to be with such person or persons directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relation; the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the transmission network, contract on connection to distribution network, a contract on access to the gas transmission network and gas transmission, a contract on access to the gas distribution network and gas distribution, a contract on combined supply of gas and a contract on gas supply for own consumption of consumer,

b) have, directly or in the form of mediation, an equity participation in the business or be a member of managing, supervisory or control bodies of the person, which is directly or in the form of mediation, in other contractual relationship with a person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the distribution network operator, or a person, which exercises over the person, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the distribution network operator, directly or indirectly exercises control; the other contractual relationship is not a contractual relationship established by a contract on connection to the transmission network, contract on connection to distribution network, a contract on access to the gas transmission system and gas transmission, a contract on access to the gas distribution system and gas distribution, a contract on combined supply of gas and a contract on gas supply for own consumption of consumer.

(6) Any appointment or designation of a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise such appointment or designation is invalid; the office shall not grant prior consent to the appointment or designation, unless terms related to a person liable to ensure compliance pursuant to subsection 4 are met. The recall of a person liable to ensure compliance requires prior consent of the office, otherwise the recall is invalid; the office shall not issue prior consent to the recall, if it has justified doubts as to the legitimacy of reasons for the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance. If the office does not issue a decision on the issuance of prior consent under this section within three weeks upon delivery of a complete request of the distribution network operator, it is presumed that the office issued a decision on the issuance of prior consent. The office shall notify the distribution network operator of the day of delivery of a complete application for prior consent.

(7) The recall of a person liable to ensure compliance is a condition of the termination of a labor relationship of a person liable to ensure compliance, which pursues activity in a labor relationship, by a termination notice61) or prompt termination of a labor relationship from the side of the employer;62) the periods according to the Labor Code for termination of a labor relationship by a termination notice or prompt termination of a labor relationship63) during a proceeding for the issuance of prior consent of the office to the recall of a person liable to ensure compliance, shall not run.

(8) The person liable to ensure compliance is obligeda) to monitor fulfillment of the compliance program,b) to prepare and submit annually to the Office by 30 April an Annual Report for the previous year, in which it states measures adopted for fulfillment of the compliance program,c) to issue recommendations to the distribution network operator with regard to the compliance program and its fulfillment,d) to inform the Office forthwith about each major breach of the compliance program.

(9) Everyone who takes part in the activities of the distribution network operator is obliged to provide the person liable to ensure compliance with information and documents required for performance of tasks set out under subsection 8 and to provide this person with other necessary collaboration.

(10) A distribution network operator that is part of a vertically integrated undertaking is obliged to act in a way so that it is not confused with a gas supplier or gas producer that is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking.

(11) A vertically integrated undertaking that provides services to less than 100,000 connected consumers is not subject to the obligations under Section 64 (8) through (11) under subsections (1) through (10) and the obligations under Section 96 (22).

(12) The provisions of the first and second parts of the Commercial Code shall apply accordingly to fulfillment of the obligations pursuant to subsections (1) to (3).

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Section 66System management

(1) The distribution system in the defined territory shall be managed by the gas dispatching center, which is responsible for the management of the system on a day-to-day basis.

(2) Where there is more than one distribution system operator within the defined territory, the Ministry shall issue a decision on which of the distribution system operators is to perform the tasks of the gas dispatching center within the defined territory.

(3) Within the defined territory, the gas dispatching center shall performa) day-to-day management of its own distribution network and gas distribution to the interconnection points of connected distribution networks;

b) management of the connected transmission networks and distribution networks within the defined territory in a state of emergency in the gas sector and when performing activities directly preventing its occurrence;

c) technical management of the allocation of gas sources at points of entry to connected distribution networks;

d) declare and recall emergency in the gas sector and its level under a special regulation,43)

e) declare and recall the restrictive measures in the gas sector under Section 21,

f) defining measures aimed at the elimination of a state of emergency in the gas sector.

g) submit once per week in a period from 1 November to 31 March and in case of a state of emergency daily to the ministry for each day the calculation of capacity of other infrastructure for case of interruption of separate biggest gas infrastructure, including the calculation in reflecting suitable market measures on the side of consumption in accordance with a special regulation80) .

(4) The gas dispatching center shall be authorized to require from gas market participants connected to the distribution system that information which is necessary for ensuring the performance of tasks pursuant to subsection (3). A gas market participant is obliged to promptly provide the required information.

(5) Gas dispatching center shall be in the fulfillment of tasks under subsection 3 items d) through f) obliged to follow instructions from the ministry.

(6) A distribution network operator not performing the tasks of the gas dispatching center may secure performance of the tasks of dispatching management through an established gas dispatching center of the distribution network operator that fulfills the tasks of gas dispatching. If the technical conditions of the distribution network operator do not make this possible, the distribution network operator that does not fulfill the tasks of gas dispatching shall be obliged to establish its own dispatching center. A dispatching center set up in this manner shall perform, within the distribution network operator's part of the defined territory, the same tasks as the gas dispatching center.

Section 67Rights and obligations of storage system operators

(1) A storage system operator shall be authorized: a) to set up and operate an electronic communications network necessary for managing the operation of the storage facility and ensuring the information transfer required for this management as per separate regulation; 51)

b) to connect the storage facility to the transmission system or distribution system;

c) to refuse access to the storage facility for any reason stipulated in Section 74 or because the storage facility has insufficient capacity;

80 Art. 6 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 994/2010.

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d) to refuse access to the storage facility if such access prevents fulfillment of obligations in the general economic interest;

e) to purchase gas necessary to cover its own losses in the storage facility or for its own consumption or for technological purposes.

(2) The storage system operator shall be entitled to restrict or interrupt the gas storage, insofar as is necessary in terms of scope and time, and without giving rise to any right of compensation except if damage is caused by the fault of the operator, only in the event of:a) the performance of planned reconstruction, modernization, repair, maintenance or inspection of gas facilities;

b) an immediate threat to the life, health or property of persons, and upon elimination of such situations;

c) a state of emergency and prevention of a state of emergency in the gas sector;

d) accidents or malfunctions at gas facilities and upon elimination of their consequences;

e) non-adherence to the contractual conditions by a gas market participant;

f) a contract on access to gas storage and storage of gas being concluded, including right of interruption.

(3) If gas storage is to be restricted or interrupted for reasons set out under subsection (2)(a), the storage system operator shall notify in writing all gas market participants to whom the gas storage is provided, about the commencement and end of the restriction or interruption of gas storage at least fifteen days beforehand; this period may be shortened by agreement between the storage system operator and the gas market participant.

(4) The storage system operator shall restore gas storage immediately after the causes of the restriction or interruption have been eliminated.

(5) A market participant who suffers damage as a result of a restriction or interruption in gas storage pursuant to subsection (2) shall be entitled to claim damages and lost profit only if the storage system operator did not fulfill its duty of notification as per subsection (3).

(6) The storage system operator shall: a) ensure reliable, safe and effective operation of the storage facility in the interest of creating an open gas market;

b) ensure maintenance and development of the storage facility in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection;

c) provide gas storage and related ancillary services;

d) conclude with anyone on request a contract on access to gas storage and on gas storage, provided that the technical conditions and commercial terms of access to the gas storage and the technical conditions of gas storage are met;

e) ensure access to the storage facility and ancillary services on the principle of transparency and non-discrimination;

f) ensure that all gas market participants are treated in a non-discriminatory way;

g) ensure metering of stored gas, including its assessment, and submission of the metered data to the gas dispatching center and, where requested, also to gas market participants;

h) publish the commercial terms for access and utilization of the storage facility; the conditions for the following year must be published annually by 31 October;

i) provide the system operator with storage capacities;

j) restrict the recovery of gas for the affected gas market participants who store gas for consumers located outside the defined territory pursuant to a decision of the Ministry as per Section 88,

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k) provide the transmission system operator and distribution system operator with information necessary for ensuring the operability of the interconnected system;

l) provide gas market participants with information necessary for access to the storage facility;

m) prepare every year a five-year plan for development of the storage facility, and submit the plan annually for the following year to the Ministry by 30 November, including a report on fulfillment of storage facility development plan;

n) prepare emergency plans every year;

o) notify the Ministry and the gas dispatching center about any facts necessary for the declaration of a state of emergency in the gas sector;

p) to provide to the Ministry on a quarterly basis with information from contracts on access to storage facility and gas storage, including information about the gas market participant with whom the contract on access to storage facility and gas storage was concluded, about the stored volumes and recovery rates for individual gas market participants; in the event of a change to a contract on access to storage facility and gas storage concluded with a gas market participant with whom a contract on access to storage facility and gas storage has been signed, a change to the stored volumes or gas recovery rates, the storage system operator shall provide the information about any such change to the Ministry without delay.

q) publish information on application of regulated access or agreed access to the storage facility,

r) to ensure adequate resources necessary for fulfilling obligations of the storage system operator as per this Act and separate regulation,2)

s) publish at its web seat 1. a form request for access to a storage facility for the gas market participant,2. information about 2.1. current available storage capacity of the storage facility,2.2. the annual plan of shutdowns of storage facilities and a storage facility maintenance plan, which may affect the amount of storage capacity and the quality of provided services,2.3. the plan of adjustment of the amount of storage capacity, 3. data on available storage capacity of the storage facility divided into3.1. maximum injection output in cubic meters per day depending upon the injection curve,3.2. maximum withdrawal output in cubic meters per day depending upon the withdrawal curve,3.3. working volume of the storage facility in cubic meters.

(7) The obligations stipulated in subsection (6)(c) shall not apply to ancillary services and temporary storage of gas that are related to facilities for the liquefaction of natural gas and which are essential to the process of regasification.

(8) In the event of a state of emergency in the gas sector, the storage system operator shall be obliged at the decision of the Ministry and to the scope determined in the decision issued by the Ministry, to interrupt the recovery of gas from the storage facility for those gas market participants who store gas for consumers located outside the defined territory, to ensure the technical safety of a network in the defined territory; no legal remedy shall be admissible against such a decision issued by the Ministry. The Ministry shall decide at the proposal of the distribution network operator which at the decision issued by the Ministry fulfills the tasks of gas dispatching for the defined territory; the distribution network operator shall indicate in the proposal at which storage system operators and to what extent the gas recovery from the storage facility is to be interrupted. The storage system operator is obliged to notify the affected gas market participants immediately in writing about the interruption of gas recovery from the storage facility. After cancellation of the state of emergency in the gas sector, the storage system operator is obliged to restore the recovery of gas from the storage facility immediately. If a loss is incurred as a consequence of the interruption in gas recovery from the storage facility, the affected gas market participant shall be entitled to claim for compensation of damages and lost profit only if the storage facility operator failed to fulfill its duty of notification.

(9) Storage facility operator is obliged to take measures to enable free trading with rights for capacity and make easier such trading in a transparent and non-discriminating way, especially it is obliged to determine the terms of trading with rights for capacity in rules of operation of the storage

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facility operator. The storage facility operator will publish at its web site the supply and demand for trading the rights for capacity.

(10) The storage facility operator shall be obliged in the event of contractual overload to offer any unused storage capacity to gas market participants or storage capacity, which the gas market participant offered entire for use to other gas market participant from the day of its assignment, as interruptible storage capacity in accordance with the rules of operation of the storage facility operator.

Section 68Combined network operators

A combined network operator shall have the same rights and obligations as those applied under this Act to transmission network operators, distribution network operators and storage system operators depending on the method of network combination. The provisions of Sections 50 through 64 shall apply accordingly to the rights and obligations of combined network operators.

Section 69Rights and obligations of gas suppliers

(1) A gas supplier shall be authorized: a) to sell gas to gas consumers within the scope and under the conditions specified in the license to supply gas;

b) to carry out transmission and distribution of gas if it complies with the technical terms and commercial terms for access to the network pursuant to this Act and separate regulation2);

c) to store gas if it satisfies the commercial terms and technical conditions for access to storage facility and gas storage under this Act and as per separate regulation2);

d) to request the transmission network operator and distribution network operator to interrupt or restrict the transmission or distribution of gas to a gas consumer in respect of whom the gas supplier has concluded a contract on access to gas transmission network and gas transmission or contract on access to distribution network and gas distribution with the network operator.

(2) The gas supplier shall: a) if it is a gas supplier providing a universal service

1. conclude a contract on combined gas supply in the defined territory under Section 17 subsection 1 with each household consumer of gas that so requests, provided all technical and commercial conditions for the gas supply are met and there is sufficient transmission, distribution and storage capacity available and also a sufficient volume of gas; the obligation of the gas supplier to conclude a gas supply contract shall not apply to those household consumers of gas who have materially violated the gas supply contract or contract on combined gas supply or made an unauthorized offtake of gas in the past 12 months.

