RWE Gas Storage offering new storage capacity for the first time at e-auction

• Newly built storage capacity to be available as of 1 April 2010 was offered at e-auction
• Total 10 applicants participated in the auction
• Final price amounted to 1.96 CZK/cu m per year
• The new capacity built is a result  of a change to regulation of storage prices

Prague, 12 January 2010 – RWE Gas Storage, the biggest storage operator in the Czech Republic, organised the 3rd e-auction of storage capacity in its virtual storage facility in a row. New storage capacity of 45 mcm which arose by enlargement of the Tvrdonice UGS in the Southern Moravia was offered at auction this time.

“The offer of the new storage capacity which will contribute to a higher safety of gas supplies in the CR is a result of a change to the regulation of storage prices in 2006 and the manner of storage capacity allocation by the Energy Regulatory Ofiice,” said Lubor Veleba, Managing Director of RWE Gas Storage.

Five from the initial number of 10 applicants succeeded. Storage contracts for
a ten-year period will be concluded with them. The storage price increased gradually from the initial 1.63 to 1.96 CZK/sq m per year. The successful participants in the auction may start using the newly acquired storage capacity from 1 April 2010.

“We are very satisfied with the e-auction course and results. They show a great interest of traders in storage of natural gas as well as their trust in RWE Gas Storage as a reliable operator of the underground gas storage facilities. The high demand is due to the traders’ experience in the suspension of gas supplies from Russia in January 2009 when the key role of the UGSs became evident,” said Veleba.

Initially, the company planned up to 420 mcm storage capacity be put into operation in 2010 but it will rather be only 50 mcm due to delays in permission proceedings. Another auction of storage capacity of 5 mcm will take place
on 3 February 2010.

Due to the lasting demand for storage capacity, RWE Gas Storage is planning to enlarge the volume of its virtual storage facility by another 620 mcm, i.e. to almost 4 bcm, by 2014.

Martin Chalupský
RWE Transgas, a.s. Spokesperson
T 267 974 464, F 267 976 971, E martin.chalupsky@rwe.cz

RWE Gas Storage is the biggest storage operator in the CR. The company owns and operates six underground gas storage facilities located in the CR’s territory. The total capacity of the so-called virtual UGS is 2.4 bcm of natural gas. RWE Gas Storage was created by unbundling from RWE Transgas in 2007.

RWE is an international energy group that manages its business activities in the Czech Republic through RWE Transgas, which is responsible for import, transit, and wholesale distribution of natural gas. RWE supplies natural gas to more than 2.3 million end customers through regional gas companies that include RWE Energie, Jihomoravská plynárenská, Severomoravská plynárenská, and Východočeská plynárenská. The RWE CZ Group comprises 17 companies in the Czech Republic.