European electricity market regulation: implementing past, present and future reforms

“Implementing Network Codes” (INC) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project focusing on the implementation of EU electricity market laws.

About the INC project

INC examines the rulemaking process of market and system operation guidelines and their underlying terms and conditions or methodologies (TCMs) to analyse the impact on the integration of the European electricity market.

The 4-year project runs until 2024, and is funded by the Research Council of Norway, with co-funding from Norwegian stakeholders. It is led by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, and an international team of scholars from political science, law and economics work in close collaboration with industry experts, user partners and other relevant stakeholders.

Purpose:

Showcase results from the research project Implementing Network Codes 1 and get feedback to ongoing research; link up to discussions of ongoing/prospective discussions on the internal electricity market from perspectives of law, politics, and markets.

Session 1: Applying and enforcing the TCMs

The session will focus on what happens after TCM adoption by ACER, or agreement among NRAs in a region, including TCM adoption via individual decisions by each NRA, and the process for adopting TCMs within the EEA EFTA countries. The session will also showcase examples from regional cooperation in the Nordic and Core regions, as well as from the European level.

Session 2: After EMD: what next for network codes and TCMs?

A major development that emerged from the previous legislative reform (Clean Energy Package) was the code on demand response and a new European DSO entity. The ongoing electricity market reform (EMD) could also have implications for prospective work on network codes and guidelines (re-starting CACM revision), and the terms, conditions and methodologies (TCMs). What can we expect from these processes in the aftermath of EMD adoption? Given the EU’s 2050 climate ambitions, the electricity sector would need to decarbonise by 2040. How might this affect the processes for developing new, and revising existing, network codes, guidelines and TCMs?

Session 3: An offshore market design: How seaworthy are network codes and TCMs?

In principle, the EU electricity market regulation, including subsidiary rules like network codes, guidelines and TCMs would apply also to an offshore electricity market. However, this could create new problems, as seen with the discussion on offshore bidding zones in the ongoing EMD negotiations. The regulation of an offshore electricity network could potentially form part of a structural reform of the electricity market design in the next EU electoral cycle. This session will focus on the regulation of an offshore electricity market, and the application of NC/GL/TCMs offshore. The discussion could zoom in on the North Sea basin, where there is also collaboration with the UK and Norway, for illustration.

Session 4: Evolving role of ACER through crises and transition

What changes have materialised over time as regards to the role of ACER – formally and informally – within and beyond the regulation of the EU electricity market? What impact has the energy crisis had on the role and work of ACER? What are the prospects moving forward in a world of heightened geopolitics and energy transition? This session would discuss how ACER is getting a larger role as regards the energy transition agenda (cf. EP proposal to have ACER assess national flexibility plans) and the subsidiarity issues a greater role of ACER might entail. This session could link up to the discussion of a potential structural reform of the electricity market design in the next electoral cycle in the EU (2024-2029). While several tasks have been placed at regional and European levels, enforcement remains very much in national hands. The session could discuss whether more cooperation at regional and European level might be needed, e.g., moving beyond monitoring, capacity-building, and identification of best practices. Enhancing regulatory cooperation at EU level, including via ACER, also raises the issue of participation of non-EU NRAs as well as issues of accountability.