2. inform household consumers of gas on its web seat and at its contact points about the possibility to conclude a contract on combined gas supply, by which it provides a universal service,3. to prepare commercial terms for the provision of a universal service under a special regulation650

and to submit them and each change thereof to the office for approval no later than 30 days prior to the validity thereof; a new gas supplier shall submit commercial terms for the provision of a universal service to the office for approval within 30 days upon delivery of a permit; the commercial terms for provision of a universal service must satisfy the requirements of provisions of the Civil Code on consumer contracts,65) must contain the method of a gas sale and complaints rules, must be clearly and comprehensibly formulated and may not contain provisions that excessively hinder of prevent the exercising of rights of household consumers of gas,4. publish commercial terms for the provision of the universal service and any change thereof at its web seat; any change in commercial terms for the provision of the universal service must be published by the gas supplier at its web seat no less than 30 days prior to the effectiveness of such change,5. provide information in accordance with Section 17 subsection 1 letters b), d) and e).

b) ensure safe and reliable gas supplies to gas consumers under the conditions agreed in the contract;

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c) provide gas consumers with information about the prices and technical conditions of gas supply and for end consumers of gas, also information about the composition of the price for gas supply,

d) provide information on rights of consumers prepared by the Commission and published by the ministry as per Section 88(2), letter q) to a gas consumer with which it has concluded a contract on the combined supply of gas, at its web site and its operational premises or upon request by the dispatch thereof to the gas consumer,

e) to enable the gas consumers to change the gas supplier free of charge,

f) to preserve data on transactions between the gas supplier and persons that purchase gas for the purpose of resale, or transmission system operators or storage system operators concerning gas supply contracts, this for a period of five years following the year that they pertain to, and to provide these data on request to the ministry, the office, the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic, other state authorities to the scope of their jurisdiction and to the Commission; for the purpose of this provision the gas supply contract shall mean a gas supply contract except for a contract in respect to a derivate related to gas; the derivate related to gas is a financial tool under a special regulation, 66 which relates to gas.

g) to preserve data on transactions between the gas supplier and persons who purchase gas for the purpose of its resale, or transmission network operators with regard to gas derivatives, for a period of five years following the year that the data pertain to, in line with separate regulation as issued by the Commission and to provide these data on request to the Ministry, the Office, the Anti-Trust Office of the Slovak Republic, other state authorities to the scope of their jurisdiction and to the Commission,

h) provide the operator of the system that it utilizes, with technical data from contracts about gas supply and data on consumers, required for the concluding of contracts,

i) provide the system operator with technical data from contracts on access to storage facility and gas storage where the respective storage facilities are connected to the respective system,

j) in the event of a state of emergency in the gas sector under a special regulation44), follow the measures taken by the gas dispatching center or respective dispatching center,

k) maintain a balance between the quantity of gas entering the system and the quantity of gas exiting the system, of which it is a user,

l) observe the security standard of gas supply under Section 22,

m) determine restrictive measures in the gas sector in the gas supply contract for the consumer,

n) provide data on restrictive measures in the gas sector to the distribution network operator,

o) ensure promptly upon request of the gas consumer the provision of data to the extent under Section 64 (7) (i) to the gas consumer,

p) forward to the gas consumer a settlement invoice no later than six weeks upon making a change in the gas supplier,

q) keep records of complaints of household gas consumers in an electronic database and annually submit data from the registration of complaints to the office by 28 February of the following year,

r) notify the distribution system operator of data related to vulnerable consumers, arising out of the gas supply contract, specifically

1.identification data,

2.the address of permanent residency,

3.contact phone number, fax number, the address of an electronic mail, if available,

4.the date of birth,

5.the address of an offtake point,

6.the number of an offtake point of the vulnerable gas consumer,

s) promptly inform the gas consumer about any change in costs for ensuring a gas supply, which are lower, in a manner that can be proven, than costs applied by the gas supplier towards determination

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of the price for the gas supply, which is not subject to price regulation, for the term of the gas supply contract or an amendment to the gas supply contract.

(3) The office may request a gas supplier providing the universal service to submit a proposal to amend commercial conditions for the provision of the universal service, if commercial conditions for the provision of the universal service fail to comply with the requirements of subsection 2 (a) third point or if the office reasonably believes that the gas supplier applies commercial conditions for the provision of the universal service in an unfair or discriminatory manner.

(4) The gas supplier providing the universal service shall be obliged to prepare and submit to the office within 30 days upon delivery of a justified request to the office under subsection 3 a proposal of amendment to commercial conditions for the provision of the universal service to the extent required by the office. The office may request a gas supplier providing the universal service to amend the proposal under the foregoing sentence within 30 days upon its submission, if the proposal under the foregoing sentence is in conflict with this Act or special regulations; 68 the provision of the foregoing sentence shall apply accordingly.

(5) The gas supplier providing the universal service shall be obliged to amend commercial conditions for the provision of the universal service in accordance with a proposal submitted to the office, if the office does not ask to amend such proposal in the period under subsection 4 within 40 days upon the expiration of such period.

(6) The gas supplier for household gas consumers which supplies gas exclusively to household gas consumers, and which is at the same time a distribution system operator, through which it provides services to no less than 100 000 connected gas consumers and into which household gas consumers are connected, shall be entitled to directly or through its supplier to enter into a contract on access to distribution system and gas distribution with the distribution system operator, which pursues gas distribution for ensuring its gas supply with the term of the contract for one year, in which the value of a daily distribution capacity may be divided into two-six month periods.

Section 70Rights and obligations of gas consumer

(1) A gas consumer shall be entitled: a) to conclude a gas supply contract with the gas supplier; the gas supplier must justify any refusal to

conclude a gas supply contract;

b); prior to concluding a contract on gas supply, to request access to information about the basic particulars of the contract; the gas supplier is obliged to provide the consumer with this information prior to concluding the contract;

c) to construct and operate a direct line under the conditions pursuant to this Act and to seek prior consent to do so;

d) to carry out transmission and distribution of gas, if it satisfies the technical requirements and commercial terms for gas transmission under this Act and a special regulation2);

e) to carry out gas storage, if it satisfies the technical terms and commercial terms for access to storage facility and gas storage in storage facilities under this Act and a special regulation2);

f) to connect gas offtake equipment to the transmission or distribution network provided that they meet the technical terms and commercial terms for connection to the transmission or distribution network and a connection of the gas offtake equipment to the transmission network is not in conflict with Section 49 (8).

g) to free of charge allocation of its offtake point to a new gas supplier in a period within three weeks upon delivering request; this provision shall not affect obligations, if any, towards the previous gas supplier or other gas market participant.

h) to gain, free-of-charge, through a gas supplier the measured data on consumption at its offtake point in line with generally binding legal regulation rendered under Section 95 (2) (e).

(2) A gas consumer gas shall:

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a) contribute to payment of eligible costs incurred by the transmission network operator or distribution network operator with respect to the connection of the gas offtake equipment to the system;

b) enable the transmission network operator or distribution network operator to install a designated meter, including telemetry equipment for data transmission, and grant the transmission network operator and the network system operator access to the designated meter and the telemetry equipment;

c) provide the gas supplier with data required for the preparation or concluding of the gas supply contract;

d) maintain the gas offtake equipment in an appropriate technical condition;

e) maintain a balance between the quantity of gas entering and exiting the system of which it is a user.

Section 71Rights and obligations of gas consumer in household

(1) A gas consumer in household shall be entitled: a) to protection under Section 17 including the right to the universal service,

b) to connect gas offtake equipment to the distribution network, provided that the technical terms and commercial terms for connection to the distribution network are met.

(2) A gas consumer in household shall:a) contribute to the payment of eligible costs incurred by the distribution network operator with

respect to the connection of the gas offtake equipment to the distribution network; the methodology for the calculation of such costs shall be determined by the office,

b) enable the distribution network operator to install a designated meter and grant the distribution network operator access to the designated meter,

c) provide the gas supplier with data required for the preparation or concluding of the gas supply contract;

d) maintain the gas offtake equipment in an appropriate technical condition.

SUBCHAPTER TWO

TECHNICAL FACILITIES

Section 72Offtake equipment

(1) The distribution network operator shall construct gas offtake equipment, including the main gas shutoff valve, to which the gas offtake equipment shall be connected, to the border of land of the gas consumer or to the border of land of the gas consumer, to which gas is supplied. Gas consumers shall establish their gas offtake equipment at their own expense.

(2) Gas offtake equipment begins after the main gas shutoff valve and ends with the gas appliances of the consumer. If the gas offtake equipment is connected to communal gas offtake equipment, individual gas offtake equipment starts after the shut-off fitting separating it from the communal gas offtake equipment. Gas offtake equipment does not include the gas pressure regulator and gas offtake metering equipment of the building.

(3) Communal gas offtake equipment means gas offtake equipment designed for supplying gas to several consumers. The communal gas offtake equipment begins after the main gas shut-off valve and ends with the shut-off fitting separating it from the gas offtake equipment of the gas consumer. Any communal gas offtake equipment located in one real property is part of such property.

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(4) The gas consumer may establish new gas offtake equipment or extend or reconstruct existing gas offtake equipment, the operation of which would change the technical terms and commercial terms of gas offtake, only with the prior consent of the operator of the network to which they are connected and in compliance with the conditions stipulated by it.

(5) Without the consent of the distribution network operator, it is prohibited to tamper with gas offtake equipment by which unmetered gas is distributed from the main gas shutoff valve to the designated meter.

(6) When repairing gas offtake equipment, the gas consumer may use the main gas shutoff valve to close the supply of gas, while notifying the distribution network operator of this fact without delay.

(7) Where necessary in order to avoid a hazardous situation, anyone may close the main gas shut-off valve. The distribution network operator must be informed immediately about the closure of the main gas shut-off valve. The valve may be opened again only by a professionally qualified person, who shall immediately inform the distribution network operator about the reopening of the valve.

(8) The distribution network operator is authorized to inspect whether gas offtake equipment is connected and operated in conformity with the technical conditions laid down under Section 19, the Gas Market Rules, legal regulations and other regulations for health and safety at work, the safety of technical devices, and the terms and conditions of the contracts on access to distribution network and gas distribution.

(9) The owner or person authorized to use or administer a gas facility, through which end gas consumers are connected to the distribution network of the distribution network operator, and the owner or administrator of the real property at issue, to which gas is supplied, shall be obliged a) allow gas supply to end gas consumers,

b) allow the distribution network operator necessary access to such gas facility,

c) maintain such gas equipment used for gas supply in suitable technical conditions,

d) provide technical data and inspection reports about such gas equipment in its ownership or administration to the distribution network operator.

Section 73Conditions of connection

(1) Only the owner or administrator of the property may apply for the establishment and connection of gas offtake equipment. Where the applicant for connection is not the owner of the property, they shall request the prior consent of the owner or administrator of the property for the establishment and connection of the gas offtake equipment; refusal to provide prior approval must be substantiated.

(2) The distribution network operator shall ensure the installation and maintenance of the designated gas meter and take necessary measures to prevent unauthorized tampering with the designated meter.

(3) At the request of the distribution network operator, the gas consumer shall make adjustments to the gas offtake equipment necessary for the installation, assembly and reconstruction of gas equipment or installation of the designated meter by the distribution network operator.

(4) The gas consumer shall allow the distribution network operator to inspect the gas offtake equipment and the designated meter at a time agreed with the distribution network operator.

(5) The gas consumer shall maintain the connected gas offtake equipment in an appropriate technical condition and provide to the distribution network operator, upon request, in a period of 90 days upon request, technical data and inspection reports of the gas offtake equipment; if the gas

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consumer fails to submit the required data and reports in a period of 90 days, his gas offtake equipment shall be deemed technically insufficient.

Section 74Temporary derogations from access to the transmission network and storage facilities

(1) A gas supplier that has concluded a gas supply contract for a fixed quantity of gas supply, including an obligation to pay for the supply irrespective of the quantity of gas taken off, may apply to the Office for a temporary derogation from the obligation of the transmission network operator to secure access of another gas market participant to the transmission network, where the gas supplier is likely to incur serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty when fulfilling the obligations under the contract; the application may also concern the distribution network operator or storage system operator.

(2) The threat of serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty does not mean a status or a situation where the gas supply does not drop lower than the fixed volume of supply set out in the gas supply contract, or where the agreed fixed volume of gas supply may be changed in the contract, or if the gas supplier is able to find another solution to the situation.

(3) The application of the gas supplier referred to in subsection (1) shall stipulate: a) the business name, legal form and registered office of the legal entity;

b) the legal entity's identification number;

c) the first names, surnames, dates of birth and addresses of permanent residence of the members of the legal entity's statutory body;

d) the period for which the temporary derogation is sought;

e) the reasons why the temporary derogation is sought;

f) a notarized photocopy of the gas supply contract comprising the subject of the application for a temporary derogation;

g) substantiation of the need to fulfill contractual obligations towards gas consumers, quantification of the serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty likely to be incurred if the temporary derogation is not granted;

h) measures taken in order to avoid the threat of serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty;

i) the level of the system’s interconnection with the system of Member States and third states, and the extent of their interoperability.

(4) When making a decision to grant a temporary derogation from the obligation to ensure access to the system, the Office shall take into account:a) the gravity of the threat of economic loss or seriousness of the financial difficulty incurred or that is likely to be incurred by the gas supplier as a result of the gas supply contract comprising the subject of the application;

b) the impact on the actual level of competition in the gas market;

c) the position of the gas supplier in the gas market;

d) the agreed conditions of the gas supply contract comprising the subject of the application, including the extent to which changes to the contract may be made accounting for the gas market;

e) the efforts made by the gas supplier to avert a serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty which may be incurred as a result of the gas supply contract comprising the subject of the application;

f) the extent to which the gas supplier, when entering into the gas supply contract, could reasonably have foreseen that serious economic loss or serious financial difficulty was likely to be incurred with regard to the provisions of this Act;

g) the level of the system’s interconnection with the system of other Member States and third countries and the extent of their interoperability.

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(5) The decision to grant a temporary derogation from the obligation to ensure access to the system shall state:a) the business name, legal form and registered office of the legal entity;

b) the legal entity's identification number;

c) the first names, surnames, dates of birth and addresses of permanent residence of the members of legal entity’s statutory body;

d) the requested scope of gas facilities affected by the temporary derogation from the obligation to ensure access to the system;

e) the period for which the decision to grant the temporary derogation from the obligation to ensure access to the system is issued.

(6) The Office shall send the decision granting a temporary derogation from access to the system to the party to proceedings. The Office shall send the decision along with information related to the temporary derogation to the Ministry and the Commission. Within eight weeks of delivery of the decision, the Commission shall be entitled to request that the Office amend or cancel the decision.

Section 75New significant gas facilities

(1) For the purposes of this Act, a new significant gas facility is a gas facility that was not completed or reconstructed before this Act acquired force and which is used for interconnecting the systems Member States, or a gas facility for the liquefaction of natural gas, or a gas storage facility. The new significant gas facility shall increase competition and security in the gas supply, and at the same time the risk associated with its construction is such that without the granting of derogation from the obligation to ensure third-party access to the system and storage, its construction would not be possible.

(2) The new significant gas facility must be owned by a person independent from the operator

of the system in which the facility is to be constructed.

