Policy Brief
Electricity market reform : what is (not) in the European Commission proposal
12 May 2023
In 2022, we experienced an unprecedented energy crisis. Governments intervened to help consumers pay their bills and to apply revenue claw-back mechanisms on utilities. ACER identified a total of 400 emergency measures. The European Commission has also been tasked to draft a market reform proposal in record time. Two main reasons why we like the proposal: it preserves the pricing mechanism of the short-term electricity markets; it complements the existing electricity markets with regulatory measures to address the main concerns that emerged during the crisis: energy poverty and inflation; insufficient hedging by consumers and retailers; difficulties in accessing cheap renewables by consumers; and investment uncertainty. Recommendation to improve the proposal: it could include the development of detailed guidelines for the implementation of two-way CfDs. Developers that sign such a contract should still be exposed to the incentives of short-term wholesale and balancing prices. Risk for the trilogue negotiations: The proposal does not foresee that Member States can continue with revenue claw back mechanisms and/or (regulated) long term contracts for existing assets. Some Member States might want to add that option to the proposal. Undermining investor confidence in this way would be unfortunate because we have to speedup investments to comply with the Fit-for-55 Package. Need for a bigger reform (with impact assessment during the next Commission mandate): If we modernize and Europeanize capacity mechanisms, they can guide the investments we need in backup solutions for a renewable-based system, which includes demand response and storage.
logo cadmus Read it on Cadmus Download in open access

LATEST FSR PUBLICATIONS

Other
The Brief explores pathways to promote a sustainable agricultural trade regime for the EU. We identify three challenges and propose three potential paths forward. We discuss potential implications of the [...]
Other
The rewable energy resources within EU27 are highly dominated by wind and solar energy delivering electricity as output. As electrification is the most efficient way to deliver the energy services [...]
Other
Manufacturing firms in the EU face the double challenge of decarbonisation and (international) competitive pressure. Based on the key findings of the 2024 EIB investment survey and considering the economic [...]
Other
Regulation 1370/2007, as amended by the Fourth Railway Package, set the date of 25 December 2023 for the opening to competition of services subject to public service obligations. As opposed [...]
Other
This policy brief contends that a new approach to Long Term Contracts (LTCs) in European competition policy based on new facts, new realities and a revised reasoning must be urgently [...]
Other
In the North Seas region, a coalition of 9 countries expressed the ambition to quadruple their offshore wind capacity from 30 GW to 120 GW by 2030, and to then [...]

Join our community

To meet, discuss and learn in the channel that suits you best.

scroll

top