GASPOOL is taking innovative ways to provide external balancing energy. As of 1 October 2009 the provision of balancing energy will be managed exclusively via Internet. At a customer event in Berlin the new balancing energy portal was introduced to German and European gas traders and intensively discussed with market participants.

“This new platform enables us to react flexibly, swiftly and transparently on the future demands for balancing energy for the new market area GASPOOL – this makes the hitherto existing tenders redundant”, GASPOOL managing director Ludger Hümbs explained the advantages of the new online-portal.

In future there will be two balancing energy products. The product “Flexibility” features two versions: “Flexibility 1” (combined “Parking and “Borrowing”) is based on a physical Entry- or Exit-Point, whereas  “Flexibility 2” (alternatively only “Parking” or only “Borrowing”) is based on a physical Entry-/ Exit point as well as GASPOOL Hub, the virtual trading point of the new market area. The product group “Commodity” consists of the products “Commodity 1” (“Day-ahead”) and “Commodity 2” (“Long-Term”), both can be fulfilled either at the GASPOOL Hub or physically, orientated at certain Entry- or Exit-points. Both commodity products vary in duration and price basis. Minimum capacity per contract for all products are 30 MW. With regard to pricing the GASPOOL balancing energy platform is exclusively based on commodity prices. Bidders can choose between fixed prices or a price premium / discount on a spot market price. The new online-portal makes it possible for registered suppliers of balancing energy to publish their offers in a flexible way. The process of registration starts as of now. Interested market participants will find a detailed description of all products on the Internet (www.gaspool.de) by downloading the presentations of the customer event for balancing group managers.

About 290 representatives of adjacent network operators as well as 190 gas traders used the opportunity to gather first-hand information on GASPOOL on all in all six nationwide organised customer events. “Herewith we reached our target to deliver all relevant information to the market before start of the new market area as of 1 October”, says GASPOOL managing director Ingrid Peters. “In spite of the multitude of upcoming changes we are confident that the high degree of professionalism of our market partners will result in a smooth start of GASPOOL”. 

GASPOOL is a subsidiary of the pipeline network operators DONG Energy Pipelines GmbH, Gasunie Deutschland Transport Services GmbH, ONTRAS – VNG Gastransport GmbH and WINGAS TRANSPORT GmbH & Co. KG, based in Berlin. The purpose of the company is to operate a comprehensive market area for H-gas in Germany. The previous market areas H-Gas Northern Germany, ONTRAS and WINGAS TRANSPORT shall merge to form the GASPOOL market area as of 1 October 2009. By the integration of the market area H-Gas Northern Germany, StatoilHydro Deutschland GmbH is also involved in this market area cooperation.