In this podcast, Guillaume Dezobry, partner at Fidal and senior lecturer in public law at Université d’Amiens, discusses two cases of unavailability of power plants in France and the consequences under the EU Regulation on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT). He interviews Alexandra Bonhomme, director of the legal department at Commission de Régulation de l´Énergie (CRE), and Emeric de Vigan, Vice-President Power at Kepler Analytics, to understand the details of the two cases and the respective legal outcomes. The first case relates to the EDF group and to the unavailability of a nuclear plant; the second one relates to Engie and to the outage of a gas-fired power plant.

End users have traditionally played a limited and rather passive role in the provision of electricity. However, the decentralisation and digitalisation of the energy sector today are changing the way electricity is produced, exchanged and consumed. New energy models, for instance peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, community self-consumption, and transactive energy, are emerging.

In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Alexandra Schneiders (UCL) present the new Global Observatory on P2P, community self-consumption and transactive energy models. Established in September 2019, the Observatory is part of the Users-centred Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Programme (Users TCP) of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Eight countries are members of this Observatory, whose primary goal is to create a platform where all the stakeholders involved in the roll-out of these new energy models can exchange information and build new knowledge. The outcomes of the Observatory are then expected to support the policy-making efforts by governments around the world and contribute to the adoption of sensible public policies and regulation.

This podcast was recorded on 18th February 2020 in Florence during the second meeting (https://fsr.eui.eu/event/global-observatory-on-peer-to-peer-community-self-consumption-and-transactive-energy-models/) of the Global Observatory on Peer-to-Peer, Community Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy Models (https://userstcp.org/annex/peer-to-peer-energy-trading/), organised by the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) in cooperation with the University College London (UCL) and with the financial support by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

An explosion in medium and small electricity prosumers has been observed in the past decade across the EU, mainly driven by generous support measures and PV cost reduction. This era is now coming to an end with the phase-out of net metering schemes and feed-in tariffs. Therefore, new business models ensuring economic sustainability are essential.
In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Donal Brown (University of Leeds) discuss how electricity prosumers can extract more value from their distributed generation assets. According to Dr Brown, prosumers might do at least three things: 1) increase their self-consumption rate behind the meter (e.g., via a micro-grid) or in front of it when allowed by regulation (e.g., Mieterstrom in Germany); 2) trade energy locally via peer-to-peer platforms or blockchain; 3) aggregate their loads and generation profiles to sell flexibility and other ancillary services. The development of digital technologies is making all these options potentially available, but regulation is not always conducive. When looking at the future of energy prosumers, the specific national context matters a lot.

If you want to know more about the PROSEU project and its result, please visit https://proseu.eu/

This podcast was recorded on 18th February 2020 in Florence during the second meeting (https://fsr.eui.eu/event/global-observatory-on-peer-to-peer-community-self-consumption-and-transactive-energy-models/) of the Global Observatory on Peer-to-Peer, Community Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy Models (https://userstcp.org/annex/peer-to-peer-energy-trading/) organised by the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) in cooperation with the University College London (UCL) and the financial support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

At the FSR Global Forum (25-28 March) Tim Schittekatte, researcher at the Florence School of Regulation, interviewed Dr Anoop Singh who leads the Centre for Energy Regulation (CER) within IIT Kanpur, India.

In this podcast, firstly, it is questioned whether national reforms (i.e. liberalization) is a necessary precondition to allow for regional integration of electricity markets. Dr Singh argues that we do not have to wait for national reforms; these reforms might take too long. A better option is to start with bilateral agreements, which will quickly show benefits. These experiences will quickly illicit interest from other stakeholders which can join the project later. Secondly, it is mentioned that only a minimum set of requirements need to be met to allow for such bilateral electricity trade agreements. National markets may be gradually reformed to increase the benefits of electricity market integration. Finally, Dr Singh explains that currently, India is successfully trading electricity with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Digital technologies enable accurate monitoring and controlling of all devices connected to the electricity grid and the relative flows of energy. By doing so, they can harness the untapped potential for flexibility hidden in the system, both on the demand and the supply side, offering a solution to the challenges raised by decentralisation and decarbonisation. This is what aggregators and virtual power plants (VPPs) like Next Kraftwerke do. However, technology is only half of the story: favourable market conditions and an adequate regulatory framework are equally essential to get a sustainable business model.

