Hungary expects to fully open its natural gas market six months later than originally planned because of a delay in legislative procedures, energy market authorities said Tuesday.
Establishing a natural gas bourse would also be important to facilitate efficiency of the liberalized market, the authorities said.
"Jan. 1 2009 is a realistic date," Tamas Zarandy, an official at the Economic Ministry said at a conference organized by the Institute for International Research.
"The original date of July 1 for market opening cannot be upheld, that's clear now," said Ferenc J. Horvath, president of the Hungarian energy office, or MEH, at the same conference.
The new framework bill regulating the liberalized gas market is currently in Parliament, having been expected to be approved by lawmakers by the end of 2007. After its approval, implementation regulations are also to be established and market players and MEH will need further time to obtain and grant necessary permits.
The system operator will need to establish the operating model of the new market by Oct. 30.
Hungarian industrial users are already allowed to buy gas on the free market, which accounts for about 30% of all gas trade.
Regulation also needs to be established to create a natural gas bourse to play a significant role in setting prices on the liberalized market, MEH's Horvath said.
"It would be rational to establish the bourse the sooner the better; it could even be part of a regional (energy) bourse," Horvath said.