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Official Translation Official Translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA NATURAL GAS LAW October 10, 2000. No.VIII – 1973 (as amended by June 19, 2001. No. IX – 382) Vilnius CHAPTER I PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS OF THE LAW Article 1. Purpose of the Law This Law shall establish the general principles of the natural gas sector and the operations of natural gas undertakings and relations with the customers (in the supply, distribution, transmission and storage of natural gas). Article 2. Basic Definitions of this Law 1. Natural Gas means the mixture of hydrocarbons extracted from the entrails of the earth, which under normal conditions exists in a gaseous state. 2. Natural Gas Undertaking means an undertaking which is engaged in at least one of the following operations: natural gas (hereinafter – gas), including among them liquefied gas, extraction, transmission, distribution, supply, purchase and storage and is responsible for the commercial, technical and (

  1. or)maintenance tasks related to those functions. The final customers shall not be included in gas undertakings. 3. Transmission means the transport of gas through a high-pressure pipeline network and into storage facilities. 4. Transmission Undertaking means an undertaking, which is an undertaking, engaged in tasks of gas transmission. 5. Distribution means the transport of gas through the distributing pipeline network, with a view to its delivery to customers. 6. Distribution Undertaking means an undertaking, which carries out the function of distribution. 7. Supply means the delivery and (
  2. or)sale of gas to consumers. 8. Supply Undertaking means an undertaking, which carries out the function of supply. 9. Storage means the stocking of gas in a facility and keeping it in a gas storage facility. 10. Storage Undertaking means an undertaking, which carries out the function of storage. 11. Natural Gas Storage Facility means a facility owned by the gas undertaking and
  3. or)facility operated by the gas undertaking, excluding the portion used for production operations. 12. Liquefied Natural Gas Facility means a terminal, which is used for the liquefaction of natural gas or the offloading, storage and re-gasification thereof. 13. Main Pipeline means a high-pressure pipeline with the structures and facilities linked with it to transport gas from the gas fields to gas storage facilities, city and settlement distribution networks or to gas-consuming facilities to gas-distribution stations inclusively. 14. Distribution Network means gas pipelines leading from the gas distribution stations of the main gas pipeline for supply to the consumer systems and also, engineering structures, installations and means ensuring the functioning of these pipelines. 15. System means a main pipeline owned by the gas undertaking and (
  4. or)operated by the gas undertaking and (
  5. or)distribution network, and (
  6. or)liquefied natural gas facilities, including other facilities of this and related undertakings, necessary for providing access to transmission and distribution. 16. Interconnected System means a number of systems, which are linked with each other. 17. Customer System means pipelines and facilities designated for gas access from the main gas pipeline or distribution network and safe use thereof for the needs of the customer. 18. Integrated Natural Gas Undertaking means a vertically or horizontally integrated undertaking. 19. Vertically Integrated Undertaking means a gas undertaking, which performs at least two of these: gas production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage. 20. Horizontally Integrated Undertaking means an undertaking performing functions of gas production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage (at least one of these) and a non-gas activity, as well. 21. System User means any undertaking supplying gas to the system or being supplied gas by the system. 22. Customer means any legal or natural person or undertaking not having the rights of a legal person, which purchases gas. 23. Final Customer means a consumer purchasing gas for his own use. 24. Free Customer means a consumer having the freedom of choice in selecting a supplier. 25. Regulated Customer means a consumer who has no right to select a supplier. 26. Safety means reliability of gas supply and delivery and technical safety. 27. Gas Transit means transporting across the state territory of gas, which originates in the territory of another state and is destined for this and (
  7. or)a third state’s territory. 28. Direct Pipeline means a gas pipeline system ( pipeline), which supplements the interconnected system and connects the consumer’s system with the main pipeline or the distribution networks, in order that the free customer might be able to use the system. CHAPTER II GENERAL RULES FOR THE ORGANISATION OF GAS SECTOR Article 3. Gas Sector The gas sector shall be comprised of gas production, supply, distribution, transmission and storage undertakings. Article 4. Compatibility of Systems 1. The systems of transmission and distribution, gas storage facilities and liquefied gas facilities must meet the requirements of planning, construction and operation in order to ensure the compatibility and secure operation of systems, gas storage facilities, and facilities. Common, dispatcher control and use of the joint interconnected system of transmission and individual interconnected systems of distribution must be ensured. 2. The Government or the institutions authorised by it shall approve the legal acts, which establish the requirements stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Law. Article 4. Licenses 1. Gas undertakings must hold a licence for the following types of operations: 1) transmission; 2) distribution; 3) storage; 4) supply for regulated customers. 2. The licenses for transmission, distribution and storing of gas shall be issued to undertakings having ownership right of the gas systems or using them by other legal means. 