Infrastructure
Gas infrastructure in Austria
The Austrian gas grid is a historically grown system which, due to its location, represents a central hub for the distribution of gas in Europe.
The Austrian gas grid consists of different pipeline levels:
- Transmission pipelines for the import and export of gas by means of high-pressure pipelines.
- Level 1 distribution pipelines for the supra-regional transport of gas in Austria
- Level 2 and 3 distribution pipelines for regional distribution to end customers.
In addition to the transmission and distribution grid, gas storage facilities with 100 TWh of storage capacity and natural gas and biomethane production plants are also key parts of Austria's gas infrastructure.
The Austrian gas grid
The Transmission Network
The Austrian transmission network only runs through the Market area East and comprises approx. 2,000 km of high-pressure pipelines. The main axes of the Austrian transmission system are formed by the Trans Austria Gas Pipeline (TAG), the West Austria Gas Pipeline (WAG) and Penta-West (PW).
AGGM is responsible for coordinating network control as well as network and balancing energy management in the transmission network.
The transmission network facilitate gas transport within the Eastern Market Area and provide cross-border connections for import and transit to Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia. The pipelines are operated by Gas Connect Austria GmbH (GCA) and TAG GmbH.
Transport capacities are marketed by the transmission system operators via the PRISMA capacity booking platform and, for the Mosonmagyaróvár interconnection point to Hungary, via the Regional Booking Platform.
The Austrian Distribution network
The Austrian Distribution network covers all market areas (East, Tyrol and Vorarlberg) and has a total length of approx. 44,000 km. As distribution area manager, AGGM is responsible for gas flow management at distribution level 1.
Level 1 distribution pipelines are used for supra-regional gas transport and large-scale customer supply. Gas storage facilities are connected to the Level 1 distribution pipeline network.
A total of 100 TWh of storage capacity is available in Austria’s gas storage facilities, which play a key role in seasonal energy storage. These capacities are marketed by four storage operators.
The distribution pipelines of level 2 and 3 supply end customers and companies with gas. The majority of end consumers are subsequently connected to the higher-ranking gas network via low-pressure pipeline systems. The pipelines of distribution network level 2 and 3 are controlled by the network operators. Austria has 20 distribution network operators. These operators are responsible for the technical operation and maintenance of the distribution infrastructure.
Contracts for network access – both for gas withdrawal and for the injection of biomethane or hydrogen – must be concluded directly with the respective distribution network operator.
Connection to and use of the network are subject to regulated charges, which are defined by the regulatory authority E-Control in the Gas System Fee Regultion (GSNE-VO).
The demand-driven further development of Austria’s gas network is planned by AGGM in cooperation with the network operators.
Hydrogen transport in the Austrian gas network
The Austrian gas network has sufficient capacity for the future transport of renewable gases. Only 300 km of new gas pipelines need to be built so that hydrogen and methane can be transported in parallel in the future. The remainder will be made possible by repurposing 1,400 km of existing gas infrastructure.