Article 18

1. Member States shall specify eligible customers, meaning those customers inside their territory which have the legal capacity to contract for, or to be sold, natural gas in accordance with Articles 15 and 16, given that all customers mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article must be included. 2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that at least the following customers are designated as eligible customers: gas-fired power generators, irrespective of their annual consumption level; however, and in order to safeguard the balance of their electricity market, the Member States may introduce a threshold, which may not exceed the level envisaged for other final customers, for the eligibility of combined heat and power producers. Such thresholds shall be notified to the Commission, other final customers consuming more than 25 million cubic metres of gas per year on a consumption-site basis. 3. Member States shall ensure that the definition of eligible customers referred to in paragraph 1 will result in an opening of the market equal to at least 20 % of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market. 4. The percentage mentioned in paragraph 3 shall increase to 28 % of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market five years after the entry into force of this Directive, and to 33 % thereof 20 years after the entry into force of this Directive. 5. If the definition of eligible customers as referred to in paragraph 1 results in a market opening of more than 30 % of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market, the Member State concerned may modify the definition of eligible customers to the extent that the opening of the market is reduced to no lower than 30 % of such consumption. Member States shall modify the definition of eligible customers in a balanced manner, not creating specific disadvantages for certain types or classes of eligible customers, but taking into account existing market structures. 6. Member States shall take the following measures to ensure that the opening of their natural gas market is increased over a period of 10 years: the threshold set in the second indent of paragraph 2 for eligible customers other than gas-fired power generators, shall be reduced to 15 million cubic metres per year on a consumption-site basis five years after the entry into force of this Directive, and to 5 million cubic metres per year on such basis 10 years after the entry into force of this Directive, the percentage mentioned in paragraph 5 shall increase to 38 % of the total annual gas consumption of the national gas market five years after the entry into force of this Directive, and to 43 % of such consumption 10 years after the entry into force of this Directive. 7. In respect of emergent markets, the gradual market opening provided for by this Article shall start to apply from the expiry of the derogation referred to in Article 26(2). 8. Distribution undertakings, if not already specified as eligible customers under paragraph 1, shall have the legal capacity to contract for natural gas in accordance with Articles 15 and 16 for the volume of natural gas being consumed by their customers designated as eligible within their distribution system, in order to supply those customers. 9. Member States shall publish by 31 January of each year the criteria for the definition of eligible customers referred to in paragraph 1. This information, together with all other appropriate information to justify the fulfilment of market opening under this Article, shall be sent to the Commission to be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The Commission may request a Member State to modify its specifications if they create obstacles to the correct application of this Directive as regards the smooth functioning of the internal market in natural gas. If the Member State concerned does not comply with this request within a period of three months, a final decision shall be taken in accordance with procedure I of Article 2 of Council Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (10).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.