What is the gas access toll or fee? New changes in October

All users who have natural gas in their home must pay the corresponding amounts for access tolls on their gas bill. Starting in October 2021, new calculations will begin to be applied on these regulated concepts that may affect your receipt.

What are natural gas access tolls?

Gas access tolls are paid on the natural gas bill and are applied directly to both the fixed term and variable term amounts. It is a regulated concept that is paid for having access to the gas transportation network and for its maintenance.

The price of these gas tolls is calculated annually by the CNMC and must be approved by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism before being made public at the beginning of January of each year.

Some companies reflect in theirnatural gas billsthe amount equivalent to the costs regulated under the “access toll cost” section.

Not everyone has to pay the same access toll, this varies depending on the annual gas consumption and the pressure with which it reaches the supply point.

Classification of natural gas access tolls

The majority of domestic users, small and medium-sized businesses have a pressure of less than 4 bars and the following tolls are established depending on annual gas consumption:

Access rate 3.1: for consumption of up to 5,000 kWh/year. It is normally found in homes that have hot water and a kitchen running on natural gas. Although some homes equipped with gas heating but with low consumption may also have this access toll.

Access rate 3.2: for consumption greater than 5,000 kWh/year up to 50,000 kWh/year. This toll is common in homes that also have gas heating.

Access rate 3.3 and 3.4: this access rate is applied above all in small or medium-sized companies or communities of owners with consumption greater than 50,000 kWh/year but that still do not exceed the pressure of 4 bars.

The gas access rate is assigned by the area's gas distributor according to annual consumption. In the event that you are going toturn on the gas, the company establishes an access rate based on an estimate of consumption.

Every year the distribution company will study your gas consumption to check that you still have the access rate that best suits your consumption, otherwise it can modify it for another. The gas access toll price is different depending on the access rate contracted.

What changes will gas tolls undergo with the new regulations?

Starting in October 2021, the new methodology for calculating gas access tolls will begin to be applied, adjusting it to European regulations, as stated in theRoyal Decree 1184/2020.

The main changes will be:

With the new regulations, all companies (regardless of whether they belong to the free or regulated market) will be required to itemize in the gas bill the amount equivalent to access tolls and system charges.

This change does not affect the user financially, the only difference is that we will be able to identify on our invoice what we pay for each concept, both still included within “access tolls”.

What do we pay for access toll?

Access tolls cover all natural gas regasification, transportation, distribution and storage activities.

What do we pay for system charges?

The system charges are allocated to costs not associated with the use of the networks (CNMC rate, mismatches between income and system costs, supply costs in island territories, etc.)

The calculation of access tolls will be done at the beginning of October and not in January. The gas year changes with the new regulations, from then on it will be from October 1 to September 30.

In relation to network access tolls, new groups appear, which represents a greater adjustment according to the type of consumer and their annual consumption.

New access tolls to the local gas network

Toll

Annual consumption

RL.1

Less than or equal to 5,000 kWh

RL.2

Between 5,000 and 15,000 kWh

RL.3

Between 15,000 and 50,000 kWh

RL.4

Between 50,000 and 300,000 kWh

With current regulations, a customer who consumes 10,000 kWh of gas per year pays the same toll as one who consumes 40,000 kWh. This change primarily benefits domestic consumers with consumption of less than 15,000 kWh.

To relocate consumers according to these new rate groups, the gas consumption generated from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 will be taken into account. If it is a new supply, it will be established based on the estimated consumption.

Another novelty is that the fixed term now maintains an annual and not a monthly price, distributed according to the number of days that make up the billing period.

Regarding billing terms, customers whose consumption does not exceed 100,000 kWh per year may pay their bill monthly or bimonthly. Of course, customers who consume more than 100,000 kWh/year will receive their bills on a monthly basis.



All these changes must be communicated at least 3 months in advance by the marketing company with which you have contracted your gas rate.