• The conclusion of a Gas Storage Agreement is a prerequisite for the use of the Storage System Operator's service.
• The procedure for the conclusion of the Gas Storage Agreement begins with the receipt of the Request for the reservation of an individual available service of the Storage System Operator.   
• After receiving the request for the reservation of SBU's, the Storage System Operator conducts a SBU allocation procedure according to previously defined regulations prescribed in the published the new Storage Code - (Official Gazette No. 50/2018) (unofficial translation) and the Amendments of the Storage Code (Official Gazette No. 26/2020) (unofficial translation).

The contractual relationship between the Operator and Storage System User is defined by:

• The General Terms and Conditions
• Standard Storage Agreement
• Individual Contracted Service Confirmation (example: Confirmation on the contracted SBU lease service)
• Means of payment security are defined by the Contracted Service Confirmations. The draft of the bank guarantee you can find on the folowing link: Bank Guarantee.
• Access to the Storage information platform is regulated by the Access Agreement and the List of Autorizatons for new IT platform users.

The condition for the use of the Gas Storage System capacity is the reservation of transport capacities for the exit from the transport system which is also the entrance into the Gas Storage System, as well as the capacities for the entry into the transport system which is also the exit from the Storage System, and which is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Network Code of the Transmission System which is adopted by the Transport System Operator.

Congestion management is defined in Article 23. of the General terms and conditions: 

CONGESTION MANAGEMENT
 
(1) Pursuant to the provisions of the Law and the Storage Code and the Amendments of the Storage Code, and with the goal of ensuring the efficient usage of the Gas Storage System capacity, the Operator conducts proactive measures of congestion management:
-            taking into consideration the integrity of the system, the Operator offers the User maximum working volume, maximum injection capacities and maximum withdrawal capacities;
-            the Operator offers and develops services which are harmonized with the needs of the market;
-            the Operator allocates the Gas Storage System capacities in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner in the manner described in the Storage Code.
-            the Operator encourages Users to optimize the usage of the Gas Storage System capacity in accordance with the "use or sell" principle;
-            the Operator offers the use of interruptible not-nominated capacity on a daily level service which allows the Users to use the injection capacity or the withdrawal capacity which is not used by other Users on an interruptible basis.
 
(2) Pursuant to the provisions of the Law and the Storage Code, and with the goal of ensuring the efficient usage of the Gas Storage System capacity, the User is obliged to conduct proactive measures of congestion management:
-            the User will not contract more firm gas storage capacity than he justifiably needs in order to fulfil his contractual obligations;
-            the User will offer in the secondary market the leased Gas Storage System capacities which he temporarily or permanently is not using;
-            the User will not use the assigned Gas Storage System capacities in order to threaten, restrict or interrupt the functioning of the Gas Market.