The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) announced yesterday that it is establishing an Expert Group on LNG Price Assessment/Benchmarks – with a call for members of the new group running until 14 December 2022.
This follows the EU’s ministers’ green light for the content of the proposal on new regulations concerning joint gas procurement. The proposed Council regulation on enhancing solidarity through better coordination of gas purchases, exchanges of gas across borders and reliable price benchmarks, tasks ACER with developing an LNG price assessment tool by collecting real-time information on all daily transactions.
The new Expert Group on LNG Price Assessment/Benchmarks will build on the experience of previous Expert Groups organised by ACER, providing expert views and opinions on the development of regulatory policies and measures related to LNG price assessments and/or benchmarks.
The terms of reference for the Expert Group and the specific criteria for the experts are set out in the Open Letter on the Establishment of an Expert Group on LNG Price Assessment/Benchmarks. The work of the expert group shall begin following publication of the regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union, once formally adopted.
The proposed regulation is set to be adopted by the European Council (expected to take place on 15 December), together with an agreement on the proposal for a market correction mechanism at the next Extraordinary Energy Council (scheduled for 13 December).