(3) The operation of a new significant gas facility is subject to a charge. The operation of the facility must not disrupt the functioning of the gas market.

(4) The Office may grant a derogation from the obligation to ensure unbundling of the transmission network operator under Section 50 to provide third-party access to the system and to a storage facility and a derogation from regulation as per separate act81) to any new significant gas facility or any reconstructed gas facility that will significantly increase the system's capacity and enable it to use new gas supply resources.

(5) The derogation may be granted to a new significant gas facility in its entirety or part thereof, and shall be granted for a temporary period.

(6) The decision on the derogation shall be issued by the Office on the basis of an application. Before issuing the decision, the Office shall request the opinion of the Ministry, and this shall be published together with the decision.

(7) The application for the derogation shall state the grounds on which it is sought, and its requested duration and scope. The applicant is obliged to include with the application a summary of results of the procedure for allocating capacity in the new significant gas facilities as per the rules determined by the Office in line with subsection 12. The Office shall send a copy of the request for derogation to the Commission forthwith from its receipt.

(8) The granting of derogations for new significant gas facilities that are located in the defined territory and in the territory of another Member State must be discussed with the competent authorities of affected Member States before a decision is issued. The standpoint of the competent authority in

81) Section 11 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.

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the affected Member State is binding for the Office. The Office shall issue similar binding stances for the competent authority of an affected Member State,

(9) The Office together with the competent authorities of the affected Member State shall inform the agency about the granting of derogation. The Agency shall decide on the granting of derogations in line with separate regulation82) if so requested by the Office together with the competent authorities of all affected Member States or if the competent authority of an affected Member State does not issue a positive stance to the granting of a derogation within six months from the day the applicant requested the granting of a derogation from the Office, or a later day when the applicant requested the granting of a similar derogation from the last competent authority of an affected Member State; in such an event the Office shall forward the application as per subsection 7 to the Agency, whereby subsection 6 shall be applied appropriately. The Office may, together with the competent authorities of all affected Member States, request the agency to extend the six-month term as per the previous sentence by an additional three months at most.

(10) The decision on the granted derogation shall be sent to the applicant and the Commission together with information, containing in particular:a) a detailed description of the reasons under which the derogation was granted or rejected, together with reference to specific criteria as per subsections 1 to 3 based on which the decision was taken, including the financial information justifying the need for the derogation;

b) an analyses of the impact that the derogation will have on economic competition and the efficient functioning of the gas market;

c) substantiation of the period for which the derogation is granted and the capacity of the affected gas facilities as a share of the total capacity of all gas facilities;

d) the outcome of consultations with the competent authorities of the affected Member State, in cases where the derogation is granted to a gas facility ensuring interconnection between systems of Member States;

e) the contribution of the gas facility to the diversification of gas supply.

(11) If the Commission issued a decision by which it requests the Office to cancel or change a decision on derogation, the Office shall cancel or amend the decision on the derogation within one month from issue of the decision of the Commission and to inform the Commission thereof. The decision on a derogation shall lose force after lapse of a period of two years from when it is taken, if the construction of a new significant gas facility does not commence from that date, and after the lapse of five years from being taken if the new significant gas facility does not launch operation from that date; the force shall not cease where the Commission decides that the delay is caused by serious obstacles out of the control of the party that was issued with the derogation.

(12) The rules and procedures for managing and allocating capacity in the new significant gas facilities stipulated by the office under subsection 7 determined

a) the obligation to invite all potential users of the gas facility to express their interest in reservation of capacity of the gas facility prior to allocating capacity to users, including capacity for the own use of a gas facility operator,

b) the obligation of users of the gas facility to offer, in case of an overload, any unused capacity of the gas facility on the market,

c) the right of users of the gas facility to trade in the allocated capacity of the gas facility on the secondary market.

Section 76Gas supply and metering

82) Art. 9 (1) of Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (ES) No. 713/2009 dated 13 July 2009, establishing the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (Ú. v. EU L 211, 14.8.2009).

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(1) A distribution network operator is obliged to measure the gas supply using its own designated meter, which it installs for the final consumer without charge, maintains and regularly ensures its verification.

(2)The distribution network operator has the right to use supply model diagrams if not having data from a designated meter at its disposal.

(3) A distribution network operator is obliged to allow access to the measured data and to the data determined by model diagrams about gas supply based on a concluded contract.

(4) Where the gas supplier supplies gas to several offtake points of a single gas consumer through the distribution network using the same pressure level, the supplied quantity of gas shall be billed altogether for all offtake points as if supplying gas to a single point of supply.

(5) The supplied and received quantity of gas is evaluated as the volume of energy expressed in energy units.

(6) The basis for billing gas supplies between the gas supplier and gas consumer is the supplied volume of energy. This volume of energy is the sum of the combustion heat in terms of volume for the billing period and the supplied gas volume.

(7) The gas supplier shall bill the quantity of supplied gas on the basis of actually metered data on gas supply or on the basis of data on gas supply determined by a supply model diagram. The reading of actually metered data of the gas supply shall be performed at the respective offtake point at least once in per year. The bill shall clearly and separately show the sum payable for regulated supplies and services in compliance with the Office’s decision, and the sum payable for non-regulated supplies and services determined by the supplier. The gas supplier shall specify in each bill for gas supply a number of the offtake point, under which the offtake point is registered with the relevant distribution network operator.

(8) If the gas consumer or gas supplier doubts the accuracy of the measured data on gas supply, or gas off-take by the designated meter, or finds a fault on the designated meter, it shall be entitled to request the transmission network operator or distribution network operator to test the meter. The transmission network operator or distribution network operator is obliged to arrange the replacement of the designated meter and submit it for testing no later than 15 days from the date of receipt of the written request.

(9) The distribution network operator or transmission network operator is obliged to replace the meter for the period when the designated meter is being tested or agree with the gas consumer a manner of the settlement for consumed gas. If the designated meter shows a more serious error than is admissible under a special regulation 70), the cost of testing and replacement shall be borne by the transmission network operator or the distribution network operator. If no errors are found on the designated meter exceeding the error admissible under a special regulation, the cost of testing and replacement shall be borne by the entity which requested the testing and replacement.

(10) The distribution network operator and the transmission network operator is obliged to notify the gas consumer in writing of the day of a planned exchange of the designated meter at least 30 days in advance; this shall not apply, if the gas consumer agrees to a later notification of the day of a planned exchange of the designated meter. The distribution network operator or the transmission network operator is obliged to notify the gas consumer in writing in any exchange of the designated meter of the status of consumed quantity of gas and at the same time obliged to notify of the status of the designated meter prior to the exchange and the status of a new designated meter upon exchange. If the gas consumer is not present at an exchange of the determined meter, the network operator shall notify the gas consumer in writing of the exchange, the status of the designated meter prior to the exchange and the status of a new designated meter upon exchange and store a dismantled determined meter for a period of no less than 60 days for the purpose to allow inspection of the status of the designated meter from the side of the gas consumer.

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(11) A gas consumer is obliged to operate the gas offtake equipment so that it does not damage the designated meter. Any action tampering with the designated meter in conflict with a special regulation 69) is prohibited.

(12) The particulars of the conditions of connection, supply, gas metering, the use of supply model diagrams and the method for balancing the network shall be determined by the technical conditions of the network operator as per Section 19 and the Gas Market Rules.

Section 77Intelligent metering systems

(1) The Ministry in cooperation with the Office shall determine categories of final consumers of gas for which justification of the use of intelligent metering systems has been demonstrated. The network operator shall introduce intelligent metering systems for the categories of final consumers of gas under the foregoing sentence under the terms laid down by a generally binding legal regulation as issued under Section 95 (1) (k).

(2) The Office shall reflect costs for the procurement, installation and operation of intelligent metering systems for individual categories of final consumers of gas as per subsection 1 in the proposed method of the price regulation upon procurement and installation of metering systems and putting the systems into operation.

(3) Gas market participants shall provide to the network operator assistance in the installation and operation of intelligent metering systems in the manner and under the terms laid down by a generally binding legal regulation as issued under Section 95 (1) (k).

Section 78Professional qualification

The manufacture, installation, reconstruction, upgrading, repair, maintenance, technical inspection, or technical testing of gas equipment may only be performed by persons professionally qualified to do so under special regulations83.

Section 79Protection zone

(1) Protection zones are set up to protect gas equipment and direct lines.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a protection zone is the area in the immediate vicinity of the direct line or gas facility, demarcated by a horizontal distance from the axis of the direct line or from the ground plan of the technological part of the gas facility, measured perpendicular to the axis of the pipeline or the edge of the ground plan of the technological part of the gas facility. The distance to each side of the axis of the pipeline or the ground plan of the technological part of the gas facility shall be:a) 4 m for gas pipelines with a nominal inside diameter of up to 200 mm;

b) 8 m for gas pipelines with a nominal inside diameter from 201 mm to 500 mm;

c) 12 m for gas pipelines with a nominal inside diameter from 501 mm to 700 mm;

d) 50 m for gas pipelines with a nominal inside diameter of more than 700 mm;

e) 1 m for gas pipelines that distribute gas in built-up areas of a municipality and have an operating pressure of less than 0.4 MPa;

f) 8 m for technological facilities.

g) 150 m for probes,

83 For example decree of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic No. 508/2009 Coll., which provides for details to ensure the safety and protection of health at work with technical pressure facilities, lifting, electrical and gas facilities and which provides for technical facilities which are deemed to be reserved technical facilities.

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h) 50 m for other gas equipment of a storage facility and the upstream network not listed in letters a) to g).

(3) For the purposes of this Act, technological structures shall be regulation stations, filtration plants, valve hubs, anti-corrosion devices, line heating of gas and telecommunications equipment.

(4) Where gas pipelines operating at a pressure of more than 0.4 MPa are routed through clear-cut forest strips, the owners of the land shall allow the network operator and upstream network operator to maintain clear-cut strips at a width of 2 meters on each side of the axis of the distribution network pipeline and the upstream network, and at a width of 5 meters on each side of the axis of the transmission network pipeline and a gas pipeline that is part of a storage facility.

(5) The erection of buildings71) within the protective zone of gas equipment is possible only with the prior consent of the network operator. The consent of the network operator to erect structures inside the protection zone of gas equipment is underlying documentation for zoning and construction proceedings.

(6) Entities may perform activities inside the protection zone of gas equipment only with the consent of the network operator and under the terms stipulated by the network operator.

(7) It is prohibited to damage gas equipment, or the equipment protecting it. An entity that damages gas equipment or the equipment protecting it shall be obliged to pay, in addition to damage caused to the gas equipment or equipment protecting it, costs for the restoration of the supply and damage for any gas which leaked as a consequence of the damage to the gas equipment or the equipment protecting it. The costs for the restoration of the supply for the purpose of this subsection shall mean costs for earth works, transport, material and labor costs for a repair of the damaged gas equipment or the equipment protecting.

Section 80Safety zone

(1) The safety zone is intended to prevent breakdowns or accidents to gas facilities or to mitigate their impacts on the life, health and property of persons.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the safety zone is demarcated by a horizontal distance from the axis of the gas pipeline or from the ground plan of the gas facility measured perpendicular to the axis or to the ground plan. The distance to each side of the axis of the gas pipeline or the ground plan of the gas facility shall be:a) 10 m for gas pipelines with a pressure under 0.4 MPa operated in the open air and on

undeveloped area;

b) 20 m for gas pipelines with a pressure from 0.4 to 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of up to 350 mm;

c) 50 m for gas pipelines with a pressure from 0.4 to 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of up to 350 mm;

d) 50 m for gas pipelines with a pressure of more than 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of up to 150 mm;

e) 100 m for gas pipelines with a pressure of more than 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of up to 300 mm;

f) 150 m for gas pipelines with a pressure of more than 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of up to 500 mm;

g) 200 m for gas pipelines with a pressure of more than 4 MPa and with a nominal inside diameter of more than 500 mm;

h) 50 m for regulation stations, filtration plants, and valve hubs.

i) 250 m for other gas equipment of a storage facility and upstream network not listed in letters a) to h)

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(3) For gas pipelines with a pressure of more than 0.4 MPa that are used to distribute gas in built-up areas, and for regulation stations with an input pressure lower than 0,4 MPa, localized in built-up areas of the safety zones will be set by the distribution network operator in accordance with the technical requirements.

(4) The erection of buildingsError: Reference source not found) within the safety zone of gas equipment is possible only with the prior consent of the network operator.

Section 81Relocation of a gas facility

(1) For the purpose of this Act, the relocation of a gas facility means the rerouting or displacement of some elements of the facility.

(2) The costs incurred by the relocation of a gas facility shall be met by the party that necessitated the relocation, unless the said party and the owner of the gas facility agree otherwise. The relocation of a gas facility shall be made by the system operator or under conditions stipulated by it, also other authorized person. Ownership of the gas facility shall not change as a result of the relocation.

Section 82Unauthorized offtake of gas

(1) An unauthorized offtake of gas shall mean an offtake: a) without a valid contract on1. connection to the transmission network or connection to the distribution network;2. supply or combined gas supply, or3. access to the transmission network and gas transmission or access to the distribution network and gas distribution

b) of unmetered gas; c) performed without a designated meter or with a designated meter which, as a result of unauthorized tampering by the consumer, fails to record or inaccurately meters the offtake of gas;

d) measured by a designated meter which has its anti-tempering protection damaged or by a designated meter which was not installed by the network operator;

e) where the consumer has not allowed the distribution network operator the interruption of gas supply; such an offtake is considered unauthorized from the day on which the consumer did not allow the interruption of gas supply;

f) where the consumer has not observed the restrictions imposed by the gas supplier, transmission network operator, storage system operator or distribution network operator;

g) where the consumer has not complied with the contractually agreed terms of payment;

h) where the consumer repeatedly without a serious reasons disallowed access to the meter, even if invited so by the distribution network operator in advance by a written call, with a receipt confirmed by the consumer.

