Call for papers! New Governance Structures in the EU Energy Sector

The impending new energy market design is expected to recalibrate the current power structures of the energy sector, both in the responsibilities assigned to the various governing bodies, and how these structures interact with each other at national, regional and European level.

With myriad developments and challenges on the horizon, this inter-disciplinary conference aims to address the mechanisms of EU energy governance from a theoretical and practical perspective, examining the role of these regulatory frameworks, how they are established, and their impact on the sector.

Scientific and Organising Committee:

Liana Cozigou (CREG), Adrien de Hauteclocque (ECJ/FSR, EUI), Gaspard Demur (European Commission), Marie-Pierre Fauconnier (CREG), Hélène Gassin (CEER/CRE), Annegret Groebel (ACER/BNetzA), Frederik Vandendriessche (UGent), Arnaud Van Waeyenberge (HEC Paris/ULB), Koen Verhoest (UA)

The following is a non-exhaustive list of potential subjects:

• Legitimacy of European Agencies to act as a market regulator (i.e. which tasks can be given to ACER without infringing the subsidiarity principle and which safeguards must be put in place?);
• Independence of ACER vis-à-vis the European Commission (and how to guarantee it);
• Governance standards that should be applied;
• Legal mechanisms to ensure the transparency of decision-making processes;
• Control processes that could be implemented in such a new framework;
• Decision-making of ACER and the democratic framework;
• Adequate regulation and the protection of consumers;
• Decentralisation of generation and the role of local authorities;
• The Energy Union project and the existing multi-level energy governance framework (including inter-governmental agreements);
• Governance devices for cooperation at sub-Union level: new trends in regionalisation;
• Formal and de facto interactions between ACER and the national regulatory agencies;
• Cooperation and co-decision of EU national regulators;
• Energy legislation, network codes and comitology;
• Litigating energy regulation at national and EU level;
• Governing the new energy/ finance interface: enforcing REMIT;
• The new role of Power Exchanges;

Read the Call for Papers

All those interested in participating in this conference are invited to send an abstract (max. 500 words) to Liana Cozigou (Liana.Cozigou@creg.be) by 10th December 2016. All contributors will be promptly informed of the selection decision. Selected authors will be invited to submit their paper (max 8000 words) by the end of February 2016.

Selected papers will be published.

For additional information, please contact Liana Cozigou.