1. Member States shall ensure that each natural gas storage system operator, including any natural gas storage system operator controlled by a transmission system operator, is certified in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Article, either by the regulatory authority or by a competent authority designated by the Member State concerned pursuant to Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 (in either case referred to as the ‘certifying authority’).
This Article also applies to natural gas storage system operators controlled by transmission system operators which are certified pursuant to Directive 2009/73/EC or (EU) 2024/1788.