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III. SOURCES OF EU ENERGY LAW inthis Directive. Ihis Directive shall apply to high-voltage electricity transmission systems and to the companies responsible for such systems in the Member States, as listed in the Annex. b) Hydrocarbon Research Directive Another very important source of secondary legislation is the single regulation on hydrocarbon exploration, which is set out in the Hydrocarbons Exploration Directive?" . 1he legislation calls for steps to be taken to ensure non-discriminatory access to and the exercise of the right to explore for, extract and exploit hydrocarbons under conditions that encourage greater competition in the sector, to promote the best possible methods of exploration and exploitation of Member States! reserves and to strengthen the integration of the internal energy market. To that end, it is necessary to establish common procedural rules to ensure that procedures for granting authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons are open to all undertakings possessing the necessary capacity; whereas the granting of authorisations should be based on objective and public criteria; whereas, moreover, the conditions for granting authorisations should be known in advance to the undertakings participating in the procedure. c) Electricity directives One of the first and most important steps in the integration of the electricity market was the adoption of the first electricity directive*' as part of the regulatory package known as the “First Energy Package”. The Directives provided for a gradual opening of the market, with a minimum level of liberalisation. Member States were allowed to set a higher level, at their discretion, when implementing the Directive. In addition to market liberalisation, it was also possible to maintain the public service obligation in parallel to ensure the supply of consumers. The first Directive covered the whole energy sector, from production to the consumer level. This Directive establishes common rules for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It lays down rules on the organisation and functioning of the electricity sector, access to the market, the conditions and procedures applicable to calls for tenders, the granting of authorisations and the operation of systems. 30 Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons /OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3]. 3! Directive 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity /OJ L 27, 30.1.1997, p. 20]. + 30°
