The Competition Council issued an unfavorable opinion on draft law n ° 94.17 relating to the downstream natural gas sector in Morocco and amending law n ° 48.15 relating to the regulation of the electricity sector.
In its opinion on the bill n ° 94.17, “the Competition Council recommends the resumption of the drafting of the bill in order to harmonize it with the rules relating to the free play of competition, as enacted by Law No. 104.12 relating to freedom of prices and competition “, reports MAP.
“Since the natural gas sector is not yet established, it is imperative to take advantage of the benefits of competition in this market and to avoid, from the initial establishment of this sector, to freeze positions, ‘establish monopolies and grant exclusivities that will have a negative impact on the development of the sector, “underlines the Council.
First, the Council recommends improving the visibility and predictability of the bill, noting that certain provisions should be clarified and specified in order to have a stable, fair and attractive legal framework and to strengthen its predictability in order to ” send reassuring signals to national and foreign investors in the natural gas sector.
Secondly, it is a question of guaranteeing the free play of competition on the transport and storage segment, adds the Council, considering that it would not be advisable to mortgage the development of the natural gas market by the only technology of transport via gas pipelines.
The Council therefore recommends not to grant a monopoly on all services and means of transport because it will undermine competition in an embryonic market and prevent the rapid development of the natural gas sector in Morocco.
It is also a question of guaranteeing the free play of competition in the distribution segment, by avoiding granting exclusive regional distribution rights and by encouraging operators to build distribution structures.
The Council’s opinion also recommends replacing the authorization system with a declaration system, thus proposing to review the wording of the draft text, with a view to abolishing the system of prior authorization issued by the Government authority in charge of energy and replace it with a system of prior declaration to the National Agency for Electricity Regulation (ANRE).
In addition, the Council recommends allowing the local producer to be exempted from the import authorization, adding that it is of the opinion that the local producer can be exempted from the supply authorization to import natural gas. taking into account its commitments made within the framework of the partnership established with the State.
It is also a question of ensuring compliance with the principle of separation of activities, the Council noted in its opinion, noting that under the principle of competitive neutrality, the Competition Council recommends taking all the necessary measures that would make it possible to guarantee the independence of the transmission network manager (s) (TSO) and heavy infrastructure (storage) vis-à-vis the supply and production structures. The harmonization of Law No. 21.90 relating to the Hydrocarbons Code with the draft law relating to natural gas is also part of the Council’s recommendations, which considers that this harmonization is essential to increase the visibility of operators in the sector and to guarantee conditions of fair competition.
The Competition Council also recommends setting up strong ex-ante regulation and avoiding overlapping of powers between ANRE and the Competition Council.
The Council considers that it is necessary to review in depth the wording of the draft law concerning the powers of the ANRE. The latter must explicitly provide that the ANRE must be legally distinct and functionally independent from any other public or private entity and will be able to take decisions autonomously, independently of any political or administrative body.
The Council also proposes to enshrine the protection of consumer rights and put in place procedures and mechanisms to monitor restrictive contractual practices.
It is also a matter of ensuring that the requirements linked to long-term contracts for concessions concluded under Law No. 21.90 relating to the Hydrocarbons Code are reconciled with respect for competitive public order and guaranteeing all users non-discriminatory and transparent access to the transport network.
By letter registered on December 31, 2019 under number 19 / A / 113, the Competition Council received from the Head of Government a request for an opinion concerning articles 7 to 15 of draft law n ° 94.17 relating to to the downstream natural gas sector.
The request for an opinion concerns the rules relating to “the exclusivity of the supply company to import and buy natural gas from local producers” and to the “concession” of the transport activity to the transport company on the whole of the national territory.
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