ancillary services — all services necessary for access to and the operation of transmission and/or distribution networks and/or LNG facilities and/or storage facilities including load balancing and blending, but excluding facilities reserved exclusively for transmission system operators carrying out their functions 14.

customers — wholesale and final customers of natural gas and natural gas undertakings which purchase natural gas 24.

direct line — a natural gas pipeline complementary to the interconnected system 18.

distribution — the transport of natural gas through local or regional pipeline networks with a view to its delivery to customers, but not including supply 5.

distribution system operator — a natural or legal person who carries out the function of distribution and is responsible for operating, ensuring the maintenance of, and, if necessary, developing the distribution system in a given area and, where applicable, its interconnections with other systems, and for ensuring the long-term ability of the system to meet reasonable demands for the distribution of gas 6.

eligible customers — customers who are free to purchase gas from the supplier of their choice, within the meaning of Article 23 of this Directive 28.

emergent market — a Member State in which the first commercial supply of its first long-term natural gas supply contract was made not more than 10 years earlier 31.

final customers — customers purchasing natural gas for their own use 27.

horizontally integrated undertaking — an undertaking performing at least one of the functions of production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage of natural gas, and a non-gas activity 21.

household customers — customers purchasing natural gas for their own household consumption 25.

integrated natural gas undertaking — a vertically or horizontally integrated undertaking 19.

interconnected system — a number of systems which are linked with each other 16.

interconnector — a transmission line which crosses or spans a border between Member States for the sole purpose of connecting the national transmission systems of these Member States 17.

linepack — the storage of gas by compression in gas transmission and distribution systems, but excluding facilities reserved for transmission system operators carrying out their functions 15.

LNG facility — a terminal which is used for the liquefaction of natural gas or the importation, offloading, and re-gaseification of LNG, and shall include ancillary services and temporary storage necessary for the re-gaseification process and subsequent delivery to the transmission system, but shall not include any part of LNG terminals used for storage 11.

LNG system operator — a natural or legal person who carries out the function of liquefaction of natural gas, or the importation, offloading, and re-gaseification of LNG and is responsible for operating a LNG facility 12.

long-term planning — the planning of supply and transportation capacity of natural gas undertakings on a long-term basis with a view to meeting the demand for natural gas of the system, diversification of sources and securing supplies to customers 30.

natural gas undertaking — any natural or legal person carrying out at least one of the following functions: production, transmission, distribution, supply, purchase or storage of natural gas, including LNG, which is responsible for the commercial, technical and/or maintenance tasks related to those functions, but shall not include final customers 1.

new infrastructure — an infrastructure not completed by the entry into force of this Directive. CHAPTER II GENERAL RULES FOR THE ORGANISATION OF THE SECTOR 33.

non-household customers — customers purchasing natural gas which is not for their own household use 26.

related undertakings — affiliated undertakings, within the meaning of Article 41 of the Seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983 based on the Article 44(2)(g)(10) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts(11), and/or associated undertakings, within the meaning of Article 33(1) thereof, and/or undertakings which belong to the same shareholders 22.

security — both security of supply of natural gas and technical safety 32.

storage facility — a facility used for the stocking of natural gas and owned and/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, including the part of LNG facilities used for storage but excluding the portion used for production operations, and excluding facilities reserved exclusively for transmission system operators in carrying out their functions 9.

storage system operator — a natural or legal person who carries out the function of storage and is responsible for operating a storage facility 10.

supply — the sale, including resale, of natural gas, including LNG, to customers 7.

supply undertaking — any natural or legal person who carries out the function of supply 8.

system — any transmission networks, distribution networks, LNG facilities and/or storage facilities owned and/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, including linepack and its facilities supplying ancillary services and those of related undertakings necessary for providing access to transmission, distribution and LNG 13.

system users — any natural or legal persons supplying to, or being supplied by, the system 23.

transmission — the transport of natural gas through a high pressure pipeline network other than an upstream pipeline network with a view to its delivery to customers, but not including supply 3.

transmission system operator — a natural or legal person who carries out the function of transmission and is responsible for operating, ensuring the maintenance of, and, if necessary, developing the transmission system in a given area and, where applicable, its interconnections with other systems, and for ensuring the long-term ability of the system to meet reasonable demands for the transportation of gas 4.

upstream pipeline network — any pipeline or network of pipelines operated and/or constructed as part of an oil or gas production project, or used to convey natural gas from one or more such projects to a processing plant or terminal or final coastal landing terminal 2.

vertically integrated undertaking — a natural gas undertaking or a group of undertakings whose mutual relationships are defined in Article 3(3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings(9) and where the undertaking/group concerned is performing at least one of the functions of transmission, distribution, LNG or storage, and at least one of the functions of production or supply of natural gas 20.

wholesale customers — any natural or legal persons other than transmission system operators and distribution system operators who purchase natural gas for the purpose of resale inside or outside the system where they are established 29.