A practitioner's-eye-view

Do you think the EU is too reliant on Russian gas/other imports, and could this mean higher prices in the long term? 

Europe benefits from diversified sources of gas: own production, imports from Norway, Russia, Algeria and North Africa, LNG. In 2015, Russia provided about 30% of European gas demand. Especially in NW Europe, storage and LNG are already replacing declining swing from local production. However, in parts of SE Europe, additional gas infrastructure is necessary to ensure effective gas-to-gas competition.

Do you expect the falls in European demand to be reversed as expected over the next few years?  

There are several upsides for gas demand in Europe. Use of variable renewable energy sources will require more flexible and reliable electricity generation capabilities, like gas-fired power plants. It is possible to replace coal by gas in power generation in many countries, as the UK case clearly shows. This year, the revision of the electricity market design at European level is expected to provide better market signals for flexibility and reliability and improve the business case for gas-fired power plants. Also, Biomethane which can make use of the existing gas infrastructure, and gas in road and maritime transport may be developing due to its environmental advantages.

How do you expect the EU goal of an integrated and competitive market to progress over coming years? 

An effective Internal Energy Market relies primarily on competition between gas supplies. This requires physical gas infrastructure to connect gas from several sources with markets. Gas infrastructure is therefore key to ensure an integrated and competitive internal market. In recent years, investments in cross-border transmission pipelines, storage and LNG regasification facilities contributed to that goal. Europe can further progress by enabling the necessary investments through a stable and predictable regulatory framework and a clear role for gas in the future European energy mix.

As Director of RWE Gas Storage, s.r.o., in the last ten years, Mr. Veleba is responsible for the sales and finance aspects of RWE´s storage business in the Czech Republic composed of 6 gas storage facilities and representing working gas volume in excess of 2.5 billion cubic meters. In his previous roles at RWE Transgas, Mr. Veleba was responsible for developing market principles for the planned liberalization of the Czech gas market and a 5-year regulatory review. He serves as President of Gas Storage Europe, Member of the Board of Gas Storage Europe and a Member of the Council of the Czech Gas Association.