Balansys will become balancing operator in the BeLux Area as from 1 June 2020
Your access to the Fluxys Belgium and Creos Luxembourg Transmission Services and the market-based balancing activity operated by Balansys is our priority!
Belgian regulator CREG and Luxembourg regulator ILR approved all regulatory documents (Balancing Agreement, Balancing Code and Balancing Program) related to Balansys, the joint undertaking founded by Creos Luxembourg and Fluxys Belgium in order to act as market-based balancing operator for the BeLux area.
Following this approval, Balansys accepted the delegation of the market-based balancing activity from Fluxys Belgium as from 1 June 2020 and will become, as from that date, the Balancing Operator in the BeLux area.
5 steps to be ready on 1 June 2020
1. Sign new Standard Transmission Agreement and Balancing Agreement before 18/5
In order to secure access to the market-based balancing activity and the Fluxys Belgium Transmission Services as from 1 June 2020, resend signed original paper versions of the Balancing Agreement and the revised Standard Transmission Agreement by post (STA to Fluxys Belgium / BA to Balansys - Avenue des Arts 31 – 1040 Brussels) before 18 May 2020. The signed revised STA will entirely replace the previously signed STA as from 1 June 2020.
2. Fulfill the credit requirements for both contracts before 25/5
3. Verify you have access to the new Electronic Data Platform of Balansys
The Electronic Data Platform (EDP) of Balansys is already available since 12 February 2020 on gasdata.balansys.eu, the data shown till 31 May 2020 on this EDP is a copy of the data available on gasdata.balancing.fluxys.com. You can use the same credentials to log-in to this new EDP as you were using for the old EDP. As from 1 June 2020 the old Electronic Data Platform (gasdata.balancing.fluxys.com) will no longer be available, but all historical values will have been transferred towards the new Balansys EDP.
4. Test your operational communication with Balansys
Operational communication testing is possible since 22 April 2020 - please contact dispatching@balansys.eu to set-up your personalized test:
- There will be no changes to the nominations (SDT, TDT) and allocations (BALL) sent to and received from the TSO. The issuer will continue to be Fluxys Belgium or Creos Luxembourg.
- However messages pertaining to the Balancing Position will have Balansys as the issuer instead of Fluxys (FLX). The new contract reference code will be ‘BA+Edig@s code’. Hence only these messages need to be tested as you will need to adapt this change in your messages.
- IMB messages
- IMBPOOL messages
- LIMIT messages
5. Check the validity of your commercial and operational contacts
In case you want us to change some of your commercial or operational contacts for Fluxys Belgium (info.transport@fluxys.com) and/or Balansys (info@balansys.eu), please provide us with the necessary updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we send the paper version of the signed contracts later than the 1st of June?Paper versions of the signed contracts need to be sent before 18 May.
Who needs to sign the original documents?
The authorized signatories in accordance with the Articles of association and Powers of representation in force in your company.
On the original letters sent out, it is requested that each page of the original agreements has to be initialled as well. Does this have to be done by all signatories or just one?
Just one is sufficient.
To which address do I need to send the documents?
In order to simplify your correspondence, both set of documents (BA and STA) need to be sent to the attention of Fluxys Belgium and Balansys, to Fluxys Belgium’s registered office (Avenue des Arts 31, 1040 Brussels, Belgium), which will forward the BA to Balansys.
Can you highlight the differences between my previously signed STA and the new revised STA?
For your information CREG asked Fluxys Belgium to resign all STAs as the entire balancing activity will be taken over by Balansys. As there are different versions of the STA signed (changes over the different years always approved by regulator CREG) it is difficult to highlight them for each individual Shipper. If it could help you, we can always send you your previously signed STA.
Do I need to provide one or two financial guarantees?
As Fluxys Belgium and Balansys are two different companies, a separate collateral has to be provided for the new STA (with Fluxys Belgium) and Balancing Agreement (with Balansys).
What are the options to fulfill the creditworthiness under the Balancing Agreement?
Either you:
- Have an acceptable credit rating which corresponds to a rating for the Network User’s long term unsecured and non-credit enhanced debt obligations of not less than BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services or Fitch Ratings or not less than Baa1 by Moody’s Investor Services Services; or
- Can provide an unconditional and irrevocable parent company guarantee by your parent company who has such acceptable credit rating; or
- Need to submit a collateral under the form of bank guarantee – in such case you need to provide minimum the amount of the collateral that we have announced in the letter sent to you by post and e-mail. This minimum amount of the collateral is calculated in accordance with Article 7.2.2. of the BA.
Note: No cash collateral allowed.
What are the options to fulfil the creditworthiness under the Standard Transmission Agreement?
Either you:
- Have an acceptable credit rating which corresponds to a rating, for the Network User’s long term unsecured and non-credit enhanced debt obligations, of not less than BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services or Fitch Ratings or not less than Baa1 by Moody’s Investor Services; or
- Can provide an unconditional and irrevocable parent company guarantee by your parent company who has such acceptable credit rating; or
- Need to submit a collateral under the form of bank guarantee or in the form of a cash deposit – in such case you need to provide minimum the amount of the collateral calculated in accordance with Article 14.2.2. of the STA (see also next FAQ).
How much collateral do I need to provide to Fluxys Belgium under the STA?
The amount of the collateral in accordance with Article 14.2.2 of the STA is composed of:
- Your booked capacities for June 2020 and July 2020.
- To estimate the ARS-capacities, we take twice the previous month values, this means twice the values from March 2020.
- To cover short term bookings, we take the capacities from March 2020 that were booked in March 2020.
This amount covers the need for June 2020 and can change every month as it varies together with your bookings and ARS-capacities. Hence we advise to provide a higher collateral that cover your needs throughout the year or be ready to increase it when needed.
Do I need to provide Fluxys Belgium with a new collateral or can the current collateral under the existing STA be re-used?
The existing collateral has to be renewed or amended because it should make reference to the revised STA.
Can I also provide a cash collateral?
Cash collaterals are only allowed in relation to the STA. For the BA, only an acceptable credit rating, an unconditional and irrevocable parent company who has such acceptable credit rating and a collateral in the form of a bank guarantee can be provided in order to fulfil the creditworthiness requirements.
By which law should the bank guarantees be governed?
The bank guarantees should be governed by the Belgian law and the courts of Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction in this respect.
Are there any templates available for the financial guarantees?
Please use following templates for the bank guarantee and for the Parent Company Guarantee (for FLX Belgium) and for the Parent Company Guarantee (for Balansys).
Could you provide us with some financial information about Balansys as this is required for our KYC?
Yes we can provide you with this kind of information, please send an e-mail to info@balansys.eu with the precise documents you need.
Which credentials should I use to log-in to the new EDP of Balansys?
You can use the same credentials to log-in to this new EDP (gasdata.balansys.eu) as you were using for the old EDP (gasdata.balancing.fluxys.com).
What is changing in the edig@s communication?
On http://www.balansys.eu/operational-information/ you can find an overview of the minor changes to be made to accept the messages Balansys will be sending as from 1 June 2020. Some Operational communication testing is possible since 22 April 2020 - please contact dispatching@balansys.eu to set-up your personalized tests.
Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your Key Account Manager.
Your point of contact
- Commercial team
- Dispatching