(2) A consumer making an unauthorized offtake of gas is obliged to pay compensation to the gas supplier, transmission network operator and distribution network operator or storage system operator for any loss caused thereof. Together with any compensation, the consumer making an unauthorized offtake of gas is obliged to pay the gas supplier, transmission network operator and the distribution network operator, or storage system operator any lost earnings.

(3) If the actual incurred loss cannot be quantified on the basis of objective and reliable data, the method for calculating loss caused by the unauthorized offtake of gas as established by a generally binding legal regulation issued under Section 95 (1) (l) shall be applied.

(4) If it is a first unauthorized offtake of gas by a gas household consumer measured by a meter located at publicly accessible place, which has its anti-tempering protection damaged under

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subsection 1 (d), the amount of damage caused by the unauthorized offtake of gas shall be determined as the price of gas offtaken without authorization determined by the model diagram of supply. The procedure under subsection 3 shall apply to the calculation of damage caused by the second and further such unauthorized offtake of gas at the same offtake point.

(5) The distribution network operator shall be entitled to take necessary technical measures in the distribution network with a view to prevent from any unauthorized offtake.

CHAPTER FIVE

OPERATION OF A PIPELINE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF FUELS OR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF OIL, OPERATION OF EQUIPMENT FOR FILLING PRESSURE VESSELS, AND OPERATION OF

EQUIPMENT FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS

Section 83

(1) The pipeline for the purpose of this part shall mean a pipeline for transport of fuel and a pipeline for transport of crude oil.

(2) The operation of a pipeline, the operation of equipment for filling pressure vessels, and the operation of equipment for the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") are not subject to a separate law. 2)

Section 84

Rights and obligations of pipeline operators

(1) A pipeline may be operated only by an entity that owns or has other rights towards the pipeline and which has been granted a license for the transport of fuels or for the transport of oil.

(2) The pipeline operator has the right to set up and operate an electronic communications network necessary for managing the operation of the pipeline and ensuring the transmission of information required for its management pursuant to separate regulation.51)

(3) The pipeline operator shall ensure reliable, safe and efficient operation of the pipeline, meet the requirements for the transport of fuels and oil and for development of the pipeline in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection.

Section 85

Rights and obligations of operators of equipment for filling pressure vessels, and operators of LPG distribution equipment

(1) An operator of equipment for filling pressure vessels shall be authorized:a) to refuse to fill pressure vessels if suspecting that the pressure vessels do not meet the technical requirements under a special regulation84),

b) to access the land or premises of an LPG consumer in order to fill pressure vessels or to carry out inspections, tests, maintenance and checks of pressure vessels, following prior consent of the owner of the land or person authorized by them,

c) to require from LPG consumers the technical documentation for the pressure vessels and gas offtake equipment.

84) Act No. 254/2011 Coll. on transportable pressure facilities, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.Order of the government of the Slovak Republic No. 576/2002 Coll., which provides for technical requirements and procedures of the assessment of compliance for pressure facility and which supplements and amends order of the government of the Slovak Republic No. 400/1999 Coll., which provides for technical requirements for other designated products, as amended in the wording of Order of the government of the Slovak Republic No. 329/2003 Coll.

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(2) The operator of equipment for filling pressure vessels shall:a) ensure

1. the safety of operation, 2. accident prevention,3. health and safety at work, 4. safeguard measures,5. the reliable, safe and efficient operation of the equipment for filling pressure vessels in

compliance with the conditions for environmental protection,b) fill pressure vessels with LPG only if the vessels comply with the technical requirements under a

special regulation84),

c) fill their own pressure vessels with LPG or fill another person's pressure vessels with LPG only with the written consent of the owner of the vessels,

d) maintain a register of their own pressure vessels.

(3) An operator of equipment for LPG distribution shall be authorized to:a) request from LPG consumers the technical documentation for their gas offtake equipment, b) access the land or premises of an LPG consumer in order to carry out inspections, tests, maintenance and checks on LPG distribution, with the prior consent of the owner of the land or person authorized by them.

(4) An operator of equipment for LPG distribution shall:a) ensure 1. the safety of operation, 2. accident prevention,3. health and safety at work, 4. necessary safeguard measures,5. the reliable, safe and efficient operation of equipment for LPG distribution in compliance with the conditions for environmental protection,6. the metering of supplied LPG, including the assessment and submission of metering results to the LPG consumer,

b) prepare emergency plans every year.

Section 86

Pipeline protection zone

(1) For the purpose of this Act, the pipeline protection zone is the area in the vicinity of the pipeline that is designated to ensure smooth operation of the pipeline and the safety of persons and property. Owners and users of land within the protection zone shall refrain from anything that might damage the pipeline and threaten the fluency and security of the operation.

(2) The pipeline protection zone, with the exception of the protective zone of pipelines for transporting oil from extraction point to processing point, is demarcated by vertical planes set at a horizontal distance of 300 m on each side of the axis of the pipeline.

(3) The protection zone of pipelines for the transmission of oil from the point of extraction to the point of processing is defined by vertical areas at a horizontal distance of 100m on both sides of the axis of the pipelines.

Section 87

Restrictions within the pipeline protection zone

(1) Within the pipeline protection zone, it is prohibited to establish structures of specific importance, extraction pits of prospecting and mining companies, or refuse heaps. (2) In the pipeline protection zone, apart from the protection zone of pipelines for the transmission of oil from the point of extraction to the point of processing, it is prohibited within a distance of:a) 200 meters of the pipeline axis to erect bridges or dams on a water flow,

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b) 150 meters of the pipeline axis to construct alongside the pipeline buildings, to build other significant structures or to lay railway tracks,

c) 100 meters of the pipeline axis to construct any buildings,

d) 50 meters of the pipeline axis to establish sewerage networks,

e) 20 meters of the pipeline axis to lay pipelines for the transmission of substances other than flammables of Class I and II,

f) 10 m of the pipeline axis to perform activities, especially digging and clearance work, probing, soil removal and piling, and the planting of trees, which might threaten the safety of the pipeline or the smoothness of its operation.

(3) To establish structures71) and carry out maintenance works in a protection zone of pipelines may be done only upon prior consent of the pipeline operator and land owner on which the structure is to be erected The consent of the pipeline operator and land owner on which the structure is or is to be erected, to establish a structure in the protection zone of pipelines is underlying documentation for zoning and construction proceedings; Persons may carry out other activities under subsection 2 in a protection zone of pipelines only upon consent of the pipeline operator and under terms stipulated by the pipeline operator, including reasonable terms to ensure safety of the pipeline .

(4) Power lines may be set up within a distance of the pipeline that complies with the protection zones pursuant to Section 43.

(5) Entities may undertake activities in the protection zone of a pipeline for the transmission of oil from the point of extraction to the point of processing only with the consent of the pipeline operator.

CHAPTER SIX

STATE ADMINISTRATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

Section 88

(1) State administration in the energy sector shall be exercised by

a) the ministry,

b) the office,

c) the State Energy Inspection (hereinafter "Inspection")

(2) The ministry shall

a) be liable for preparation of the energy policy for a period of no less than 20 years, liable for the update of the energy policy in a no less than five-year cycle in respect to the optimal use of domestic raw material, natural and human potential,

b) ensure the adoption of adopted obligations in the energy sector arising out of international treaties binding on the Slovak Republic and out of membership in international organizations,

c) ensure the monitoring of compliance of the safety of electricity and gas supplies,

d) adopt measures aimed to ensure the safety of electricity and gas supplies, including a decision to interrupt gas withdrawal from a storage facility for affected gas market participants which store gas for consumers outside of the defined territory under Section 67 (8),

e) determine the extent of criterion of the technical safety of the system and the network,

f) determined obligations and decide on the application of obligations in the general economic interest under Section 24,

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g) decide on the application of measures if this relates to 1. putting the integrity and entirety of the system and the network at risk,2. putting the reliability and safety of the system and the network at risk,

h) decide on the issuance of a decision to construct the power facility under Section 12,

i) adopt measures aimed to ensure intentions of the support to electricity generation from renewable resources of energy,

j) publish annually by 31 July a report on results of the monitoring of the safety of electricity supplies and a report on results of the monitoring of the safety of gas supplies and on adopted and forecasted measures to solve the safety of electricity and gas supplies; publish the reports in the Journal of the ministry and on the web site of the ministry,

k) forward to the Commission a request for derogation from obligations, the performance of which follows from common rules for internal market in electricity and for internal market in gas,

l) issue a standpoint to a draft regulatory policy under a special regulation85) in issues related to the compliance with the energy policy and energy safety,

m) issue a standpoint, upon proposal of the office, to the intention of a change in the manner of access to the storage facility from the agreed access to regulated access and from regulated access to agreed access under a special regulation32)

n) issue a certificate on professional qualification in the energy sector,

o) decide on determination of the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator as the transmission system operator or the transmission network operator which meets the requirements of independency under Section 30, Section 50, Sections 51 through 60 or Sections 61 through 63 and notify the Commission of such fact in accordance with a special regulation,17)

p) upon request of the office issue a standpoint on putting the safety of electricity supplies or gas supplies at risk in the defined territory and on territory of the European Union under a special regulation,56)

q) publish on its web site practical information for electricity consumers or gas consumers about their rights prepared by the Commission,

r) be a responsible body and fulfill tasks of the responsible body under a special regulation86) except for tasks fulfilled under this Act by the distribution network operator, which based on a decision of the ministry fulfills tasks of the gas dispatching center in the defined territory,

s) request the relevant bodies of other member states to strengthen two-way capacity of a cross-border connection of the transmission network for the reason of safety under a special regulationError:Reference source not found) and adopt similar requests from the relevant bodies of other member states,

t) publish on its web site information about measures in the general economic interest related to the safety of gas supplies under a special regulation.87)

u) render a standpoint in respect to the compliance of construction of a direct line or construction of a direct gas line with general economic interest and with the energy policy,

v) cooperate with the office in the preparation of a methodical guidance for power undertakings and gas undertakings in respect to the optimization of the use of electricity and gas including the provision of services to electricity consumers and gas consumers, aimed at an increase in the effectiveness of

85) Section 8 of Act No. 250/2012 Coll.86) Art. 3 (2) of Regulation of European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.87) Art. 13 (1) of Regulation of European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.

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energy utilization, price application and conditions for the supply of electricity and the supply of gas in a manner aimed at an increase in the effectiveness of energy utilization, introduction of intelligent metering systems and the refurbishment of systems and networks aimed at an increase in the effectiveness of energy utilization.

(3) The ministry shall take into account in the proposal of measures under subsection 2 (d)a) significance of continuity of electricity and gas supplies,

b) significance of a transparent and stable regulatory frame,

c) impact of measures on the price of electricity and gas for end consumers,

d) internal market and options of cross-border cooperation in connection with the safety of electricity and gas supplies,

e) significance of support to economic competition on the electricity and gas market ,

f) necessity of regular maintenance or possibly also refurbishment of the transmission system, transmission network, distribution system and distribution network to preserve the output of systems and networks,

g) significance of support to electricity generated from renewable resources and support to combined generation established on demand for heat that can be utilized, in the internal electricity market ,

h) necessity to ensure sufficient transit, transmission and generation capacity for stable operation of the electricity and gas market.

(4) The measures under subsection 2 (d) may not be discriminatory and may not represent unfair charge on market participants, including new participants and undertakings with a low interest on the market and may not create obstacles to liberalized electricity and gas market. The ministry shall decide on interruption of gas withdrawal from the storage facility for affected gas market participants which store gas for consumers outside of the defined territory under Section 67 (8) upon considering the adoption of available measures aimed at ensuring technical safety of the network in the defined territory, including options of cross-border cooperation in accordance with a special regulation.88)

(5) In respect to the proposal of measures under subsection 2 (d) in ensuring a suitable level of connection between member states, the ministry shall reflect in particular a) geographic location of the state,

b) retaining of reasonable balance between costs for the construction of new connections and benefit for end consumers,

c) ensuring the most effective use of existing connecting lines.

(6) The measures under subsection 2 (d) (f) and (g) may be imposed asa) tariff measures or non-tariff measures, b) obligation to ensure technical or organizational measures,

c) obligation to refrain from actions or activity,

d) provisions of economic incentives.49)

(7) In imposition of the measures under subsection 6 the operation of the electricity market or the gas market may only be disrupted to a necessary extent and necessary timed to achieve the purpose of the imposed measure. In imposed measures it is not allowed to make differences between cross-border and internal contracts. The ministry shall be obliged to revoke any imposed measures, if the reasons for the imposition thereof no longer exist. The liability of a person to which measures have been imposed under subsection 6 for damage caused as a result of performance of imposed

88) Regulation of European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.

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measures is excluded.

(8) A remedy may be filed against a decision on imposition of the measure under subsection 2 (f) and (g); remonstrance shall not have a postponing effect.

(9) The ministry shall further notify the Commission ofa) adopted measures for the performance of obligation to provide the universal service,

b) measures for the performance of obligation in general economic interest, including measures for the protection of the consumer and the environment and their possible impact on economic competition; shall inform about changes in adopted measures each two years,

c) reasons to reject a request for issuance of a certificate for the construction of the power facility under Section 12,

d) adopted and forecasted measures to solve safety of the supplies of electricity and gas,

e) technical rules which determine technical, construction and operational requirements for a connection to the system and the network,

f) the measures under subsection 2 (f) and (g),

g) preventive action plan and emergency plan under a special regulation,47)

h) facts related to intra-government treaties executed with third states to the extent and under a special regulation,89)

i) cooperation with other member state in respect to safety of gas supplies in the internal gas market; shall equally inform also other member states.

