Investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors

OBJECTIVE: to remedy the problems encountered in connection with the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 1056/72 on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors, and to ensure that the information collected is as useful as possible. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Regulation (EC) No 736/96 on notifying the Commission of investment projects of interest to the Community in the petroleum, natural gas and electricity sectors. SUBSTANCE: The Council regulation replaces, and reformulates with the addition of the necessary changes, Council Regulation (EEC) No 1056/72 as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1215/76. The regulation: - stresses that the information gathered pursuant to the regulation is needed for the Commission's on-going activities and that these data constitute the only source of official information available to the Commission's on developments in production, processing and transmission capacity in the electricity, petroleum and natural gas sectors; - leaves Member States free to decide the means they use to provide the information required to meet the objectives set out in the regulation; - requires the Member States to communicate to the Commission, before 15 April of each year, the information they have obtained concerning investment projects; Member States should add to their communications any comments they may have; - requires the persons and undertakings concerned, before 15 March of each year, to communicate details of investment projects to the Member States in whose territory they are planning to carry them out; - provides that, with regard to investment projects planned or in progress, any communications should indicate: the precise purpose and nature of such investments, the planned capacity for power, the probable date of commissioning and the type of raw materials used. As regards any proposed withdrawals from service, communications should indicate: the mature and the capacity or power of the installations concerned and the probable date when the installations will be withdrawn from service. At the end of the period of five years, the Commission is required to submit to the Council a report on the implementation of the regulation, to be accompanied by the requisite proposals. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 25 April 1996.