1. For the purpose of this Rulebook Force Majeure events shall mean all events that affect the performance of obligations arising from this Rulebook, are beyond the control of the party affected by them and could not have been anticipated or prevented, despite the diligence that any prudent party might have shown.

2. If any party is unable to fulfill any of its obligations under this Rulebook due to circumstances of Force Majeure, the fulfillment of mutual claims and obligations arising from the corresponding Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract shall be suspended for the Force Majeure period.

3. In the event of Force Majeure, the HETS Operator or the registered Balancing Service Provider/registered Balance Responsible Party that invokes Force Majeure, shall have the following obligations:

   a) it shall be required to send to the other party a notice, as soon as possible, describing the nature of the Force Majeure event and its probable duration, and to continue to give reports with reasonable frequency during the period of the Force Majeure event.

   b) it shall make every possible effort to limit the consequences of the Force Majeure event, as soon as possible, after the occurrence of the Force Majeure event,

   c) it shall cooperate with the other Party in the interest of finding the best way to continue their activities to the extent possible in accordance with this Rulebook.

4. If the Force Majeure event continues for a period longer than six (6) months, the HETS Operator or the registered Balancing Service Provider/registered Balance Responsible Party affected by the Force Majeure event may unilaterally terminate the Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract, respectively, by notice to the other party. The termination shall take effect within ten (10) business days from the date of the notice or at any later date specified in the Termination Notice.

1. In addition to communication through the Balancing Market System as described in Article 2.4 or otherwise specified in this Rulebook, any notice or other communication in the context of or in connection with this Rulebook shall be conducted by personal delivery, or by post, fax or email, and shall be addressed to the representative of the other party, as defined in the Balancing Service Contract / Balance Responsible Party Contract, or as notified by the registered Participant.

2. In particular, for any communication concerning (i) the conclusion of the Balancing Service Contract/Balance Responsible Party Contract pursuant to Article 4.2, communication shall be conducted by personal delivery only or by post, with proof of receipt, or (ii) the termination thereof, according to Article 4.4, by bailiff service.

3. All notices and other communications, shall be deemed to have been received by the party they are addressed to, as follows:

   a) in case of personal delivery or delivery by post, at the time of delivery,

   b) in case of fax, at the time indicated on the proof of delivery of the sender's facsimile machine,

   c) in case of e-mail, at the time the e-mail was sent, indicated on the proof of sending.

4. If a notification or other announcement has been received outside the working hours of a business day, it shall be deemed to have been received at the beginning of the working hours on the following business day.

1. The HETS Operator shall comply with all the rules laid down in the applicable legislation regarding transparency and disclosure of information with respect to the transactions carried out in the context of the Balancing Market, and, in particular, with the provisions of:

   a) Regulation (EU) 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the integrity and the transparency of the wholesale energy market,

   b) Implementing Commission Regulation (EU) 1348/2014 of 17 December 2014 on the reporting of data for the implementation of Article 8 (2) and (6) of Regulation (EU) 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the integrity and the transparency of the wholesale energy market,

   c) Commission Regulation (EU) 543/2013 of 14 June 2013 on submission and publication of data in electricity markets and on amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council,

   d) Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 of 23 November 2017 on establishing a guideline on electricity balancing, or

   e) any other relevant regulatory act or law.

2. The HETS Operator shall provide to third parties, and, in particular, to the Participants, following a reasoned request, information relating to transactions carried out in the framework of the Balancing Market, provided that:

   a) this act is not contrary to a provision of law,

   b) the information does not constitute commercially sensitive information and its provision does not entail unfair commercial or competitive advantages to third parties and, in particular, to the registered Participants and

   c) the third party, including the registered Participants, is bound by a confidentiality clause.

3. General information on the operation of the System as well as information on statistical data is not considered to be confidential.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, the HETS Operator and any registered Balancing Service Provider/registered Balance Responsible Party that receives confidential information in connection with this Rulebook shall preserve the confidentiality of such information and shall not disclose, report, publish, communicate, transfer or use, directly or indirectly, any part of the confidential information for a purpose other than that for which it was notified to it.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, the HETS Operator or the registered Balancing Service Provider/registered Balance Responsible Party may disclose confidential information of another party:

   a) to the extent provided for in this Rulebook or the Clearing Rulebook for Balancing Market Positions.

   b) to the extent required, in order to comply with the applicable national or European legislation as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article,

   c) to the extent required by competent courts or authorities during proceedings before them, in which the addressee participates,

   d) if required for the proper fulfillment of its duties and obligations under applicable law and this Rulebook, or

   e) if required for the issuing of licenses or approvals by the competent authority.

6. Moreover, the obligations arising from this Article shall not apply:

   a) if the party receiving the information can prove that, at the time of disclosure, such information was already publicly available,

   b) if the party receiving the information presents evidence that, since the notification the information has been legally received by a third party or made available to the public,

   c) to confidential information disclosed in accordance with legal and regulatory arrangements in an aggregated form, from which no information relevant to a particular Market Participant can be deducted,

   d) to information whose publication is explicitly provided for in the present Rulebook.

7. The confidentiality obligations of this Article shall remain in effect for the entire duration and for a period of five (5) years from the termination of the Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract.

8. The conclusion of a Balancing Service Contract or Balance Responsible Party Contract and the exchange of confidential information shall not give rise to any right to patents, knowledge or any other form of copyright in respect of information or tools made available or sent by one party to another by virtue of this Rulebook.

The Registered Participant may not release or assign any of the rights or obligations arising from the Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract, or this Rulebook to third parties. In particular, the above persons are allowed to assign the Clearing of Positions they may possess to a Clearing Member with respect to their cash obligations and the corresponding claims arising from such Positions in accordance with the Clearing Rulebook for Balancing Market Positions

1. This Rulebook is governed by and interpreted in accordance with the Greek law.

2. The courts of Athens are competent for resolving any dispute that may arise from or in connection with this Rulebook.

1. If this Rulebook is translated into English, in the event of discrepancy between the Greek text and the English version, the Greek text shall prevail over the English language version.

2. For the purposes of implementation of the provisions of this Rulebook, all amounts shall be in euros.

Omission or delay in the exercise of any right, power or judicial remedy, or individual or partial exercise of any such right, power or judicial remedy provided for by law or by this Rulebook, shall not constitute a waiver of this or any other right, power or judicial remedy.

1. This Rulebook, the Balancing Service Contract, the Balance Responsible Party Contract, the HETS Grid Code and the HETS Transactions Contract constitute the full agreement between the HETS Operator and each registrant entered in the HETS Operator Registry.

2. If any provision of this Rulebook or the Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract or the HETS Grid Code or the HETS Transactions Contract is declared null, unenforceable or unlawful by the competent courts, or according to an arbitration or by order of a competent authority, such nullity, non-enforceability or unlawfulness shall not prejudice or affect the remaining provisions of this Rulebook, the Balancing Service Contract or the Balance Responsible Party Contract or the HETS Grid Code or the HETS Transactions Contract, which shall continue to be in force and have legal effects.

1. Regarding Emergency Situations, the provisions of the HETS Grid Code and the Natural Gas Emergency Plan shall apply.

2. In the event that the Balancing Market is rendered inoperable, specifically due to an emergency situation, or a fault in the Balancing Market System, or in other electronic systems utilized by the HETS Operator, the HETS Operator shall apply the ‘Rules for Suspension and Restoration of Market Activities’, approved by the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy, and Water, subsequent to the recommendations of the HETS Operator, in accordance with the provisions of Article 18(4) of Law 4425/2016.