9. Gas transportation and storage. How to divide two systems
An essential step in preparation for the unbundling of the Gas TSO of Ukraine was the separation of another Operator – Storage System Operator of Ukraine. Thus, since December 2018, a single management vertical of underground gas storage was formed. Previously, they had been managed by the trunk pipeline administration, the structure that mainly responsible for gas transportation.
Unbundling of gas transportation and storage activities was performed based on the experience of European gas operators and with the support of international PwC experts.
The Gas Storage System Operator of Ukraine (SSO) consists of 11 UGS with a total capacity of about 30 billion cubic meters. In this branch (separate division) of Ukrtransgaz works 1850 employees. During the establishment of such a branch, the assets with a value of UAH 169 billion were transferred.
After the establishment of the branch the development of its own business processes and management verticals started in both operators, and the areas of responsibility were delineated.
Own IT environment for each of the operators was created; a single database of technological parameters was shared.
In 2019, separate informational platforms for cooperation with GTS (March 2019) and UGS (August 2019) clients were implemented. The implementation of the first became a significant cause for the large-scale gas market reform – transfer from monthly to daily gas balancing in the system. The second platform, in its turn, significantly increases practical cooperation with UGS clients, works on expansion of its functionality is ongoing.
Each of the Operators established its own dispatching system. Central dispatching that coordinates the gas transportation process at the beginning of November 2019 was transferred to the new office of TSO in Kyiv. Operational dispatching of UGS activity currently performs from Lviv.
The metering equipment installed at the interconnection points is used for the gas transfer between two operators measurement. Nevertheless, for the incensement of accuracy, it is planned to create new measurement units during the nearest 3-4 years.
One of the important questions needed to be solved by the end of the unbundling process – to approve the Inter-Operators Cooperation Agreement that shall enter into force from January 1st, 2019. It shall replace current order, finally establish gas supply discipline and finalize the list of procedural questions to meet the needs of service customers.
In the future, the cooperation between two operators will be performed on the market grounds. Thus, each operator plans to expand its customer base and develop a range of services to increase profitability.