Article 2

Definitions For the purposes of this Directive: 1. "natural gas undertaking" means 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; 2. "upstream pipeline network" means 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; 3. "transmission" means 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; 4. "transmission system operator" means 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; 5. "distribution" means the transport of natural gas through local or regional pipeline networks with a view to its delivery to customers, but not including supply; 6. "distribution system operator" means 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; 7. "supply" means the sale, including resale, of natural gas, including LNG, to customers; 8. "supply undertaking" means any natural or legal person who carries out the function of supply; 9. "storage facility" means 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; 10. "storage system operator" means a natural or legal person who carries out the function of storage and is responsible for operating a storage facility; 11. "LNG facility" means 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; 12. "LNG system operator" means 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; 13. "system" means 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; 14. "ancillary services" means 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; 15. "linepack" means the storage of gas by compression in gas transmission and distribution systems, but excluding facilities reserved for transmission system operators carrying out their functions; 16. "interconnected system" means a number of systems which are linked with each other; 17. "interconnector" means 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; 18. "direct line" means a natural gas pipeline complementary to the interconnected system; 19. "integrated natural gas undertaking" means a vertically or horizontally integrated undertaking; 20. "vertically integrated undertaking" means 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; 21. "horizontally integrated undertaking" means an undertaking performing at least one of the functions of production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage of natural gas, and a non-gas activity; 22. "related undertakings" means 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; 23. "system users" means any natural or legal persons supplying to, or being supplied by, the system; 24. "customers" means wholesale and final customers of natural gas and natural gas undertakings which purchase natural gas; 25. "household customers" means customers purchasing natural gas for their own household consumption; 26. "non-household customers" means customers purchasing natural gas which is not for their own household use; 27. "final customers" means customers purchasing natural gas for their own use; 28. "eligible customers" means customers who are free to purchase gas from the supplier of their choice, within the meaning of Article 23 of this Directive; 29. "wholesale customers" means 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; 30. "long-term planning" means 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; 31. "emergent market" means 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; 32. "security" means both security of supply of natural gas and technical safety; 33. "new infrastructure" means an infrastructure not completed by the entry into force of this Directive. CHAPTER II GENERAL RULES FOR THE ORGANISATION OF THE SECTOR

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.