Gleiss Lutz represented Gazprom Export LLC in connection with an appeal before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. The appeal was directed against the Federal Network Agency’s (Bundesnetzagentur) decision on the horizontal cost roll-over between gas transmission system operators (so-called HoKoWä decision). The decision stipulates that the transmission system operators must jointly determine a uniform entry tariff in the market area and that the costs are to be rolled over between them – thus at the horizontal level. This arrangement would have resulted in, among other things, an unjustified increase of the costs for gas transports through Germany. According to the HoKoWä decision, the new tariff system had to be implemented by 1 January 2018. In addition to Gazprom Export, two German transmission system operators filed appeals against the HoKoWä decision.
The presiding judge Wiegand Laubenstein already announced during the hearing on 11 October 2017 that, according to the Higher Regional Court’s view, there was no legal basis for this decision by the Federal Network Agency. The judge stated that there was no sufficient statutory authorisation for either the determination of market area-wide uniform entry tariffs or the horizontal cost roll-over between the transmission system operators. As a result, the Federal Network Agency already announced at the end of the hearing the repeal of the HoKoWä decision, meaning that a setting aside by the court would not be necessary.
Gazprom Export is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom and exports natural gas from Russia to Europe in particular. Moreover, the company delivers gas condensate, crude oil, liquefied hydrocarbons and additional products of the petroleum, natural gas and petrochemical sector.
The following team of Gleiss Lutz lawyers advised on the appeal proceedings: Dr. Jacob von Andreae (lead, partner, public law), Dr. Martin Raible (partner, competition/antitrust, both Düsseldorf), Dr. Yvonne Kerth (public law, Stuttgart), Kevin Grimmeiß (public law, Düsseldorf) and Patrick Grüner (competition/antitrust, Stuttgart).
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