(10) The ministry shall ensure that the report on results of monitoring of the safety of gas supplies under subsection 2 (j)a) contain the overall ability of the system to cover the current and expected electricity demand including1. operational safety of the system,2. forecasted balance between electricity supply and demand for the following five years,3. perspectives to ensure electricity supplies for a period of five to fifteen years from the date of preparation of the report,4. investment plans of the transmission system operator and investment plans of any other party known to it, related to the provision of cross-border transit capacity for the following ten years; the ministry shall prepare a report on cooperation with the transmission system operator,

b) consider1. principles of the management of overloading of the system stipulated in a special regulation,53)2. existing and planned transit lines,3. presumed development of the volume of generation, supply, cross-border exchange of electricity and consumption of electricity in reflecting measures of the management on the side of demand,4. regional, internal and European targets of sustainable development including those projects which form part of the axis for priority projects stipulated in a special regulation.90)

(11) The ministry shall ensure that the report on results of monitoring of the safety of gas supplies under subsection 2 (j) containa) results of monitoring of the safety of gas supplies and adopted and forecasted measures to solve the safety of gas supplies,

b) assessment of the overall ability of the network to cover the current and expected demand for gas,

89) Art. 13 (6)(a) of Regulation of European Parliament and Council (EU) No. 994/2010.90) Decision of European Parliament and Council No. 1364/2006/ES dated 6 September 2006, which provides for guidance for trans-European power systems and repealing decision No. 96/391/ES and decision No. 1229/2003/EC (Ú. v. EÚ L 262, 22.9.2006).

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including1. operational safety of the network,2. presumed balance between a gas supply and gas demand for the following five years,3. perspectives to ensure gas supplies for a period of five to fifteen years from the date of preparation of the report,4. investment plans of the transmission network operator, storage facility operators and gas producers and investment plans of any other party known to them, related to the provision of cross-border transit capacity for the following ten years; the ministry shall prepare a report on cooperation with the transmission network operator, storage facility operators and gas producers,5. possible measures to cover extra high demand for gas and solution of the outage of one or several gas suppliers.

Section 89

Inspection

(1) Inspection shall carry out supervision over compliance with the obligations of persons under Section 4, Section 6 (2)(d) through (g), Section 8 (5), Section 9, Sections 11 through 14, Section 19 (1) through (5), Sections 20 through 24, Section 25 (1), Section 27 (2)(c) through (h), (k) through (p), (r), Section 28 (2) (a) through (h), (r) through (w), Section 28 (3)(b) through (d), (h),(j) through (o), (v), (y), Section 28 (4), Section 31 (2)(a) through (e),( j) through (n), (p) through (s), (w), (z), Section 31 (3)(a) through (c), (j), (k), (n), (p), Section 31 (4), Section 33 (1) through (8), Section 34 (2)(c) through (e), (g), (i) through (k), (n), (o), Sections 35 and 36 (1)(b) and (2), Section 38 through 40, Section 41 (1) through (6), Sections 42 through 46, Section 48 (2)(b), (c), (e) through (g), (j), Section 49 (6)(a), (b), (i), (l), (n), (o), Section 49 (7)(b), (d), (f) through ( j), (o), Section 64 (6)(a) through (d), (i) through (k), (n), Section 64 (7)(a), (c), (e) through (g), (j), (l) through (n), Section 66, Section 67 (6) (a), (b), (g), (j), (k), (m) through (p), Section 67 (8), Section 69 (2)(b), (f), (g), (j) through (l), Section 70 (2)(b), (d), (e), Section 71 (2)(b) and (d), Section 72 (4) through (7), Section 72 (9)(a), (b) through (d), Section 73, Section 76 (1),(3), (8) through 11, Section 77 (1) and (3), Sections 79 through 82, Sections 84 through 87, Section 96 (24) and (27) and under special regualtion91) with special regard to the performance of obligations

a) of electricity and gas market participants concerning the performance of tasks1. in the general economic interest,2. to ensure the security and reliability of operation of the electricity systems and gas systems, 3. preventing to emergency in the electricity sector or emergency in the gas sector and in

declaration of an emergency situation in the electricity sector or in the gas sector,4. imposed in connection with the adoption of measures pursuant to Section 88, 5. to observe the security standard of gas supply,

b) of entities that pursue activity in the energy sector, to which the license under item a) is not required,

c) of other entities on whom obligations regarding the fulfillment of tasks specified in item a) are imposed,

d) concerning the performance of activities in the energy sector and the obligations of entities in protection zones of the electricity system, protection zones and safety zones of gas facilities, and in the protection zones of pipelines for the transport of fuels or oil,

e) arising from measures imposed by the Inspection and regional inspectorates (hereinafter only the “Inspectorate”).

91) Act No. 657/2004 Coll. as amended.Section 10 of Act No. 555/2005 Coll. on energetic efficiency of buildings, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended.Order of the government of the Slovak Republic No. 246/2006 Coll. on minimum quantity of fuel produced from renewable resources in motor petrol and diesel fuel introduced on the market of the Slovak Republic as amended.Act No. 17/2007 Coll. on regular inspection of boilers, heating systems and air-conditioning systems, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 136/2010 Z. z.Act No. 476/2008 Coll. on efficiency in the use of energy (Act on Energetic Efficiency) and on amendment and supplement to Act No. 555/2005 Coll. on energetic efficiency of buildings, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws as amended by Act No. 17/2007 Coll. as amended by Act No. 136/2010 Coll.Act No. 309/2009 Coll. o as amended.

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(2) The Inspection is a legal entity. The Inspection is a state budgetary organization financially linked to the Ministry’s budget; it applies its budget to fund the activities of the Inspectorates. The Inspection has its headquarters in the city of Trenčín.

(3) The Inspection is managed by the Director General, who is responsible for its activities and who is appointed and recalled by the head of the Ministry's Service Office on the basis of the results of a tender under a special regulation.92) The Director General of the Inspection performs tasks connected with the execution of civil service relations and with organization of the activities of the Service Office. The Director General of the Inspection is the head of the Service Office.

(4) The Inspection is a service office of civil servants who perform civil service in the Inspection and Inspectorates; it is the employer of employees who perform tasks in the public interest in Inspection and Inspectorates.

(5) The Inspectorates are answerable to the Inspection. An Inspectorate is led by a Director, appointed and recalled by the Director General of Inspection based on the results of a tender under a special regulation.92)

(6) The Inspectorate acts and makes decisions independently in administrative and legal matters.

(7) The Inspection: a) manages the performance of state supervision and the activities of Inspectorates,

b) imposes measures to eliminate detected shortcomings, with force beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any particular Inspectorate,

c) authorizes an Inspectorate to exercise supervision under subsection (1) also outside its territorial jurisdiction,

d) decides as the appeal body against decisions issued by Inspectorates,

e) issues decisions and provisional measures in administrative proceedings,93)

f) conducts examinations of inspectors of Inspection and the Inspectorates, and maintains a register of inspectors and inspector identification cards,

g) imposes penalties under Section 91 (1).

(8) The Inspectorate:a) supervises compliance to the obligations pursuant to subsection (1),

b) imposes measures aimed at eliminating detected shortcomings,

c) issues decisions and provisional rulings in administrative proceedings,

d) imposes fines pursuant to Section 91 (1).

(9) The supervisory tasks are carried out by the Inspection and the Inspectorates through inspectors. An inspector is a civil servant and their civil-service relations are laid down in a separate regulation.94) Except for inspectors referred to in subsection (14), an inspector is appointed and recalled by the Director General of Inspection after having met the qualification criteria and successfully passed the examination. The scope of professional competence requirements, the conditions, and the procedure for their professional competence examination shall be specified in a service regulation of the Inspection.

(10) An inspector performing state supervision is authorized to access land, premises and facilities of entities to be inspected, make necessary enquiries, inspect all relevant documents and request necessary explanations.

92) Section 22 of Act No. 400/2009 Coll. on state service, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws.93) Act No. 71/1967 Coll. on administrative proceeding (administrative rules) as amended.94) Act No. 400/2009 Coll. as amended.

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(11) When detecting shortcomings, the inspector is authorized to impose measures on the spot aimed at removing the shortcomings. Based on a completed inspection, the inspector shall draw up an inspection report containing the detected shortcomings detected and imposed measures. The report on the results of the completed inspection shall be delivered to the license holder or to another entity at which supervision was performed.

(12) An inspector performing state supervision shall:a) present their inspector’s identity card,

b) keep in confidence from third parties any facts that he or she learned in the course of inspection; such obligation of confidentiality will endure even after expiry of their authorization to conduct inspections or after termination of their civil-service relationship with the Inspection. The obligation of confidentiality may be revoked by a decision of the Director General of Inspection.

(13) An entity that is subject to supervision under this Act shall provide inspectors with necessary cooperation, allow them to enter land, premises and facilities, provide them with the necessary materials and documents and give requested explanations.

(14) Supervision, pursuant to Section 9, Section 11, Section 12, Section 20 through 24, Section 32 (4)(d) and (e), Section 38, Section 42, Section 44, Section 65 (3)(b), and (d) through (g) Section 65 (5), Section 66 (8), Section 71, Section 77 through Section 79 and Section 82 through 87 and this Act and under a special regulation91), in energy facilities serving to ensure state security and in selected premises and facilities under the authority of the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic, the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, the Police Corps, the Prison and Judicial Guard Corp of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Railways (ZSR), or the Slovak Intelligence Service, shall be performed by inspectors who, having met the qualification requirements and passed the professional competence examination administered by the Inspection, are appointed and recalled by the head of those bodies under whose jurisdiction they fall.

(15) The principal offices and territorial jurisdictions of the Inspectorates are listed in Schedule 1.

(16) The Director General is entitled in justified cases, according to principal office and territorial jurisdiction of the Inspection, to establish remote units managed by an Inspectorate Director.

(17) The inspection cooperates in the performance of supervision under this Act with the office. Inspection shall be obliged to provide the office as part of cooperation in the performance of supervision promptly information about all facts it ascertains in the performance of supervision under subsection 1 (a) second point.

(18) The inspection may in its activity demand from public authorities any data and explanations necessary for inspection activity. Public authorities shall be obliged to provide to the inspection the required data and explanations.

Section 90

Office

The office shall a) exercise control over compliance of the obligations under Section 4, Section 6 (1), (2 (a) through (c), Section 6 (5), (7) through (12), Section 8 (5), Section 9, Section 10 (1), Section 11 (16) (e), Section 15 through 18, Section 19 (6) through (8), Section 26, Section 27 (2) (a), (b), (i) through (l), (q), Section 27 (3) and (4, Section 28 (2) (i) through (q),(x) through (z), Section 28 (3 (a) and (b), (e) through (g), (i), (p) through (u), (w), (x), (z) through (ac), Section 28 (5), Section 29, Section 30, Section 31 (2) (f) through (i), (o), (t) through (v), (x), (y), (aa), (ab), Section 31 (3 (d) through (i), (l), (m), (o), (q), (r) through (s), Section 31 (5) through (11), Section 32, Section 33 (9), Section 34 (2) (a) through (d), (f), (h), (l) through (q), Section 34 (3) through (10) Section 35, Section 36 (1)(a), Section 37, Section 41 (7), Section 47, Section 48 (2) (a), (d), (h), (i), Section 49 (3) through (5), Section 49 (6) (c) through (h), (j), (k), (m), Section 49 (7 (a), (c) through (e), (h), (k) through (p), Section 49 (8) through (10), Sections 50 through 63, Section 64 (3), (4), Section 64 (6) (e) through (h), (l), (m), Section 64 (7) (b), (d), (h), (i), (k), (o) through (s), Section 64 (8) through (13), Section 65, Section 67

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(3) through (5), Section 67 (6) (c) through f), (h), (i), (l), (q) through (s), Section 67 (7), (9), (10), Section 68, Section 69 (2) (a), (c) through (i), (m) through (s), Section 69 (3) through (6), Section 70 (2) (a) and (c), Section 71 (2 (a) and (c), Section 74, Section 75, Section 76 (4) through (7), Section 94, Section 96 (7), (11), (14), (15), (21), (22),b) impose measures to remove and remedy ascertained imperfections in exercising control,c) imposes penalties under Section 91 (2) to the extent of the control competence specified in item (a).

Section 91

Administrative offences and penalties

(1) Inspection shall impose a penalty on the license holder or to another person in the amount of a) from EUR 50 000 to EUR 500 000 for a breach of obligations 1. imposed in general economic interest, 2. in respect to ensuring the safety and reliability of the operation of systems, networks, pipelines and equipment for the filling of pressure vessels, 3. imposed in order to avoid emergency and the status of emergency, 4. imposed in connection with adoption of the measures under Section 88, 5. to comply with standard of the safety of gas supplies,6. imposed in Section 25 (1),b) from EUR 300 to EUR 150 000 for a breach of obligations 1. arising out of a decision on consent to the construction of a direct line or of a decision on consent to the construction of a direct gas line, 2. in protection zones of the system, in protection zones and safety zones of gas facilities and in protection zones of pipelines for the transport of fuel or crude oil, 3. imposed in Section 4, Section 6 (2) (d) through (g), Section 10, Section 11, Section 12, Section 13 (4), Section 8 (5) for the business under Section 6 (2) (d) through (g), Section 19 (1) through (5), Section 28 (2) (a) through (h), (r) through (w), Section 28 (3 (b) through (d), (h), (j) through (o), (v), (y), Section 28 (4), Section 31 (2) (a) through (e), (j) through (n), (p) through (s), (w), (z), Section 31 (3) (a) through (c), (j), (k), (n), (p), Section 31 (4), Section 33 (1) through 8, Section 49 (6) (a), (b), (i), (l), (n) (o), Section 49 (7) (b), (d), (f) through (j), (o), Section 64 (6) (a) through (d), (i) through (k), (n), Section 64 (7) (a), (c), (e) through (g), (j), (l) through (n), Section 66, Section 67 (6) (a), (b), (g), (j), (k), (m) through (p), Section 67 (8), Section 84 (3), Section 85 (2) and Section 85 (4),(c) from EUR 500 to EUR 300 000 for a breach of the obligations imposed in Section 9, Section 27 (2) (c) through (h), (k) through (p), (r), Section 34 (2) (c) through (e), (g), (i) through (k), (n), (o), Section 38, Section 40, Section 41, Section 48 (2) (b), (c), (e) through (g), (j), Section 69 (2) (b), (f), (g), (j) through (l), Section 73, Section 76 (1), (3), (8) through (11), for a failure to meet imposed measures under Section 89 (7) (b) and (8) (b) and for a breach of obligations imposed under special regulations,95)d) from EUR 100 to EUR 30 000 for a breach of obligations 1. to provide cooperation or asistance to inspection bodies or the ministry in exercing the supervision under this Act,2. to allow entry to plots of land, to objects and facilities to inspection bodies in exercing the supervision under this Act,3. to submit reports or to provide information to the ministry or the inspection to the extent, in the manner and the terms under this Act,4. to report the beginning, change or termination of the performance of activities, in respect of which it is not required to have the license under Section 6 (5) for activities under Section 6 (4) (d) through (h),5. under Section 35 (2) (b) through (h), Section 36 (2) (a) through (e), Section 39, Section 42, Section 46, Section 70 (2) (b), (d), (e), Section 71 (2) (b), (d), Section 72, Section 77 (1), (3), Section 82, Section 89 (1) (e) and Section 96 (24) and (27).

