Germany's Electricity and Gas Markets Stand Alone: Negotiated Third Party Access

Abstract

This article describes the legal features of access to the power grid under German law after the 1998reform. The German legislator opted for negotiated third party access and left numerous legal questions to be solved to the courts and authorities. The article focuses on the absence of a regulator and the filling of this gap through the Associations’ Agreements. The amendments to the law which are currently under discussion are also considered.