more German gas developments.  Of course, Enron's case was the first.   mcs
---------------------- Forwarded by Mark Schroeder/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 
18:17 ---------------------------


Paul Hennemeyer
04/09/2000 17:29
To: Peter Styles/LON/ECT@ECT, Mark Schroeder/LON/ECT@ECT, Kyran 
Hanks/LON/ECT@ECT, Doug Wood/LON/ECT@ECT
cc:  

Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas

interesting news...
---------------------- Forwarded by Paul Hennemeyer/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 
17:33 ---------------------------


Carsten Sterz
04/09/2000 17:14
To: David Gallagher/LON/ECT@ECT, Andreas Radmacher/FRA/ECT@ECT, Carsten 
Haack/FRA/ECT@ECT, Christopher McKey/FRA/ECT@ECT, Paul Hennemeyer/LON/ECT@ECT
cc:  

Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas

Please forward

Carsten
---------------------- Forwarded by Carsten Sterz/LON/ECT on 04/09/2000 17:16 
---------------------------
   
	Enron Capital & Trade Resources Corp.
	
	From:  alexandra_konstantinoff@platts.com                           
04/09/2000 17:05
	

To: carsten.sterz@enron.com
cc:  

Subject: Trianel/Ruhrgas


Anbei Infos,

bin muede, bis morgen

alex.

German court orders Ruhrgas to open gas grid to Trianel
A district court in Dortmund has ordered Ruhrgas to grant access
to its gas transport network to German-Dutch energy JV Trianel
with immediate effect, Trianel said Monday. The decision, which
followed a hearing Sep 1, allows Trianel to start supplying two
large customers under new contracts from Oct 1, 2000. The court
dismissed Ruhrgas' arguments that the present access case was
irrelevant, as the two unnamed customers were still bound by
existing long-term deals with other suppliers. This argument had
no bearing on network access, the court said, and Trianel should
not be forced to rely on other more expensive transport options.
This is the second access case Ruhrgas has lost since the gas
market was opened to competition in August. On Aug 24, the
Cartel Office ordered it to grant access to US trader Enron.

Trianel Monday welcomed the court's decision as an important
step in the liberalization of the German gas market, and noted
that the victory was all the more significant given the lack of
clear legislation on this issue. Current regulations contain
insufficient provisions to ensure third party access to the gas
network, it said. The Energy Law covers independent claims by
third parties to use the electricity transmission network, under
Article 6, Paragraph, but not the gas system. German legislators
have so far rejected calls for a change in the Energy Law in
connection with the implementation of the European directive on
gas market opening, arguing that Competition Law contained ample
provision in Article 19, Paragraph 4 on "essential facilities,"
to which Trianel referred in its case.


Ruhrgas still to decide whether to appeal access ruling
Germany's Ruhrgas has still not decided whether to appeal a
court order to grant access to its gas network to Dutch-German
JV Trianel, a spokesman for the company said Monday. "We first
want to see the official written explanation for the court's
decision," the spokesman said. "Then we will decide whether to
appeal." Ruhrgas had argued that in both cases where Trianel
requested access to supply new industrial customers deliveries
would involve a breach of existing supply contracts. But this
factor was dismissed by the Dortmund court as incidental to the
access case. It ruled Trianel should not have to rely on more
expensive transit options. Ruhrgas would be talking to Trianel
in the hope of reaching an out-of-court solution to the dispute,
the spokesman added. If it failed, it would consider an appeal.