3.4 Combined Independent Management Committee
On 27 July 2010, with the approval of the Electricity and Gas Authority and pursuant to Article 16 of the Bylaws, the Board of Directors set up the Combined Independent Management Committee, a collegiate body for the joint management - by Snam and its Controlled Companies - of regulated activities pertaining to the transportation and dispatching, distribution and storage of natural gas and to the regasification of liquefied natural gas.
The Committee was set up in accordance with the provisions of the Consolidated Unbundling Act (TIU). The TIU states that regulated activities pertaining to the transportation and dispatching, storage and distribution of natural gas, and to the regasification of liquefied natural gas, can be managed jointly - without being subject to functional-unbundling obligations17 - through the creation of a Combined Independent Management Committee18.
The Combined Independent Management Committee is made up of the individuals who hold the following positions at any given time:
- the CEO of Snam;
- the CEO of GNL Italia;
- the CEO of Italgas;
- the CEO of Snam Rete Gas;
- the CEO of Stogit.
The Combined Independent Management Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of Snam.
In accordance with Article 15.1 of the TIU, the Combined Independent Management Committee has appointed a Supervisor for the proper management of commercially sensitive information processed as part of ordinary business activities. At present, this role of Supervisor is performed by Snam’s Head of Coordination of Legal and Corporate and Compliance Affairs.
17 EU laws on natural gas (transposed into Italian law by Legislative Decree No. 164 of 23 May 2000, Decree Law No. 239 of 29 August 2003 and Legislative Decree No. 93 of 1 June 2011) introduced laws on the corporate, functional and organisational unbundling of system operators for the transportation, dispatching, distribution, storage and regasification of natural gas, belonging to groups of vertically integrated undertakings. The functional-unbundling obligations were incumbent on Eni as a vertically integrated undertaking in the natural gas sector, operating not only in the field of mining and sales but also in transportation and dispatching infrastructure activities, the regasification of liquefied natural gas, and storage and distribution, through subsidiaries - (i.e. Snam and its Controlled Companies).
18 See Article 8.1 of the TIU.