3. The licenses shall be issued, revoked, and suspended and the licensed operation shall be controlled by the State Prices and Energy Control Commission (hereinafter - Commission) The Government or an institution authorised by it shall establish the licensing regulations. 4. Licenses shall not be required of gas owners to transport gas by transit across the State territory and for the supply of gas used as raw material. Article 6. Relations of Gas Undertakings and Customers and System Users 1. Relations of gas undertakings with customers and system users shall be based upon contracts. 2. It shall be prohibited to transmit, distribute, store, supply and use gas without a contract or without adhering to the conditions of the contract. 3. The Government or its authorised institution shall set the standard (sample) conditions of gas supply to users and gas transmission and distribution, which shall be mandatory to gas undertakings and customers. Article 7. Gas Supply Contract The following must be indicated in the gas contract: gas amount, quality, price, procedure of supply and account settling, rights and obligations of the parties, liability, contract and interruption terms and procedure of dispute examination. Other terms, which do not contradict the laws, may also be stipulated in the contract of gas supply. Article 8. Gas Supplying 1. Gas undertakings must ensure safe supplying of gas to customers. The Ministry of Economy shall establish the criteria for gas supplying. 2. The gas undertaking may limit or interrupt the gas supply: 1) when it becomes established that the customer’s service poses a threat to people’s life, health or property; 2) if the customer fails to implement or improperly implements the obligations assumed through the contract; 3) in cases of accidents, emergencies or other instances stipulated by laws; 4) owing to necessary repairs and other operations of accessing the systems of other customers, having co-ordinated with the free customers and having warned the regulated customers according to the procedure stipulated in the contracts of gas supplying. 3. Gas undertakings shall have the right to supply gas to free customers through direct pipeline networks. The free customers shall have the right to obtain gas, supplied through direct networks. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or the institutions authorised by it shall set the terms of pipeline accessing operations the terms of issuing the licences to access them. 4. According to established terms, the supply of gas must be ensured until the connection of the measuring device for the supplied amount of gas, is established with the customer’s system. CHAPTER III TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, STORAGE Article 9. Basic Requirements for Gas Undertakings 1.The gas transmission, distribution and storage undertakings must operate and develop the gas systems in a way that they would operate safely and efficiently and with due regard to assurance of environmental protection. 2. The transmission, distribution and storage undertakings shall be prohibited from discriminating between system users, and classes of system customers in favour of other customers or the undertakings linked with these undertakings. 3. Should the gas undertakings interrupt their operation or (and) a threat arise against the safe gas supplying of customers, the Government shall have the right to adopt a decision regarding assumption of the management of the undertaking or purchase of the assets thereof. CHAPTER IV TYPES OF ACCOUNTS AND MANAGEMENT THEREOF Article 10. Internal Accounting of Integrated Natural Gas Undertaking 1. Vertically integrated gas undertakings shall administer the individual internal accounting of each type of the following operations: 1) transmission; 2) distribution; 3) storage; 4) supply. 2. In administering the accounting, reports shall be drawn up of the balance accounts of each type of operation, profits and losses. 3. Horizontally integrated undertakings, in addition to the accounts indicated in paragraph 1, shall administrate the consolidated internal accounting report of operations unrelated to the gas economy, as well. 4. The accounting of individual types of operations is administered in such a way, as it should be managed, if separate undertaking were to be engaged in these types of operations. 5. State institutions, in implementing the operation control functions entrusted to them according to the procedure established by laws, shall have the right to familiarise themselves with the documents of gas undertaking accounting report, however they must guard commercial secrets. Article 11. Openness of Annual Account Data Gas undertakings must ensure the opportunity for all persons who are interested, to become familiar with the annual reports of the balance sheet and profit (loss) account of an undertaking. CHAPTER V GAS MARKET Article 12. The Right to Use System 1.The right to use the transmission system shall be extended to gas suppliers, free customers, distribution undertakings and undertakings transporting gas by transit. 2. The right to use the system of distribution extended to gas suppliers and free users. 3. Gas suppliers shall have the right to draw up contracts with free customers and distribution undertakings to supply gas. 4. Free customers shall have the right to draw up contracts with any gas supply undertakings. Free customers shall have the right through the system of use contracts for the amount of gas, which they use themselves. 5. A gas undertaking may refuse access to use the system, on the basis of lack of capacity, or where the undertaking could not implement the obligations assigned to it by the Government or an institution authorised by it. Refusal of access to the system must be objective, indiscriminate and substantiated. 6. The transmission or distribution undertakings, must in response to requests by customers or other gas undertakings, enhance the capacity of the system or construct a new gas pipeline, should that be economically substantiated or should the requester assume the obligation of funding the costs of enhancing the capacity of the system, inasmuch as they shall exceed the economically substantiated costs of enhancement of the capacity of the system. The issues concerning enhancement of the capacity of the system and construction of new pipelines shall be resolved through an agreement among the parties. 