(2) The office shall impose a penalty on the license holder or to another person in the amount of a) from EUR 50 000 to EUR 1 500 000 for a breach of obligations of the unbundling of the operator of the transmisison system or the transmisison network or the distribution system or the network or the owner of networks imposed in Section 30, Section 32, Sections 50 through 59, Sections 61 through 63, Section 65, Section 96 (14), (16),b) from EUR 1 000 to EUR 1 000 000 for a breach of obligations of the transmisison system operator or the transmisison network operator imposed in Section 15 (9), (12), (17), (18), Section 16, Section

95) Order of the government No. 246/2006 Coll. as amended.

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18 (3), Section 19 (6), (7), (8). Section 28 (2) (i) through (q), (x) through (z), Section 28 (3) (a), (b), (e) through (g), (i), (p) through (u), (w), (x), (z) through (ac), Section 28 (5), Section 29, Section 49 (3) through (5), Section 49 (6) (c) through (h), (j), (k), (m), Section 49 (7) (a), (c) through (e), (h), (k) through (p), Section 49 (8) through (10), Section 60, Section 96 (22) or the short-term cross-border electricity market organizer or the entity for settlement imposed in Section 15 (9) and (10), Section 37 or the operator of combined network imposed in Section 68, c) from EUR 500 to EUR 500 000 for a breach of obligations of the operator of the distribution system or network or the operator of a new gas facility imposed in Section 15 (9), (12), (18), Section 16, Section 18 (3), Section 19 (6), (7), (8), Section 31 (2) (f) through (i), (o), (t) through (v), (x), (y), (aa), (ab), Section 31 (3) (d) through (i), (l), (m), (o), (q), (r) through (s), Section 31 (5) through (11), Section 64 (3), (4), Section 64 (6) (e) through (h), (l) through (m), Section 64 (7) (b), (d), (h), (i), (k), (o) through (s), Section 64 (8) through (13), Section 75 (12), Section 96 (21) or the operator of combined network imposed in Section 68,d) from EUR 300 to EUR 300 000 for the performance of activities without a license or without a notice, in activities in respect of which it is required to have the license under Section 6 (2) (a) through (c) or the notice under Section 6 (5) or for a failure to meet obligations imposed in Section 4 (4), Section 6 (7) through (12), Section 8 (5), Section 9, Section 10 (1), Section 11 (16) (e), Section 17, Section 33 (9), Section 94, Section 96 (7),e) from EUR 500 to EUR 100 000 for a breach of obligations of the supplier of electricity or gas imposed in Section 15 (16), Section 16, Section 18, Section 34 (2) (a) through (d), (f), (h), (l) through (q), Section 34 (3) through 10, Section 69 (2) (a), (c) through (i), (m) through (s), Section 69 (3) through (6), Section 76 (4) through (7), Section 96 (11),f) from EUR 500 to EUR 50 000 for a breach of obligations of the producer of electricity or the producer of gas imposed in Section 16 , Section 27 (2) (a), (b), (i) through (l), (q), Section 27 (3) and (4), Section 41 (7), Section 48 (2) (a), (d), (h), (i) or for a breach of obligations of the operator of gas storage facility imposed in Section 16, Section 67 (3) through (5), Section 67 (6) (c) through (f), (h), (i), (l), (q) through (s), Section 67 (7), (9), (10) or the operator of combined network imposed in Section 68,g) from EUR 500 to EUR 10 000 for a failure to meet measures to remove and remedy ascertained imperfections, h) from EUR 100 to EUR 5 000 for a breach of obligations of the consumer of electricity or gas imposed in Section 15 (7), Section 18 (8), Section 35 (2) (a), Section 70 (2) (a), (c), Section 71 (2) (a), (c).

(3) In a repeated breach of obligations within three years from the day when the decision of penalty imposement came into legal force, the penalty under subsections 1 and 2 shall increase up to double.

(4) For a breach of obligations of the unbundling of the operator of the transmisison system or the transmission network or the distribution system or the network or the network owner, the office shal impose the penalty under Section 91 (2) (a) or a penalty from EUR 500 to 10 % from the turnover for a previous year, in which the vertically integrated undertaking breached an obligation.

(5) In the determination of the amount of a penalty it shall be considered in particular the seriousness, manner, the time of duration and possible consequences of a breach of obligations.

(6) A penalty may be imposed within one year upon the day on which the inspection or the office ascertained a breach of obligations; however, no later than five years upon the day when the breach of obligations occurred.

(7) Revenues from penalties shall be income of the state budget.

CHAPTER SEVEN

COMMON, EMPOWERING, INTERIM AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 92

Relationship to general regulation on administrative proceeding

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(1) Proceedings in matters governed by this Act shall be subject to the general regulation on administrative proceedings93) unless otherwise provided in this Act.

(2) A general regulation on administrative procedure shall not apply to the proceeding under Sections 45, 81 and 88 (2)(o).

Section 93

Relationship to general regulation on internal market services

Doing business in the energy sector, the procedure for submitting applications for a license, decisions on the issue of licenses and for performance of supervision over parties that were issued with a license as per this Act, shall be subject to the provisions of the general regulation on internal market services96), unless this Act stipulates otherwise.

Section 94

Confidentiality of information

(1) The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, transmission network owner, distribution network operator, storage system operator and the short-term electricity market organizer shall preserve the confidentiality of commercial information which constitutes corporate secrecy59) and other commercial information of a confidential nature acquired upon its activities; this shall not apply to the provision of information under Section 16. The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, transmission network owner, distribution network operator, and storage system operator may not publish any information that concerns its activity in a discriminating manner.

(2) The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, transmission network owner, distribution network operator, storage system operator and the short-term electricity market organizer, shall be authorized to disclose the information stipulated in subsection (1) if they have an obligation to do so under this Act or under a special regulation. 2)

(3) The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, transmission network owner, distribution network operator, and storage system operator that is part of a vertically integrated undertakinga) may not provide confidential information that is the subject of corporate secrecy, or other commercial information of a confidential nature acquired upon its activities, to a person which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking, with the exception of cases when the provision of such information is essential for concluding or fulfilling a contract with such other party,

b) may not in connection with the sale or purchase of electricity or gas that is conducted by other person which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking, abuse commercial information that is the subject of corporate secrecy or other commercial information of a confidential nature acquired from other person in connection with the provision or negotiation of access to the system or network.

(4) The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, transmission network owner, distribution network operator, storage system operator and the short-term electricity market organizer is obliged to publish information required for true economic competition and effective functioning of the market with electricity and gas in a transparent and indiscriminate manner; this obligation shall not apply to information that is the subject of corporate secrecy and other commercial information of a confidential nature.

Section 95

Empowering provisions

96) Section 3 through 8 and Sections 10 through 16 of Act No. 136/2010 Coll.

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(1) The ministry shall render a generally binding legal regulation by which it shall stipulatea) the extent and conditions under which the gas consumer is a protected consumer under Section 3 (c) point 16.8,

b) the extent of professional preparation and required knowledge for the tests of professional qualification, details on the establishment and activity of the examining boards and the extent of certificate on professional qualification under Section 5,

c) details on the extent and procedure of the provision of information necessary for the performance of state administration as stipulated in §11,

d) details on the procedure in declaration of an emergency, on declaration of restrictive measures in the energy sector and in emergency and on measures aimed at the removal of emergency and on the manner of determination of restrictive measures in the energy sector and measures aimed at the removal of emergency under Section 20,

e) details on the procedure in declaration of an emergency and its level under a special regulation,44) on declaration of restrictive measures in the gas sector for individual categories of gas consumers, on measures aimed at the removal of emergency and on the manner of determination of restrictive measures in the gas sector and measures aimed at the removal of emergency under Section 21,

f) the manner and extent of information submitted to the ministry on ensuring standards of the safety of gas supplies, the manner of assessment of ensuring standards of the safety of gas supplies, procedure in imposition and assessment of measures in case of insufficient ensuring standards of the safety of gas supplies and details on standards of the safety of gas supplies under Section 22,

g) details on the extent of technical conditions under Section 19 (2) and (3),

h) in the area of introduction and operation of intelligent measuring systems under Section 42,1. criterions and terms for the introduction of intelligent measuring systems for individual categories of end electricity consumers,2. periods for the introduction of intelligent measuring systems for individual categories of end electricity consumers, in respect of which the introduction of intelligent measuring systems is convenient within 10 years,3. requirements for cooperation of individual electricity market participants in the installation and operation of intelligent measuring systems,4. required technical parameters of intelligent measuring systems,5. requirements for data transmissions and cooperation of individual systems,6. the manner of access to measured data from the side of individual electricity market participants,

i) the manner of calculation of damage caused by the unauthorized offtake of electricity under Section 46 (2),

j) details on principles of the conversion of volume units into energy and terms under which is made the determination of the volume of gas and combustion volume heat under Section 76 (6),

k) in the area of introduction and operation of intelligent measuring systems under Section 771. criterions and terms for the introduction of intelligent measuring systems for individual categories of end gas consumers,2. periods for the introduction of intelligent measuring systems for individual categories of end gas consumers, in respect of which the introduction of intelligent measuring systems is convenient,3. requirements for cooperation of individual gas market participants in the installation and operation of intelligent measuring systems,4. required technical parameters of intelligent measuring systems,5. requirements for data transmissions and cooperation of individual systems,6. the manner of access to measured data from the side of individual gas market participants,

l) the manner of calculation of damage caused by the unauthorized offtake of gas under Section 82 (3).

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(2) The office shall render a generally binding legal regulation by which it shall stipulatea) the manner of records of the facts which are subject to bookkeeping, the manner of records of costs, revenues, assets and liabilities, the form and terms of the submission of outputs from the records for the purpose of this Act under Section 16,

b) the manner, extent and structure of the provision of measured data at the offtake point of an electricity consumer depending upon the type of measuring at the offtake point and the structure of measuring and keeping of data on consumption by the transmission system operator and the distribution system operator under Section 28 (3)( x) and Section 31 (3)(m),

c) particulars of a request for issuance a prior consent to the appointment or election and recall of a person liable to ensure compliance of the distribution system operator, transmission network operator, owner of the transmission network, distribution network operator and documents attached to the request under Section 32 (6), Section 58 (5), Section 62 (7) and 8 and Section 65 (6),

d) the procedures and measures related to keeping of data and the form and content of kept data under Section 34(2)(n) and Section 69 (2)(f),

e) the manner, extent and structure of the provision of measured data on consumption at the offtake point of a gas consumer depending upon the type of measuring at the offtake point and the structure of measuring and keeping of data on consumption by the transmission network operator and the distribution network operator under Section 49 (7)(l) and Section 64 (7)(i),

f) particulars of a request for issuance a prior consent to the appointment or election and recall of a statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the transmission network operator and documents attached to the request under Section 52,

g) particulars of a request for issuance a prior consent to the election and recall of a member of the supervisory commission of the transmission network operator and documents attached to the request under Section 54,

h) particulars of a request for derogation and documents attached to the request under Section 75 (7).

Section 96 Interim Provisions

(1) Licenses to pursue business in the energy sector, certificate on the performance of the notification duty, certificates on qualification in the energy sector and certificates for construction of a power facility issued under current regulations remain valid in accordance with the terms prescribed under current regulations. A license to organize short-term electricity market issued under current regulations shall be deemed license for activity of the organizer of short-term electricity market under this Act.

(2) Proceedings initiated prior to this Act acquiring force shall be completed in accordance with regulations applicable to date. The proceedings shall be completed by the authority competent for the proceedings at the time they commenced.

(3) Supervision that commenced prior to this Act acquiring force shall be completed in accordance with regulations applicable to date. Supervision shall be completed by the authority competent to perform the supervision at the time if it commenced.

(4) Entitlements or restrictions to the use of another’s property that arose prior to this to the effectiveness of this Act, shall remain unaffected.

(5) The protection zones and safety zones established under regulations applicable to date, together with any exceptions thereof, shall remain in force also upon effectiveness of this Act.

(6) A claim to an adequate lump-sum compensation for forced restrictions of the use of real

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property cannot be acknowledged, if a period to lodge the claim to an adequate lump-sum compensation for forced restrictions of the use of real property cannot under current regulations expired. The period to lodge a claim to a reasonable one-off compensation in statutory easements corresponding to the authorizations under Section 11 (1)(f) and (g) starts running from the day of registration of the easement in the properties register only in respect to statutory easements which occurred upon the effectiveness of this Act. The calculation of periods to lodge a claim to a reasonable one-off compensation which started to run under the current regulations is subject current regulations. Proceedings in re of a claim to a reasonable one-off compensation for forced restriction of property using, claim to a reasonable one-off compensation for forced restriction of land using in a protection zone and safety zone and claim to a reasonable one-off compensation for establishment of the easement started before this law comes into force shall be completed according to the current regulations.

