Article 18Guidelines

1.Where appropriate, Guidelines relating to the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism shall specify, in accordance with the principles set out in Articles 13 and 14:

(a)details of the procedure for determining which transmission system operators are liable to pay compensation for cross-border flows including as regards the split between the operators of national transmission systems from which cross-border flows originate and the systems where those flows end, in accordance with Article 13(2);

(b)details of the payment procedure to be followed, including the determination of the first period for which compensation is to be paid, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 13(3);

(c)details of methodologies for determining the cross-border flows hosted for which compensation is to be paid under Article 13, in terms of both quantity and type of flows, and the designation of the magnitudes of such flows as originating and/or ending in transmission systems of individual Member States, in accordance with Article 13(5);

(d)details of the methodology for determining the costs and benefits incurred as a result of hosting cross-border flows, in accordance with Article 13(6);

(e)details of the treatment in the context of the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism of electricity flows originating or ending in countries outside the European Economic Area; and

(f)the participation of national systems which are interconnected through direct current lines, in accordance with Article 13.

2.Guidelines may also determine appropriate rules leading to a progressive harmonisation of the underlying principles for the setting of charges applied to producers and consumers (load) under national tariff systems, including the reflection of the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism in national network charges and the provision of appropriate and efficient locational signals, in accordance with the principles set out in Article 14.

The Guidelines shall make provision for appropriate and efficient harmonised locational signals at Community level.

Any such harmonisation shall not prevent Member States from applying mechanisms to ensure that network access charges borne by consumers (load) are comparable throughout their territory.

3.Where appropriate, Guidelines providing the minimum degree of harmonisation required to achieve the aim of this Regulation shall also specify:

(a)details relating to provision of information, in accordance with the principles set out in Article 15;

(b)details of rules for the trading of electricity;

(c)details of investment incentive rules for interconnector capacity including locational signals;

(d)details of the areas listed in Article 8(6).

For that purpose, the Commission shall consult the Agency and the ENTSO for Electricity.

4.Guidelines on the management and allocation of available transmission capacity of interconnections between national systems are laid down in Annex I.

5.The Commission may adopt Guidelines on the issues listed in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article. It may amend the Guidelines referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, in accordance with the principles set out in Articles 15 and 16, in particular so as to include detailed Guidelines on all capacity-allocation methodologies applied in practice and to ensure that congestion-management mechanisms evolve in a manner compatible with the objectives of the internal market. Where appropriate, in the course of such amendments common rules on minimum safety and operational standards for the use and operation of the network, as referred to in Article 15(2) shall be established. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 23(2).

When adopting or amending Guidelines, the Commission shall:

(a)ensure that the Guidelines provide the minimum degree of harmonisation required to achieve the aims of this Regulation and do not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose; and

(b)indicate what actions it has taken with respect to the conformity of rules in third countries, which form part of the Community electricity system, with the Guidelines in question.

When adopting Guidelines under this Article for the first time, the Commission shall ensure that they cover in a single draft measure at least the issues referred to in points (a) and (d) of paragraph 1 and in paragraph 2.