Statement on the publication of the regulations in the NEST process

The transmission system operators (TSOs) have reacted with disappointment and incomprehension to the specifications for the future regulatory framework published today by the Federal Network Agency. The defined framework for the future regulatory periods neither creates planning security nor promotes investment. On the contrary, the special requirements of the transmission grid are not taken into account.

FNB Gas Managing Director Barbara Fischer on the final regulations:

“The transformation won’t work that way. A secure and resilient energy system of the future cannot function without molecules. To achieve this, we will continue to need a reliable gas infrastructure. This requires continued economic operation and continued investment in the gas network infrastructure, which the BNetzA’s stipulations with the targeted diminishing returns jeopardize to a considerable extent. It is completely incomprehensible how this is compatible with the Federal Government’s plans to connect new gas-fired power plants to the gas grid. Electricity and gas belong together in the energy system of the future. A different return on equity for the infrastructures, as indicated today by the BNetzA, would also call into question the capital market viability of future investments in the gas grid.”