Tag: Electricity

Sweden's decision to discriminate between consumers in the same country in order to avoid discriminating between consumers in two different EU member states raises several concerns about the single market, argue Joakim Nergelius and Gustav Lorentz.

Generating all energy from renewable sources is no longer a pipe dream in Europe. From Denmark to Austria, we can see examples of a successful energy transition. Germany is clearly seen as the front-runner and an important driver - especially due to its nuclear phase-out. But the energy transition is not only “made in Germany” but also “made in Europe”, says Anna Leidreiter.

Germany's decision to go non-nuclear, which has infuriated its neighbours, might one day appear as a blessing in disguise, says Eberhard Rhein.

Nuclear power plants can be attractive for their owners but not necessarily for consumers as they hardly ever determine the price of electricity on the energy exchange, says Alois Tost, an independent energy consultant. In an interview with EurActiv.cz, the German expert also adivsed against solar photovoltaics to compensate for Germany's nuclear phase-out.

The European Commission has inched towards a new regulatory framework to promote smart grids in a strategy paper to be published today (12 April) that sets out carrots and sticks to get the fledgling industry on its feet.

The expansion of renewable energies poses a challenge to existing electricity grids. The boom in weather-dependent power sources like wind and solar requires the development of storage technologies and smart grids, write Thu-Lan Nguyen and Josef Auer of Deutsche Bank (DB) Research in an April paper.

The Czech Republic's leading power company, ČEZ, has promised to turn to energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly projects, but local NGOs say it must still improve its green energy strategy. EurActiv Czech Republic reports.

The European Commission has welcomed a draft plan by Paris to reform the French electricity market, signalling its readiness to abandon ongoing antitrust investigations if the reforms are fully implemented. EurActiv France reports.

The electricity industry's call for subsidies to build new grid interconnections was dismissed as a misguided, 'one-size-fits-all' solution to creating an integrated EU energy market during a conference in Brussels yesterday (6 July).

"Smart metering is a crucial factor for the efficient functioning of the internal electricity market," argues Jorge Vasconcelos, representing European energy regulators. But more harmonisation is needed to reap the benefits of the new technology, he writes in a September paper for the European University Institute.

A move by national electricity operators to set up a joint coordination centre to develop daily grid availability forecasts was applauded by the European Commission, which hopes similar collaboration will be repeated elsewhere in Europe.

The Green Group in the European Parliament is calling for renewable energies to be given a similar status to that given to coal or nuclear in the past under the Euratom or Coal and Steel Community Treaties, saying this is necessary to create a "paradigm shift" in favour of green energies.

A Franco-German alternative to the Commission's electricity market liberalisation proposal was rejected by a narrow margin yesterday (6 May) during a key vote in Parliament's Industry Committee. MEPs also voted against a Commission substitute plan to put in place a strict regulatory regime policed by an Independent System Operator (ISO).

The Commission announced the opening of antitrust procedures on 26 July against the leading French energy company, EDF, and the Belgian branch of Suez, Electrabel - saying that it suspected both energy providers of foreclosure of the Belgian and French electricity markets. 

Speaking to EurActiv.fr, MEP Anne Laperrouze (ALDE/UDF) highlights the problems posed by the liberalisation of energy markets, and insists that the Union must maintain European 'energy champions'.

European regulators have launched an enquiry over the power cut that briefly left 10 million people in the dark last week-end. But the outing also raised questions about the grid's ability to cope with the addition of renewable energy sources.

The main challenge for future provision of electricity in Europe will be to adapt the current network of large carbon-based centralised generators to welcome new, smaller-scale, local, renewable power sources.

In this article published in  La Lettre de Confrontations Europe, André Ferron tackles the main issues related to the debate on the single electricity market.

The Parliament has voted to triple funds allocated to gas and electricity transmission projects to cater for an expanding European energy market after enlargement. Neighbouring countries including Russia and Turkey are also part of the plans.

Full and effective implementation of proposed legislation will be necessary to ensure a true internal market for energy in the EU, but this alone will not be sufficient, write Christian Egenhofer and Kyriakos Gialoglou in this CEPS report.