Supervising role
The Corporation is in charge, as one of its main roles, of monitoring the compliance with the obligation by liable parties to hold minimum security stocks of natural gas, in compliance with Act no.34/1998 of 7 October, for the Hydrocarbon Industry.
Its supervisory powers are mainly laid down under Articles 37 and 38 of Royal Decree 1716/2004 of 23 July, and Order ITC/3283/2005, of 11 October, issued by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. Likewise, the Corporation has a Monitoring Manual as laid dawn by provision no. 12 of its Statutes (Annex to the aforesaid Royal Decree).
Every year, the Corporation draws up an Action Plan, which includes the following supervisory actions:
- a) Supervision of the liable parties’ minimum oil stocks (Systematic Plans for liquid hydrocarbons and LPG), according to a classification of risk based on objective benchmarks.
- b) Supervision of CORES’ strategic reserves, both in their own and others’ storage facilities (Supervision Plan of Strategic Reserves).
- c) Supervision of the liable parties’ minimum natural gas stocks (Natural gas Systematic Plan), which up to now have had a global character.
- d) Those relating to presumed non-compliance with the obligation to hold minimum stocks, based on the monthly reports issued by the liable parties themselves.
- e) Those arising from any other reasonable cause, within the roles assigned to the Corporation (omission of mandatory information, non-payment of fees owed to the Corporation, formal complaints, etc.)
Supervision of the different liable parties is carried out through a series of actions leading to check compliance with the regulations the inspected party is liable to, singling out each specific case with a file number. Supervision of the different subsectors is regularly carried out throughout each financial year.
Each supervisory action may end either: a) shelved, if the checks lead to a result of compliance with current regulation; or b) reported, and this can be an inspection report or a report ex officio (the latter in situations of evident non-compliance), sent to the competent Authorities for them to initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings.
The body currently in charge of commencing disciplinary proceedings – under Royal Decree 1398/1993 of 4th August-, is the National Energy Commission, which at the end of each of the proceedings may suggest the appropriate fine to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, the Department empowered to impose fines under Act 34/1998 of 7 October.
C/ AGASTIA 80, 28043 MADRID, ESPAÑA | E-MAIL: cores@cores.es
TLF.: +34 91 360 09 10 | FAX: +34 91 420 39 45