(7) Contracts executed under current regulations remain valid. Contract parties shall be obliged to harmonize the provisions of contracts executed under current regulations, which are in conflict with this Act, with this Act by 31 December 2012. Long-term contracts on the provision of ancillary services executed between transmission system operator and providers of ancillary services under current regulations, in respect of which the agreed term of validity has not expired yet, remain valid until the period agreed between the contract parties, the contract parties cannot extend such validity term upon the effectiveness of this Act. The provisions of Section 15 (16) and Section 17 (4) and (6) shall also apply to contracts executed prior to the effectiveness of this Act. Contract parties shall be obliged to harmonize long-term contracts on the transit of gas in which transit capacity is expressed in the form of a contractual route with this Act. The transmission network operator shall be obliged to submit to the network user for which it ensures gas transit based on a long-term contract on the transit of gas in which transit capacity is expressed in the form of a contractual route, a proposal to amend such contract no later than within six months upon the effectiveness of this Act. A proposal to amend such contract shall be only admitted to the extent inevitably necessary to determine input and output points of the transmission network and to determine the relevant amount of transit capacity separately on each input and output point of the transmission network, and the amount of transit capacity on each input and output point shall equal to transit capacity agreed under a contractual route. If the transmission network operator fulfills its obligation to submit a proposal to amend the contract in the specified period, such contract shall remain valid until the adoption of such proposal by the transmission network user or until the originally agreed term of validity of such contract.

(8) Contracts executed between electricity suppliers and electricity consumers under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of electricity supplier the ensuring of electricity supply as a well as electricity transmission or electricity distribution and the assumption of liability for deviation, shall be deemed contracts on combined supply of electricity under this Act. Contracts executed between gas suppliers and gas consumers under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of gas supplier the ensuring of gas supply as well as gas transport and gas distribution and the assumption of liability for deviation, shall be deemed contracts on combined supply of gas under this Act.

(9) Contracts executed between transmission system operator and other electricity market participants under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of transmission system operator the ensuring of access to transmission system and electricity transmission, shall be deemed contracts on access to transmission system and electricity transmission under this Act. Contracts executed between distribution system operator and other electricity market participant under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of the distribution system operator the ensuring of access to distribution system and distribution of electricity, shall be deemed contracts on access to distribution system and distribution of electricity under this Act. Contracts executed between transmission network operator and other gas market participant under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of transmission network operator the ensuring of access to transmission network and gas transmission, shall be deemed contracts on access to transmission network and gas transmission under this Act. Contracts executed between distribution network operator and other gas market participant under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of distribution network operator the ensuring of access to distribution network and gas distribution, shall be deemed contracts on access to distribution network and gas distribution under this Act. Contracts executed between storage facility operator and other gas market participant under current regulations, the subject matter of which was from the side of storage facility operator the

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ensuring of access to the storage facility and gas storing, shall be deemed contracts on access to the storage facility and gas storing under this Act.

(10) For users of distribution system which are physically connected to the distribution system and have not executed to the date of the effectiveness of this Act a connection contract shall apply, that they are connected under a connection contract and are accordingly subject to the rights and obligations arising out of the connection contract under this Act. For the maximum reserved connection capacity shall be deemed the highest measured value of power input for a period of the last two years. For the maximum reserved connection capacity of connection of already connected facilities for the generation of electricity shall be deemed installed active power of the facility for the generation electricity.

(11) Electricity supplier and gas supplier, which provides as of the effectiveness of this Act the universal service, shall be obliged to submit to the office commercial terms of the provision of the universal service under Section 34 (2)(f) third point and Section 69 (2)(a) third point within 30 days upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(12) A supplier of last resort determined under current regulations shall be a supplier of last resort under this Act.

(13) Decisions on the manner to ensure standard of the safety of gas supplies for the following period from 1 November to 31 March rendered by the ministry under the current regulations shall be deemed decisions on the manner to ensure the standard of gas supplies under this Act.

(14) The transmission system operator shall ensure compliance with conditions of the unbundling of the transmission system operator under Section 30 within six months upon the effectiveness of this Act. The provision of Section 91 (2)(a) for a breach of obligations of the transmission system operator prescribed in Section 30 shall not apply until expiration of six months upon the effectiveness of this Act and a penalty for the administrative offence for a breach of obligations of the transmission system operator prescribed in Section 30 cannot be imposed retroactively for the stated period. The provisions of current regulations on the unbundling of the transmission system operator shall apply until the end of six months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(15) The distribution system operator shall ensure compliance with conditions under Section 32 (3) (e) within four months upon the effectiveness of this Act. Provisions of Section 91 (2) (a) and Section 91 (4) shall not apply until expiration of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act and a penalty for the administrative offence for a breach of obligations of the distribution system operator prescribed in Section 32 (3) (e) cannot be imposed retroactively for the stated period. The provisions of current regulations on the unbundling of the distribution system operator shall apply until the end of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(16) The transmission network operator, which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking, and persons which are part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the transmission network operator or which exercise control directly or indirectly over a person which is part of the same vertically integrated gas undertaking as the gas network operator, shall be obliged to ensure compliance with conditions of the unbundling of the transmission network operator under Section 50 or Section 51 through 60 within six months upon the effectiveness of this Act; the competence of the office under Section 52 (3) and (6), Section 53 (6), Section 54 (5) and (6), Section 57 (2)(c), Section 58 (3), Section 58 (4) and Section 58 (9) is not affected thereby, nor the competence of the office under a separate regulation.2) The provision of Section 91 (2)(a) for a breach of obligations of the transmission system operator prescribed in Sections 50 or Section 51 through 60 shall not apply by the end of six months upon the effectiveness of this Act and a penalty for the administrative offence for a breach of obligations of the transmission system operator prescribed in Sections 50 or Section 51 through 60 cannot be imposed retroactively for the stated period. The provisions of current regulations on the unbundling of the transmission network operator shall apply until the end of six months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(17) The distribution network operator shall be obliged to ensure compliance with conditions under Section 65 (3) (e) within four months upon the effectiveness of this Act. Provisions of Section 91 (2) (a) and Section 91 (4) shall not apply by the end of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act

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and a penalty for the administrative offence for a breach of obligations of the distribution system operator prescribed in Section 65 (3) (e) cannot be imposed retroactively for the stated period. The provisions of current regulations on the unbundling of the distribution network operator shall apply until the end of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(18) The provision of Section 53 (1) shall not apply to a person, the performance of office of which as a statutory body, a member of the statutory body or employee under Section 51 (3)( c) commenced prior to expiration of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act; this shall not apply to a reelection, reappointment or execution of a labor contract for the performance of office of such person after expiration of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act. The provision of Section 53 (5) shall not apply to a person, the performance of office of which as a statutory body, a member of the statutory body or employee under Section 51 (3)(c) terminated prior to expiration of four months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(19) If the transmission system operator or the transmission network operator files a proposal for granting a decision on certification under a separate regulation56) within six months upon the effectiveness of this Act, the provision of the first sentence of Section 28 (5) or the first sentence of Section 49 (10) shall not apply until the day of validity and effectiveness of a decision related to certification under a separate regulation. If the transmission system operator or the transmission network operator, over which control is exercised directly or indirectly by a person or persons from a third state, it shall file a proposal for granting a confirmation of certification under a separate regulation57) by 3 March 2013, the provision of the second sentence of Section 28 (5) or the second sentence of Section 49 (10) shall not apply until the day of validity and effectiveness of a decision related to certification under a separate regulation.

(20) In case of the unbundling of activities under Section 30 or Section 50 through 63 and as a

result of which a new legal entity is created, such entity shall be obliged to request for the issuance of license to pursue business in the energy sector within three months upon the unbundling, such entity shall be authorized to conduct business in the energy sector until entry of the permitted activity in the commercial register. The provisions of Section 7 (3) shall not apply in such case within six months upon the effectiveness of this Act.

(21) Distribution system operator, which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall be obliged to submit to the office the contracts under Section 31 (10), valid and effective as of the effectiveness of this Act, within 30 days from the day of the effectiveness of this Act.

(22) Transmission network operator, which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall be obliged to submit to the office any contracts executed with other person, which is part of the same vertically integrated undertaking as transmission network operator, valid and effective as of the effectiveness of this Act, within 30 days from the day of the effectiveness of this Act. Distribution network operator, which is part of the vertically integrated undertaking, shall be obliged to submit to the office the contracts under Section 64 (11), valid and effective as of the effectiveness of this Act, within 30 days from the day of the effectiveness of this Act.

(23) The State Energy Inspection under the current regulations is the State Energy Inspection under this Act. Rights and obligations of the State Energy Inspection resulting to it as of 31 August 2012 from labour management relations, are executed by the State Energy Inspection pursuant to this Act from 1 September 2012. Property and other rights in property of the Slovak Republic, as well responsibilities related to property and other rights in property administered by the State Energy Inspection as of 31 August 2012, are transferred to the State Energy Inspection pursuant to this Act from 1 September 2012.

(24) If the ministry imposes a duty on the system operator to introduce intelligent measuring systems under Section 42 (2) up to at least 80 percent of offtake points of determined categories of end electricity consumers, the system operator shall be obliged to introduce them by 31 December 2020.

(25) The transmission system development plan including the development plan of connection lines and the transmission network development plan including the development plan of interconnections for a period of five years under the regulations effective by 31 August 2012 shall be

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submitted by the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator to the ministry. The ten-year system development plan and the ten-year network development plan shall be submitted by the transmission system operator and the transmission network operator to the ministry and the office first time by 30 November 2013.

(26) The transmission system operator, distribution system operator, transmission network operator, distribution network operator or the storage facility operator shall be obliged to harmonize technical conditions of access and connection to the system and the network and rules for the system and the network operation rendered by 31 August 2012 with this Act within 30 days from the day of the effectiveness of this Act.

(27) An electricity generator shall be obliged in facilities for the generation of electricity put into operation prior to the effectiveness of this Act to ensure measuring of generated electricity in accordance with Section 41 (3) within 24 months of the day the effectiveness of this Act.

(28) Until the effectiveness of generally binding legal regulations issued on the basis of this Act, the following remain valid and effective:

1. decree of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries No. 208/2008 Coll., which provides for details of a request and a list of documents for granting a derogation from the duty to ensure access of third parties into the network and storage facility for new significant gas facility or reconstructed gas facility,2. decree of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries No. 415/2008 Coll. on the manner of keeping separate records of fact subject to bookkeeping, on the manner of keeping separate records of costs, revenues, assets and liabilities in the submission of outputs from separate records,3. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 459/2008 Coll., which provides for details in declaration of emergency, on declaration of restrictive measures in emergency and on measures aimed at the removal of emergency as amended by decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 447/2009 Coll.

(29) The ministry shall issue generally binding legal regulations under Section 95 (1) (d) and (e) by 31 December 2012.

(30) The office shall issue generally binding legal regulations under Section 95 (2) (a) and (h) by 31 December 2012.

Section 97 Final provision

This Act transposes the binding legislation of the European Union as given in Schedule 2.

Section 98Repealed provisions

To be repealed:1. Article I of Act No. 656/2004 Coll. on Energy Sector, and on amendment and supplement to certain laws, as amended, of Act No. 555/2005 Coll., of Act No. 238/2006 Coll., of Act No. 107/2007 Coll., of Act No. 68/2008 Coll., of Act No. 112/2008 Coll., of Act No. 283/2008 Coll., of Act No. 476/2008 Coll., of Act No. 73/2009 Coll., of Act No. 293/2009 Coll., of Act No. 309/2009 Coll., of Act No. 136/2010 Coll., of Act No. 142/2010 Coll., of Act No. 397/2011 Coll. and of Act No. 189/2012 Coll.2. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 154/2005 Coll., which provides for the manner of calculation of damage caused by an unauthorized offtake of electricity,3. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 155/2005 Coll., which provides for the manner of calculation of damage caused by an unauthorized offtake of gas,4. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 156/2005 Coll., which provides for details on the extent and procedure in the provision of information necessary for the performance of state administration,5. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 337/2005 Coll., which provides for details on the extent technical conditions for access and connection to the system and network and rules for the system and network operation,6. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 559/2007 Coll., which provides for

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details of principles of the conversion of volume units of gas quantity into energy and conditions under which the determination is made of the volume of gas and volume combustion heat, as amended by decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 60/2008 Coll.,7. decree of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries No. 366/2009 Coll., which provides for details on requirements to demonstrate technical qualifications to pursue business in the energy sector,8. decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic No. 368/2009 Coll., which provides for the extent of professional preparation and required knowledge for the test of professional qualifications to pursue business in the energy sector, details on the establishment and activity of examining boards and the contents of certificate on professional qualifications.

Article II

Act No. 311/2001 Coll. the Labor Code as amended by Act No. 165/2002 Coll., of Act No. 408/2002 Coll., of Act No. 210/2003 Coll., of Act No. 461/2003 Coll., of Act No. 5/2004 Coll., of Act No. 365/2004 Coll., of Act No. 82/2005 Coll., of Act No. 131/2005 Coll., of Act No. 244/2005 Coll., of Act No. 570/2005 Coll., of Act No. 124/2006 Coll., of Act No. 231/2006 Coll., of Act No. 348/2007 Coll., of Act No. 200/2008 Coll., of Act No. 460/2008 Coll., of Act No. 49/2009 Coll., of Act No. 184/2009 Coll., of Act No. 574/2009 Coll., of Act No. 543/2010 Coll., of Act No. 48/2011 Coll. of Act No. 257/2011 Coll. of Act No. 406/2011 Coll. and of Act No. 512/2011 Coll. shall be amended as follows:

In Section 3 subsection 2 after

the word “relationships” shall be inserted the words “of employees who are liable to ensure compliance under a special regulation and employees working in operation, maintenance and development of the gas transmission network who are in direct management competence of a statutory body of the gas transmission network operator”.