7. The Commission shall examine the disputes regarding the right to use of the system, enhancement of its capacity and the substantiation of the term to buy out the investments. The Commission may assign the gas undertakings to draw up appropriate contracts. 8. The distribution undertaking shall supply gas to regulated customers. Article 13. Market Liberalisation 1. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it shall establish the threshold of market openness. 2. Applications to become free customers shall be submitted to the Commission along with the data on natural gas consumption. 3. Based upon this Law, the Commission shall decide within two months from the submission of the data stipulated in this Article, whether the customers may be acknowledged as free, and publish lists of free customers in the supplement to the “State Gazette,” the “Information Bulletin.” Article 14. Price Regulation 1. The following prices shall be regulated in the gas sector: 1) transmission prices; 2) distribution prices; 3) storage prices; 4) gas prices for regulated customers. 2. The Commission shall set the thresholds of top prices for gas transmission, distribution and storage for a three-year-term. 3. The Commission shall set the thresholds of top prices for the regulated customers for a three-year-term. 4. The gas undertakings shall annually set gas transmission, distribution and storage prices, not to exceed the set top prices. 5. Every 6 months, the gas undertaking shall set the gas prices for regulated customers, not to exceed the highest prices. 6. New prices shall come into effect no earlier than 30 days from their having been made public. The Commission, having established that the prices have been estimated without adhering to the established methodology or are incorrect, must point out their errors to the undertakings. Should the undertaking fail to implement the request of the Commission, the Commission shall have the right to unilaterally set the prices indicated in paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article. 7.The expenses of access of new customers to the existing gas systems may not be recognised as well founded should the prices for existing gas customers be increased as a result of these. For those new areas where gas is being introduced, a gas transmission price during a period of 10 years, can be set to be such as to cover investments, except in the instances specified in paragraph 1 of Article 15. CHAPTER VI CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF SYSTEMS Article 15. Construction of Gas Systems 1.Gas transmission systems, storage structures and facilities and terminals shall be established based upon the provisions of the National Energy Strategy and Government programme, after preparing corresponding drafts of development. The Government or an institution authorised by it, shall adopt decisions regarding the construction, enhancement of the main gas pipeline or (and) equipping of a storage facility, which are necessary to ensure the safety of the gas supplying. Gas undertakings and the Commission must ensure the implementation of such decisions. 2. A licence for constructing a main gas pipeline, which cuts across the border of the Republic of Lithuania, may only be issued with the approval of the Government of Lithuania. Licences for the construction of transmission and distribution systems shall not be issued, if the existing capabilities fail to be used. 3.Gas undertakings shall enable access to their systems for the systems of other undertakings and customers, if the productivity of the system is sufficient and the technical conditions have been met, and also, if the accessing will not interfere with the implementation by the gas undertakings of the obligations set by this Law. Should the productivity of the system prove to be insufficient to satisfy the gas needs of the future customer, the gas undertaking must enhance its productivity, if the technical opportunities are there. The gas undertakings, which are provided access and the customers, shall cover the costs of access, and if necessary, shall also cover the costs of enhancement of the productivity of the system. Upon co-ordinating with the Commission, the amount of the valuations of accessing shall be set by the transmission and distribution undertakings, which they access. Article 16. Gas Systems on Land and Inside Structures 1. Gas systems on land and inside structures may be constructed upon an agreement between gas undertakings and the owners of the land or structure. 2. Damages must be compensated to the owners of the land or buildings that have been caused by the construction of the pipeline and installation or use of the buildings. A court shall decide any disputes, which may arise. 3. It shall be prohibited for the owners of land and structures to damage and restructure the property belonging to gas undertakings and to carry out other actions, which may interfere with the operation of the facilities and prevent the safe transport of gas. The facilities of a gas undertaking, which are relocated from the land and structure of an owner to another location at the owner’s request, shall be relocated to another location, at the expense of the owner of the land, or structure. 4. Gas undertakings shall have the right to request that easements be set for estates where the property of the gas undertakings is situated. Article 17. Operation of Gas Systems 1. Based on an agreement between land or structure owners and gas undertakings, persons authorised by the gas undertakings may enter the land area or buildings, which house the property of the gas undertaking, to register the amount of gas consumed, perform gas pipeline servicing, maintenance, repair, modernising operations. Should the land or building owners and the gas undertakings fail to agree, a court shall adopt a resolution to obligate the persons authorised by the gas undertakings to enter the owner’s land area or structures. 