Contract summary
In response to the needs of our customers and requests from market participants, CSL modified the SSC governing the sale of gas storage capacity at Rough. The SSC modifications has changed the contract to:
- allow the introduction of an innovative entry-assisted within day and day ahead storage service (named respectively the C-Store WD Service and the C-Store DA Service) which provide for withdrawal of gas at the National Balancing Point (NBP) during the Winter Period (0600 hours on 1 October to 0600 hours on 31 March) through the introduction of the concept of Throughput Capacity;
- provide for the existing within day SSC service to continue (but renamed the S-Store WD Service); and
- allow the introduction of a day ahead service with injection and withdrawal at the Storage Connection Point at Easington (the S-Store DA Service).
Customers will be not be restricted in their choice of products and may seek to purchase any combination of these 4 services.
The S-Store WD Service is the SSC service operating from 1999 to 2008 which remains unchanged in all material respects.
The S-Store DA Service resembles the current SSC service offering but introduces the day ahead concept where re-nominations are not allowed after 04:00 D-1 (2 hours before the gas day) other than in order to access interruptible capacity. The standard interruptible service (SIS) is available at ex-ante rates for holders of this product, but it will be interrupted before SIS nominations by customers under the S-Store WD Service and C-Store WD Service.
The new C-Store WD Service and C-Store DA Service are innovative entry-assisted services which will share many of the operating characteristics of the existing standard product. These services will bundle storage capacity with transportation to enable gas withdrawn from Rough during the Winter Period to be delivered direct to the NBP.
Delivery to the NBP is facilitated through the concept of Throughput Capacity, which (whilst held by the customer) ensures that gas nominated for withdrawal during the Winter Period is delivered to the NBP by means of an NBP transfer. Throughput Capacity only applies to C-Store Within Day and C-Store Day Ahead services during the Winter Period in each storage year. It can be freely traded but cannot be used to nominate gas for withdrawal under any service other than the service in respect of which it was originally purchased. The quantity of Throughput Capacity held by the customer in respect of C-Store WD Service and/or the C-Store DA Service will deplete as gas is withdrawn under that service during the Winter Period. In the summer (and upon a customer ceasing to hold Throughput Capacity), gas withdrawn will be delivered to the Storage Connection Point.
A Standard Bundled Unit (SBU) for each of the 4 services will comprise the following elements (as at present):
- 1kWh/day of Deliverability;
- 66.593407 kWh/day of Space; and
- 0.351648 kWh/day of Injectability.
Customers taking the C-Store WD Service and/or the C-Store DA Service will also be entitled to 183kWh of Throughput Capacity for each SBU purchased. This gives customers the option to cycle their total storage inventory 2.8 times.
Under the C-Store WD Service re-nominations are permitted within day and SIS is available at ex-ante rates (granting interruptible withdrawal at the NBP during the Winter Period) with priority over SIS nominations from customers under the C-Store DA Service and the S-Store DA Service.
The C-Store DA Service is similar to the C-Store WD Service but introduces the day ahead concept where re-nominations are not allowed after 04:00 D-1 (2 hours before the gas day) other than to access interruptible capacity. SIS is available at ex-ante rates for holders of this product (with withdrawal at the Storage Connection Point) but the interruptible flow will be interrupted before SIS nominations from customers under the S-Store WD Service and the C-Store WD Service.
In respect of both the C-Store WD Service and the C-Store DA Service, SIS may be interrupted where CSL determines having regard to matters such as the cost of system entry capacity and the market price of gas at the NBP (C-Store Interruption Notice). For the avoidance of doubt, a C-Store Interruption Notice cannot be used to interrupt firm capacity.
STORIT will continue to receive notifications, track inventory, and facilitate secondary trading and the transfer of gas-in-store. Space and gas-in-store will be fully transferable between all services and customers will be able to move Space and Gas-in-Storage between each service they take, in order to make effective use of all their capacity rights. Deliverability, Injectability and Throughput Capacity purchased under a particular service are freely transferable between customers but may only be used to nominate gas within that service i.e. retaining the same operational characteristics.
