Conexus officially approved as a member of the AIB Gas Scheme Group

The Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) has formally approved the gas domain protocol for Latvia of Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus), the single natural gas transmission and storage system operator, making Conexus a formal member of the AIB’s Gas Scheme Group. The Domain Protocol sets out the rules for the circulation of guarantees of origin, allowing the issuance of gas guarantees of origin that comply with the international standard.

In accordance with the requirements of the Energy Law, Conexus has established a system for the issuance, circulation and control of certificates of origin for gas from renewable energy sources, implementing the system in accordance with the requirements of the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) developed by the European Association of Issuing Bodies. The approval of the domain protocol ensures that the registry is legally recognised internationally in the member countries of the European Association of Issuing Bodies.

Membership of the Association of Issuing Bodies gas scheme group will give the right to vote on decisions in the development of the European Energy Certificate System and will also enable the issuance of EECS GOs (European Energy Certificate System Guarantees of Origin). Alongside Conexus, the gas scheme group also includes ENAGAS GTS, the Spanish issuing body for gas guarantees of origin, and E-Control, the Austrian electricity and gas market regulator.

"Becoming a member is an important step in the long-term development of renewable gas in Latvia. We see this as an important step towards the inclusion of biomethane in the European Guarantee of Origin system and in ensuring common standards that will facilitate the long-term import and export of biomethane," said Uldis Bariss, Chairman of the Board of Conexus.

Bariss adds that the EECS provides a reliable, internationally recognised standard of origin for biomethane injected into the interconnected gas system. Conexus administers the guarantees of origin in an electronic register, which has been set up and maintained by the Finnish company Grexel Systems Oy in accordance with Conexus and EECS requirements.

“It was an honour to be selected to develop the Latvian registry for certificates of origin for Conexus. It’s one of the first of its kind in Europe and we are very excited to be part of this pioneering work. The Conexus team is truly great to work with and extremely professional. We look forward to a fruitful cooperation of many years to come,” comments Markus Klimscheffskij, CEO of Grexel Systems Oy.  

Currently, 19 of the 36 AIB member organisations are the officially selected national issuing bodies for gas guarantees of origin, with more expected to be mandated in the future. Although the EECS standard is widely known and used in the electricity sector, the development of guarantees of origin for gas issues is taking place at different speeds in each country, so the aim is to create a single and harmonised system of guarantees of origin that works across Europe, for all energy carriers.