How can you ensure that a monopoly company behaves in the best interest of consumers when the technological, economic and political landscape is always moving?
In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Joe Perkins (Ofgem) discuss the British experience with inventive regulation for energy grids.
In 2010, Ofgem launched a major reassessment of the regulatory framework for energy grids. The analysis showed how the incentive regulation introduced in the 1990s had both merits and drawbacks. Among the latter, a difficulty to promote investments in innovation was apparent.
Building on such analysis, Ofgem decided to change the regulatory framework for grids and adopt RIIO. Far from being a revolution, that move represented a natural evolution of the framework previously in place.
Achievements so far have been good, but the oversight effort required from the regulator has been significant and the regulated companies may have benefited more than expected in terms of financial returns. It is for this reason that Ofgem is once again assessing the situation and is ready to learn from its own mistakes to improve continually grid regulation in the interest of British consumers.
Do you want to know more? Please take a look at the recently published book ‘’Electricity Network Regulation in the EU: The Challenges Ahead‎ for Transmission and Distribution’’ edited by Leonardo Meeus and Jean-Michel Glachant:
http://fsr.eui.eu/publications/electricity-network-regulation-in-the-eu-the-challenges-ahead-for-transmission-and-distribution/
In the first chapter of the book, Vincent Rious and Nicolò Rossetto cover the British model of incentive regulation for electric grids, from the introduction of the RPI-X formula in the 1990s to the current revision of RIIO.

There is little debate about a charging point in your garage. It is yours. But what about charging points in the street?

In this short podcast, Tim Schittekatte interviews Luca Lo Schiavo, Vice-Director Energy Infrastructure and Unbundling at the Italian regulator ARERA. The Italian experience is an interesting case in this regard. Namely, a call for pilot projects was launched to build and operate public EV charging stations between 2011 and 2015. Three possible business models were proposed, which were distinct in terms of the operator (the DSO or a third-party), the number of competing retailers at the recharging infrastructure and the allowed degree of competition between charging stations in a determined area.

Want to know more? Please take a look at the recently published book ‘’Electricity Network Regulation in the EU: The Challenges Ahead‎ for Transmission and Distribution’’ edited by Leonardo Meeus and Jean-Michel Glachant:
http://fsr.eui.eu/publications/electricity-network-regulation-in-the-eu-the-challenges-ahead-for-transmission-and-distribution/

In the last chapter of the book, we cover new grey areas at the frontiers of European power grids. The regulation of public EV charging infrastructure is identified as such a grey area.

Today, in Europe electricity prices are determined per (bidding) zone which equals in most cases a country. Under zonal pricing, only transmission capacity limitations between the zones are considered in the market-clearing process. The transmission lines within a zone are assumed to have unlimited capacity. This assumption is more and more challenged; one factor is the changing pattern of network flows due to the integration of renewables. As a result, Europe’s less-than-optimal zonal configuration is becoming a limiting factor for the efficiency of the market integration process.

One remedy could be to build more transmission lines. This option is however costly and takes a lot of time. Another remedy could be to redraw the boundaries of the different bidding zones, a so-called bidding zone review. In the extreme, the zones could be determined so small up to the point that each node of the transmission network is priced; this is nodal pricing. With nodal pricing, limitations on all transmission lines are considered in the market clearing process. Nodal pricing is advocated by many academics as being the theoretical optimal solution. However, many stakeholders in Europe are resisting against a push in the nodal direction.

On the 25th of January, the Florence School of Regulation held a workshop about zonal versus nodal pricing for the electricity markets. In the slipstream of the workshop, Tim Schittekatte interviewed Vincent P. Duane, Senior Vice-President at PJM. PJM stands for Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland and is the largest independent power system operator (ISO) in the US. It operates competitive wholesale electricity markets and the power system serving an area encompassing 14 different states. Since about 20 years ago, nodal pricing is implemented in PJM.

In the interview, Tim questions Mr Duane about how PJM deals with some of the common ‘’European concerns’’ regarding a nodal electricity market: low liquidity, market power, and computational complexity. Looking at the PJM experience, the challenge in switching from zonal to nodal pricing is not really in the economics or technicalities but rather in governance. The interview ends with an outlook to the future. It is argued that if we really want a vision of local energy generation and smart consumption to materialize, we need local prices reflecting the correct value of the different attributes of electricity.

Recently, reliability options were implemented as part of the new Irish integrated single electricity market (I-SEM). Thus becoming the first European Union Member state implement this capacity remuneration mechanism design. Pradyumna Bhagwat (FSR) discusses with Barry Hussey, Manager at the Irish Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), about his thoughts on reliability options in Ireland and the experience with the recently held first auction.

Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Dr Carlo Stagnaro (Istituto Bruno Leoni, IBL) reflect on the potential benefits of competition in retail electricity markets and briefly discuss the situation in Italy, where a standard regulated offer, called “Maggior Tutela” in Italian, is available to households and small companies. According to Dr Stagnaro, the offer’s design nurtures consumers’ inertia and market concentration, limiting the ability and willingness of energy suppliers to develop innovative solutions and products. A proposal to accelerate the transition to a genuinely competitive and dynamic retail market is presented at the end.

Interested in learning more about the Italian situation and the policy proposal? Read the recently published FSR working paper on the topic:

http://fsr.eui.eu/publications/managing-the-liberalization-of-italys-retail-electricity-market-a-policy-proposal/

Listen to our interview with Tony Imaduwa, CEO of Seychelles Energy Commission, conducted during the first Regional Forum on Sustainable Energy in Mauritius from May 28-30, 2018. Tony discusses the role of the Seychelles Energy Commission, the regulatory challenges that are hindering the energy transition, and the measures that have been introduced to address these challenges.