Lubmin (dpa/mv) - According to the operator, the European Commission has given the green light for the operation of the terminal for liquefied natural gas in Lubmin. Deutsche Regas announced on Thursday that the Commission had confirmed the exemption from certain regulations by the Federal Network Agency in November. However, the approval of the responsible state authority is still missing. The state government had recently promised a decision in January.

The Federal Network Agency released the terminal from tariff and network access regulations in November. According to earlier information from Deutsche Regas, operators are not allowed to freely set tariffs and access rules for their terminals without an exemption. Such an exemption has already been granted for other terminals and is possible if, for example, competition in gas supply and security of supply are improved.

On Wednesday, Deutsche Regas received approval from the state to feed in gas as part of a test operation. According to the company, this is a reduced amount that was incurred during the necessary tests of the technical systems. Stephan Knabe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, could not say on Wednesday when the first gas would be fed into the grid as part of the plant tests, possibly this year.

In Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, gas was fed in for the first time on Wednesday in a test phase at the LNG terminal there. Commercial operation is expected there from mid-January. An LNG terminal is also scheduled to go into operation in Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein. When replacing failed gas deliveries from Russia, Germany relies on liquefied natural gas delivered by ship, among other things.