Article III

Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on Trades (Trade License Act) as amended by Act No. 231/1992 Coll., of Act No. 600/1992 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 132/1994 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 200/1995 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 216/1995 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 233/1995 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 123/1996 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 164/1996 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 222/1996 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 289/1996 Coll., of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 290/1996 Coll., of Act No. 288/1997 Coll., of Act No. 379/1997 Coll., of Act No. 70/1998 Coll., of Act No. 76/1998 Coll., of Act No. 126/1998 Coll., of Act No. 129/1998 Coll., of Act No. 140/1998 Coll., of Act No. 143/1998 Coll., of Act No. 144/1998 Coll., of Act No. 161/1998 Coll., of Act No. 178/1998 Coll., of Act No. 179/1998 Coll., of Act No. 194/1998 Coll., of Act No. 263/1999 Coll., of Act No. 264/1999 Coll., of Act No. 119/2000 Coll., of Act No. 142/2000 Coll., of Act No. 236/2000 Coll., of Act No. 238/2000 Coll., of Act No. 268/2000 Coll., of Act No. 338/2000 Coll., of Act No. 223/2001 Coll., of Act No. 279/2001 Coll., of Act No. 488/2001 Coll., of Act No. 554/2001 Coll., of Act No. 261/2002 Coll., of Act No. 284/2002 Coll., of Act No. 506/2002 Coll., of Act No. 190/2003 Coll., of Act No. 219/2003 Coll., of Act No. 245/2003 Coll., of Act No. 423/2003 Coll., of Act No. 515/2003 Coll., of Act No. 586/2003 Coll., of Act No. 602/2003 Coll., of Act No. 347/2004 Coll., of Act No. 350/2004 Coll., of Act No. 365/2004 Coll., of Act No. 420/2004 Coll., of Act No. 533/2004 Coll., of Act No. 544/2004 Coll., of Act No. 578/2004 Coll., of Act No. 624/2004 Coll., of Act No. 650/2004 Coll., of Act No. 656/2004 Coll., of Act No. 725/2004 Coll., of Act No. 8/2005 Coll., of Act No. 93/2005 Coll., of Act No. 331/2005 Coll., of Act No. 340/2005 Coll., of Act No. 351/2005 Coll., of Act No. 470/2005 Coll., of Act No. 473/2005 Coll., of Act No. 491/2005 Coll., of Act No. 555/2005 Coll., of Act No. 567/2005 Coll., of Act No. 124/2006 Coll., of Act No. 126/2006 Coll., of Act No. 17/2007 Coll., of Act No. 99/2007 Coll., of Act No. 193/2007 Coll., of Act No. 218/2007 Coll., of Act No. 358/2007 Coll., of Act No. 577/2007 Coll., of Act No. 112/2008 Coll., of Act No. 445/2008 Coll., of Act No. 448/2008 Coll., of Act No. 186/2009 Coll., of Act No. 492/2009 Coll., of Act No. 568/2009 Coll., of Act No. 129/2010 Coll., of Act No. 136/2010 Coll., of Act No. 556/2010 Coll., of Act No. 249/2011, Act No. 324/2011 Coll. and Act No. 362/2011 Coll. shall be supplemented as follows:

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In Section 3(2) (d) after the word “electricity” shall be placed words “activity of the organizer of the short-term electricity market”.

Article IV

Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 145/1995 Coll., on administrative fees, as amended by Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 123/1996 Coll., Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 224/1996 Coll., Act No. 70/1997 Coll., Act No. 1/1998 Coll., Act No. 232/1999 Coll., Act No. 3/2000 Coll., Act No.142/2000 Coll., Act No. 211/2000 Coll., Act No. 468/2000 Coll., Act No. 553/2001 Coll., Act No. 96/2002 Coll., Act No. 118/2002 Coll., Act No. 215/2002 Coll., Act No. 237/2002 Coll., Act No. 418/2002 Coll., Act No. 457/2002 Coll., Act No. 465/2002 Coll., Act No. 477/2002 Coll., Act No. 480/2002 Coll., Act No. 190/2003 Coll., Act No. 217/2003 Coll., Act No. 245/2003 Coll., Act No. 450/2003 Coll., Act No. 469/2003 Coll., Act No. 583/2003 Coll., Act No. 5/2004 Coll., Act No. 199/2004 Coll., Act No. 204/2004 Coll., Act No. 347/2004 Coll., Act No. 382/2004 Coll., Act No. 434/2004 Coll., Act No. 533/2004 Coll., Act No. 541/2004 Coll., Act No. 572/2004 Coll., Act No. 578/2004 Coll., Act No. 581/2004 Coll., Act No. 633/2004 Z .z., Act No. 653/2004 Coll., Act No. 656/2004 Coll., Act No. 725/2004 Coll., Act No. 5/2005 Coll., Act No. 8/2005 Coll., Act No. 15/2005 Coll. Act No. 93/2005 Coll., Act No. 171/2005 Coll., Act No. 308/2005 Coll., Act No. 331/2005 Coll., Act No. 341/2005 Coll., Act No. 342/2005 Coll., Act No. 473/2005 Coll., Act No. 491/2005 Coll., Act No. 538/2005 Coll., Act No. 558/2005 Coll., Act No. 572/2005 Coll., Act No. 573/2005 Coll., Act No. 610/2005 Coll., Act No. 14/2006 Coll., Act No. 15/2006 Coll., Act No. 24/2006 Coll., Act No. 117/2006 Z. z,. Act No. 124/2006 Coll., Act No. 126/2006 Coll., Act No. 224/2006 Coll., Act No. 342/2006 Coll., Act No. 672/2006 Coll., Act No. 693/2006 Coll., Act No. 21/2007 Coll., Act No. 43/2007 Coll., Act No. 95/2007 Coll., Act No. 193/2007 Z. z,. Act No. 220/2007 Coll., Act No. 279/2007 Coll., Act No. 295/2007 Coll., Act No. 309/2007 Coll., Act No. 342/2007 Coll., Act No. 343/2007 Coll., Act No. 344/2007 Coll., Act No. 355/2007 Coll., Act No. 358/2007 Coll., Act No. 359/2007 Coll., Act No. 460/2007 Coll., Act No. 517/2007 Coll., Act No. 537/2007 Coll., Act No. 548/2007 Coll., Act No. 571/2007 Coll., Act No. 577/2007 Coll., Act No. 647/2007 Coll., Act No. 661/2007 Coll., Act No. 92/2008 Coll., Act No. 112/2008 Z. z,. Act No. 167/2008 Coll., Act No. 214/2008 Coll., Act No. 264/2008 Coll., Act No. 405/2008 Coll., Act No. 408/2008 Coll., Act No. 451/2008 Coll., Act No. 465/2008 Coll., Act No. 495/2008 Coll., Act No. 514/2008 Coll., Act No. 8/2009 Coll., Act No. 45/2009 Coll., Act No. 188/2009 Coll., Act No. 191/2009 Coll., Act No. 274/2009 Coll., Act No. 292/2009 Coll., Act No. 304/2009 Coll., Act No. 305/2009 Coll., Act No. 307/2009 Coll., Act No. 465/2009 Coll., Act No. 478/2009 Coll., Act No. 513/2009 Coll., Act No. 568/2009 Coll., Act No. 570/2009 Coll., Act No. 594/2009 Coll., Act No. 67/2010 Coll., Act No. 92/2010 Coll., Act No. 136/2010 Coll., Act No. 144/2010 Coll., Act No. 514/2010 Coll., Act No. 556/2010 Coll., Act No. 39/2011 Coll., Act No. 119/2011 Coll., Act No. 200/2011 Coll., Act No. 223/2011 Coll., Act No. 254/2011 Coll., Act No. 256/2011 Coll., Act No. 258/2011 Coll., Act No. 324/2011 Coll., Act No. 342/2011 Coll., Act No. 363/2011 Coll., Act No. 381/2011 Coll., Act No. 392/2011 Coll., Act No. 404/2011 Coll., Act No. 405/2011 Coll., Act No. 409/2011 Coll., Act No. 519/2011 Coll., Act No. 547/2011 Coll., Act No. 49/2012 Coll. Act No. 96/2012 Coll. shall be supplemented as follows:

1. In the Scale of administrative fees in part XIII. Work safety and technical devices items 207 and 208 are:

“Item 207

I. Issuing license for natural person or legal entity to conduct business in the thermal energy sector

1. for the production of heat

a) up to 5 MW......................................................................... 450 €

b) over 5 MW.......................................................................... 2000 €

2. for the distribution of heat

a) up to 50 offtake points........................................................ 2000 €

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b) from 50 and up to 100 offtake points.................................. 4500 €

c) over 100 offtake points........................................................ 8000 €

II. Change of license for a natural person or a legal entity to conduct business in the thermal energy sector

1. Request for revocation to conduct business in the thermal energy sector

…………………………………………………………………………….. 200 €

2. Change of the responsible agent and change of a certificate of professional qualification of the responsible agent of the holder of the license to conduct business in in the thermal energy sector………..…………………. 50 €

3. Change of the statutory body of the holder of the license to conduct business in the thermal energy sector…….…………………………………………. 50 €

4. Change of the name and surname and permanent address or business name and seat of the holder of the license to conduct business in the thermal energy sector

………………………………………………………………………… 50 €

5. Change of the license to conduct business in the thermal energy sector………………………………………………………………… 200 €

Item 208

I. Issuing license for natural person or legal entity to conduct business in the energy sector

1. for the production of electricity

a) over 1 to 5 MW…………………………………………………… 200 €

b) from 5 to 50 MW………………………………………………… 2000 €

c) over 50 MW……………………………………………………….. 3500 €

2. for the production of the gas

a) up to 34 TJ/r………………………………………………………. 450 €

b) over 34 TJ/r……………………………………………………….. . 2000 €

3. for distribution of the electricity, distribution of the gas or for operation of equipment for distribution of liquefied petroleum gas

a) up to 50 offtake equipments and points………………………… 2000 €

b) from 50 to 100 offtake equipments and points…..……………... 4500 €

c) over 100 offtake equipments and points……………………….. 8000 €

4. for transmission of electricity and transmission of gas……………….. 20000 €

5. for storage of gas…………………………………………………………. 4500 €

6. for operation of a pipeline for transmission of fuel and the operation of pipelines for transmission of oil………………………………………………………… 8000 €

7. for operation of equipment for the filling of pressure vessels………. 450 €

8. for the supply of electricity or gas…….………………………................ 2000 €

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II. Change and revocation of license of natural person or legal entity to conduct business in the energy sector

1. Request for revocation of license to conduct business in in the energy sector

…………………………………………………………………………….. 200 €

2. Change of the responsible agent and change of a certificate of professional qualification of the responsible agent of the holder of the license to conduct business in the energy sector................................................................ 50 €

3. Change of name and surname and permanent address or business name and seat of the holder of the license to conduct business in in the energy sector

…………………………………………………………………………….. . 50 €

4. Change of the license to conduct business in the energy sector…..……………………………........................................................... 200 €

III. Acknowledgment of the compliance with the duty of notification to natural person or legal entity

1. for generation and supply of electricity by facilities for generation of electricity with a total installed capacity up to 1 MW, including………………………… 100 €

2. for production and supply of gas from biomass………………………. 100 €

3. for production and supply of gas from biogas………………………… 100 €

4. for the sale of compressed natural gas for propulsion of motor vehicles

…………………………………………………………………………….. 100 €

5. for the transport of oil extracted from the mining site to the processing place

……………………………………………………………………………. 100 €

6. the sale of liquefied petroleum gas in the pressure vessels…………. 100 €

7. the sale of liquefied petroleum gas for the propulsion of motor vehicles, including the performance of the tank of a motor vehicle with liquefied petroleum gas, designed for the propulsion of the motor vehicles, except for filling pressure vessels……………………………………………………………………. 100 €

8. for transit of liquefied petroleum gas in pressure vessels……………. 100 €

IV. Issuing the decision on granting certification of a transmission system operator and transmission network operator

………………………………………………………………………………………… 30000 €

V. Decision on granting a prior consent

1. granting prior consent with the appointment or election and recall of a person responsible for ensuring the compliance of the transmission network operator, distribution network operator or distribution system operator ………………………………….………………………………………….. 200 €

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2. granting prior consent with the appointment or election and recall of the statutory body or a member of the statutory body of the transmission network operator

………………………………………………………………………………. 100 €.”.

2. Item 209 is removed from the Scale of administrative fees.

Article V

Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on Heat Power Sector as amended by Act No. 99/2007 Coll., of Act No. 309/2009 Coll., of Act No. 136/2010 Coll. and of Act No. 184/2011 Coll. shall be amended as follows:

In Section 5 subsection 5 shall read:

“(5) A holder of certificate on professional qualification shall be obliged to participate, once in five years, in updating professional preparations held by the ministry or a legal person determined by the ministry. A holder of certificate on professional qualification shall for first time participate in the updating professional preparation no later than five years upon issuance of a certificate on professional qualification. The ministry shall issue a confirmation on participation in updating professional preparations. Upon expiration of five years upon the issuance of a certificate on professional qualification, a holder of certificate on professional qualification shall be obliged to demonstrate, together with a certificate on professional qualification, also a confirmation on participation in updating professional preparations.”

Article VI

(1) This Act becomes effective on 1 March 2012, except for the provisions of Art. I Section 37 (4) (c) and (6) (j) through (l), which become effective on 1 January 2014.

(1) The Act no. 391/2012 becomes effective on 1 January 2013.

(1) The Act no. 382/2013 becomes effective on 1 January 2014.

Annex No. 1to Act No. 251/2012 Coll.

SEATS AND TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF INSPECTORATES

Inspectorate, its seat territorial jurisdiction

1. Bratislava Bratislava region 2. Trnava Trnava region 3. Trenčín Trenčín region 4. Nitra Nitra region 5. Žilina Žilina region 6. Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica region 7. Prešov Prešov region 8. Košice Košice region

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Annex No. 2to Act No. 251/2012 Coll.

ANNEX 2

LIST OF TRANSPOSED LEGALLY BINDING ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

1. Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2005/89/EC dated 18 January 2006 concerning measures to safeguard security of electricity supply and infrastructure investment (Ú.v. EÚ L 33, 4.2.2006).

2. Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2009/72/EC dated 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, repealing directive 2003/54/ES (Ú.v. EÚ L 211, 14.8.2009).

3. Directive of the European Parliament and Council 2009/73/EC dated 13 July 2009 o concerning common rules for the internal market in gas, repealing directive 2003/55/ES (Ú.v. EÚ L 211, 14.8.2009).

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