1. EASEE-gas launches new visual identity including logo and redesigned websiteNews1

EASEE-gas is pleased to announce the launch of a new, redesigned website as well as a new logo. The new web portal went live on 15 January 2015, and is located at the same internet address: https://easee-gas.eu. The new visual identity highlights the purpose and scope of the association which is to simplify and streamline the business processes among all the players in the gas market. Continue reading press release here

EASEE-gas encourages all members to use the new logo of the association on their websites. Please contact the secretariat if you need any assistance. 

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2. 
 EASEE-gas 2015 GMoM in Vienna to feature keynote presentations on cyber security and geopolitics 

EASEE-gas General Meeting of Members (GMoM) will take place in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday 19 March 2015. In addition to the traditional financial and legal approvals (budget, annual accounts, elections, etc) the event will include two keynote speakers that will engage with the audience on an interesting discussion on cyber security and geopolitics.

Paul Bloemen, ICT Security Manager at Nederlandse Gasunie
Paul Bloemen works as an ICT Security Manager at N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie. In the ever evolving world of energy and ICT, Paul is responsible for the information security measures that allow Gasunie to do business in a secured way. Paul Bloemen is the chairman of the Dutch Energy-ISAC, where security officers of Dutch energy companies with a vital infrastructure, share information on ICT related incidents and best practices for handling them.
Paul Bloemen will be speaking about: Cyber security in an organization-transcending way
Every organisation is responsible for its own cyber security operations. But in the near future it is most likely that this process will not be performed in isolation by each organization on its own anymore. This is because the importance of business processes like energy supply and the possible impact of security incidents on them: organizations will have to show they are in control.

Geert Greving is Head Public Affairs within GasTerra
Geert Greving started his career in Houston, along off-shore platforms as a field engineer in the early 80s. He worked for Gasunie as feasibility project manager for technical projects following feasibility studies for network enlargements in Sweden, Spain, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand and Ireland. He joined the trading company GasTerra B.V. in 2005 to work on the business development purchase projects: LNG into the European natural gas market as well as attracting new supply sources for Europe in combination with Dutch flexible natural gas production. He is now the Head of Public Affairs and Regulations, besides guiding the Governmental links towards Russia, Algeria and Qatar. Geert Greving takes part in different international organisations: since 2005 he is involved in the IEA, IEF Riyadh and IGU energy policy actions and programming. He acts as TF-3 chairman within the IGU for global geopolitics since 2012. Geert represented the Dutch Government for over 20 years in the RF-EU energy dialogue, as one of the key energy experts in the field of the European natural gas sector, as well an energy focal point into the RF-Dutch, as well as RF-EU industrial dialogue. Moreover he is a senior fellow Brookings institute Washington for RF-EU energy relations. Geert Greving has diplomas in Electronics and Financial Business Administration.
Geert Greving will be speaking about: Geopolitical impact on the global natural gas sector
Geert Greving's presentation will touch upon:
* global developments
* repositioning of our natural gas business
* key issues global, Europe and even a view on The Netherlands
* key turmoil regions and the way forward

EASEE-gas GMoM will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in central Vienna. A social event at the Mozarthaus Museum will take place the previous day on 18 March. 
Registration to the event is still possible. Please contact the EASEE-gas secretariat as soon as possible.

 

In November and December 2014, the CEN TC 234/WG11 discussed in Bonn, Germany, the draft Standard and all comments resulting from the public consultation. Following extensive discussions and the exchange of detailed technical knowledge, members in the meeting managed to reach a consensus on the various elements of the Standard. On the most important subject however, the Wobbe index, no agreement could be found.
In a letter sent by the European Commission, the discussion in Bonn was summarized as "the impasse on the Wobbe index parameter threatened to derail the overall finalization of the standard, disallowing its publication by the end this year." In the same letter the European Commission subsequently concludes that "in order to ensure that the standard can be finalized by end 2015, the European Commission representative suggested at the Bonn meeting to remove the Wobbe index from the parameters."
The removal of the Wobbe index from the Standard has been decided formally in January 2015. During the meeting on 18 and 19 February 2015 in Paris, the CEN TC 234/WG11 finalised the draft Standard, excluding the Wobbe index. Further processing of the Standard will be performed throughout this year with the intention to finalize it end 2015.
With respect to the Wobbe index discussions, a decision was taken to start an EU wide investigation to find an acceptable and safe Wobbe index range. In that sense, discussions have started about the possibility to re-activate the Gas Quality Harmonisation Implementation Pilot and to extend it to all EU Member States. 
For more info on the Pilot Project, please check the official website: http://gqpilot.dgc.eu/.


Since June 2014, the Technology Standards WG is working together with PSvdL on the certificate change project (MoC 2015 project). The renewal of digital security certificates needs to take place before 2016, due to regulations of the certificate issuing authorities.
To comply with the international security standards it was decided by the IT security industry that only certificates which will be hashed with the SHA-2 algorithm will be issued as of 1 January 2016. Currently the less secure SHA-1 algorithm is used. Governments around the world already moved to obligatory SHA-2 certificates with a 2048 bits key length, starting from 2010. Certificate providers are not allowed to generate SHA-1 hashed certificates after 31 December 2015 and as of 1 January 2017, SHA-1 hashed certificates will not be supported in communication software anymore.
To ensure that all EASEE-gas members can support SHA-2 hashed certificates in their software, the project team conducted a survey and distributed test certificates in July 2014. From the 68 members currently holding a security certificate, 18 members responded that it is not possible to use the new certificate format in their current software and 7 members did not respond yet.
All members currently not yet SHA-2 ready are kindly requested to plan and to conduct upgrading projects of their internal IT-systems by 30 June 2015 to become SHA-2 compliant. The intense project phases of the MoC 2015 project will start as of 1 September 2015. The go-live date of the renewed EASEE-gas security certificates is set for 11 November 2015.
For any queries about the certificate change project, please contact Fabian Lohne at easee-gas@psvdl.com.

 


The EASEE-gas Business Process Working Group was assigned to investigate a fall-back solution for the standard EDIG@S communication in case of a general outage of internet.
Following assessment of all technical options, the Working Group came to the conclusion that using a new technology (QR code) could be a suitable alternative communication method (phone, fax over PSTN). However, the costs of using QR code were deemed as rather expensive to be implemented by all companies.
Therefore, the Business Process Working Group decided not to proceed with a CBP on this matter. Instead, the Working Group encourages all stakeholders participating in the EDIG@S communication process to evaluate the need of setting-up a contingency process (i.e. a list/prioritization of processes which needs to be maintained).


EASEE-gas released on 15 December 2014 a newly updated version of a Common Business Practice (CBP) initially published in 2005: CBP 2005-002/03 Interconnection Agreement. 
Developed by EASEE-gas Business Process Working Group, this CBP describes the scope of an interconnection agreement to be established by two adjacent system operators, describing how to facilitate interoperability of the grids.
This CBP was originally published in 2005 and was now updated with the Network Code on Interoperability and Data Exchange Rules.
Continue reading here 
EASEE-gas 
Raquel Ponte Costa 
142 Avenue Jules Bordet, 1140 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 761 16 33
Fax: +32 2 761 16 99
Email: easee-gas@kelleneurope.com