2. The land, and structure owners, and customers must allow the gas undertakings or the persons authorised by them to permit the gas undertakings or their authorised representatives to perform the operations of servicing, maintenance, repair and modernising of the gas systems owned by the gas undertakings and to register the amount of gas consumed. Article 18. Recording of Gas Amount 1. The amount of gas being transmitted, distributed, supplied and stored must be calculated according to the means of gas measuring, specified in the Register of Measuring Devices of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. Gas transmission, distribution and storage undertakings shall install and operate the gas measuring devices. CHAPTER VII PROVISION OF INFORMATION Article 19. Provision of Information 1. State institutions may request some information regarding users from the gas undertakings and system, necessary for the implementation of the obligations established by the laws. One must not request information, which is not being collected at the gas undertakings or the collection whereof, has not been stipulated by legal acts. 2. The gas undertaking or the user of the system must supply the requested information within 10 days from the receipt of the request, if there are no valid reasons warranting a longer period of time. The providers of information must indicate, which of the information supplied by them is confidential. 3. The gas undertaking, which has refused to comply with a written request, submitted by another gas undertaking or a free user, to use the gas transportation system, shall inform the Commission of this decision of theirs and the reasons for such, within 10 work days. 4.The institutions of State authority may not publicly divulge and disseminate the confidential information, which they have obtained. Confidential data may be employed in drafting and publishing general information. Confidential information may be supplied to other institutions in accordance with the procedure established by law. CHAPTER VIII EXAMINATION OF DISPUTES. LIABILITY Article 20. Examination of Disputes The disputes regarding the action or the lack thereof by natural gas undertakings in the transmission, distribution, supply, purchase and storage of natural gas, failure to grant the right of the use and access of the system, system balancing and price establishment shall be examined by the Commission by the procedure of alternative dispute resolution. The disputes regarding the malfunctions in equipment and measuring devices, violations in the operation of systems and accidents and interruptions in gas supply shall be examined by the State Inspectorate of Energy by the procedure of alternative dispute resolution. Article 21. Liability 1. The persons who have violated the requirements of this Law shall be liable according to the procedure established by laws. 2. Persons shall compensate for the damage caused by their illegal activities to other persons, undertakings, institutions and organisations, in accordance with the procedure established by laws. 3. In accordance with the procedure established by laws, the Commission may set penalties for: 1) unlicensed activities or failure to adhere to the requirements of the license; 2) violation of the set procedure in applying estimated tariffs and taxes to users; 3) failure to adhere to the requirements of transparency of activity set by the laws and other legal acts; 4) unfounded refusal in providing the services of natural gas transportation. 4. The amount of assigned penalties shall be differentiated taking into account the size of the damage caused by the violations, duration of the violation and the circumstances alleviating or increasing the liability. Chapter IX FINAL PROVISIONS Article 22. Procedure of Implementation of the Law 1. Distribution undertakings must offer to the users accessing their systems to operate individual parts according to individual contracts the systems of general use. 2. According to the procedure established by the Government or its authorised institution, gas transmission or distribution undertakings shall buy out or take over the operation of the systems of general use and gas measuring devices, equipped with the users’ funds prior to the coming into force of this Law. 3. The Government shall appoint institutions, which would draft the legal acts necessary to implement the provisions of this Law. 4.The Government or its authorised institution shall set the procedure for the examination of disputes specified in Article 20. 5. Upon the coming into force of this Law, the following users shall be recognised as free users: 1) power stations; 2) users, who consume over 15 million cubic metres of gas annually; 3) users, whose systems have direct access to the main gas pipelines; 4) distribution undertakings whose gas systems have direct access to the main gas pipelines; 6. The Government or its authorised institution shall establish the criteria of a free customer for the later period, taking into account the degree of market transparency. 7.The Commission must co-ordinate the regulations, provisions and methodologies being drafted, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. 8. The Commission shall have the right to become acquainted with the contracts being drawn up with gas undertakings and customers. 9. The Government or its authorised institution shall draft, by January 1, 2002, amendments to the Code of Administrative Law Violations which provide for liability in violations of the provisions of this Law. 10. The Government or its authorised institution shall approve the regulations of transmission, distribution, storage and supply for the implementation of the provisions of this Law. Article 23. Coming into Force of the Law 1. This Law, with the exception of Article 10, shall come into force from July 1, 2001. 2. Article 10 of this Law shall come into force from January 1, 2002. I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC VALDAS ADAMKUS

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