{"id":63307,"date":"2015-10-27T12:01:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-27T12:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=0436b5e94f80ac9cdb6213679c49d812"},"modified":"2015-10-27T12:01:48","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T12:01:48","slug":"news-story-cma-to-review-rough-gas-storage-undertakings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=63307","title":{"rendered":"News story: CMA to review Rough gas storage undertakings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Rough is a gas field in the North Sea used to store gas in the summer and deliver it in winter when the gas is needed to help meet high demand. It is an important part of the UK\u2019s gas storage infrastructure and capacity.<\/p>\n<p>The review <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/cma-consults-on-rough-gas-storage-undertakings-request\">follows a consultation<\/a> which the Competition and Markets Authority (<abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr>) started last month in response to a request made by <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> plc (<abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr>) and <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> Storage Ltd (<abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr>). <\/p>\n<p>The undertakings include a requirement to keep <abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr>, the operator of Rough, legally, financially and physically separate from its parent company <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr>, and to prevent <abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr> from discriminating in favour of <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> or other users of Rough. The undertakings also include an obligation for <abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr> to offer for sale a specific amount of capacity before the start of each storage year and limit the amount which can be supplied to <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr>. <\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr> has submitted that, as an ageing asset, Rough\u2019s performance is more likely to vary in the future, increasing the chance that it may not meet its capacity obligations under the undertakings. <abbr title=\"Centrica Storage Ltd\">CSL<\/abbr> has asked the <abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr> to vary the undertakings to allow for Rough\u2019s changing physical capabilities. <\/p>\n<p>The panel of <abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr> panel members who will act as decision-makers in the review are: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/martin-cave\">Martin Cave<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/roger-finbow\">Roger Finbow<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/marisa-cassoni\">Marisa Cassoni<\/a>. The <abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr> anticipates that the review will be completed in the first half of 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Further details, including the <abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr>\u2019s decision statement can be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/cma-cases\/rough-gas-storage-undertakings-review\">case page<\/a>. An administrative timetable will be published shortly.   <\/p>\n<p>The Rough undertakings were accepted by the Secretary of State under section 88 of the Fair Trading Act 1973. By virtue of paragraph 16 of Schedule 24 to the Enterprise Act 2002, and The Enterprise Act 2002 (Enforcement Undertakings and Orders) Order 2004 (SI 2004\/2181), the <abbr title=\"Competition and Markets Authority\">CMA<\/abbr> has the ability to supersede, vary or release certain undertakings accepted under the Fair Trading Act 1973; this includes the Rough undertakings. This power is exercisable in the same circumstances, and on the same terms and conditions as applied to the Secretary of State under the Fair Trading Act 1973; namely that by reason of any change of circumstances the undertakings are no longer appropriate and need to be varied, superseded or released. <\/p>\n<p>The Rough undertakings were first given by <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> Storage Ltd and <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> plc following <abbr title=\"Centrica plc\">Centrica<\/abbr> plc\u2019s acquisition in 2002 of the Rough gas storage facility and have been subsequently amended following Competition Commission reviews in 2006 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/cma-cases\/centrica-dynegy-review-of-undertakings\">2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CMA is to review the undertakings relating to the operation of the Rough gas storage facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}