New capacity from March 2017
On 6 March 2017, new cross-border capacity was offered and sold at an annual capacity auction held on the PRISMA platform.
The new cross-border capacity was offered based on the favourable outcome of the "Capacity4Gas" market survey conducted in 2016, which showed substantial long-term market demand for additional capacity. The outcome of the survey was later confirmed by the plans of transmission system operators in countries neighbouring the Czech Republic and subsequent technical studies of the relevant infrastructure carried out by NET4GAS.
The new cross-border capacity sold, which interconnects the GASPOOL market area in Germany and the Czech Republic and the market areas of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, is the result of work done jointly by NET4GAS, the Slovak transmission system operator eustream, and the German transmission system operators GASCADE Gastransport and Ontras Gastransport.
Based on the outcome of the auction, NET4GAS is making investments into the construction of new gas infrastructure in the Czech Republic. Enlarging the transmission system provides the Czech Republic with the opportunity to maintain its prominent status as a European transit country and to strengthen the security of supply in the region.