Tag: energy liberalisation

EU countries must do away with the distorting influence of state intervention and step up efforts to implement internal energy market rules, which could save consumers an estimated €13 billion a year, says a report by the European Commission released Thursday (15 November).

The European Commission wants to enforce the EU's single energy market laws "as a matter of priority", according to a draft communication that states the EU Executive's determination to create a barrier-free market-place, which has angered dominant gas supplier Russia.

Clean, reliable and affordable energy is essential to the fabric of society itself, driving successful industries and businesses, says Igor Czerny of EDF.

New rules to monitor trading and prevent abuses in European wholesale energy markets were approved by EU lawmakers on Wednesday (14 September), in a move which MEPs said would help bring down prices for consumers.

EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger yesterday (28 February) gave governments more breathing space to pass energy liberalisation directives into national law as a 3 March deadline approaches. A month ago, not a single country had yet done so.

The European Commission has asked Bulgaria to change a 2008 bilateral agreement with Russia, providing for full and unrestricted transit of Russian gas across the EU newcomer, a spokesperson for the EU executive told the press today (15 November).

Günther Oettinger, the EU's new energy commissioner, faces an uphill battle against national interests in opening up electricity and gas markets, warns Georg Zachmann, energy expert at think-tank Bruegel. In an interview with EurActiv, he says member states risk dragging their feet in implementing EU rules.

European Union regulators accepted on Thursday (3 December) proposals by French utility GDF Suez to settle antitrust charges and give rivals easier access to the French gas market.

European policymakers, consumer groups and energy industry representatives have endorsed a set of voluntary guidelines for good practice in energy billing, in an attempt to placate dissatisfied customers.

The European Parliament yesterday (22 April) endorsed an agreement struck by the EU institutions to curtail the power of energy giants and move closer to a truly internal gas and electricity market. However, critics said the measures did not go far enough in breaking up energy monopolies.

The notion that market forces can address long-term societal issues has become "completely out of date" in view of the need to tackle global warming, according to David Buchan, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. In an interview with EurActiv, he suggests that the British 'laissez-faire' approach to energy may have been short-sighted.

European energy market integration is happening, albeit slowly, Lord John Mogg, president of the European Energy Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG), argued in an interview with EurActiv Czech Republic.

Deadlocked talks between the EU institutions on the third energy market liberalisation package took a step forward yesterday (18 February), as the Czech EU Presidency tabled amendments to the Council's position on ownership unbundling.

As electricity and gas markets slowly open up to competition, EU countries with fixed pricing policies are coming under growing pressure to let market forces decide prices. But opponents point to the potentially high social consequences of the measure.

At a landmark summit in December 2008, EU leaders reached agreement over an energy and climate change 'package' to deliver the bloc's ambitious objectives of slashing greenhouse-gas emissions and boosting renewable energies by 20% by 2020. The package is designed to reduce the Union's dependency on imported fuels and set the pace of "a new global industrial revolution".

A new survey has found that energy consumers are "still in the dark and cold" despite the European Commission's energy market liberalisation agenda, which was supposed to drive down costs and provide more choice for citizens. 

Energy efficiency can increase the EU's energy independence and should take centre stage in the Commission's upcoming second strategic energy review, argue a group of MEPs in a letter to future EU presidencies. 

A joint venture involving transmission system operators from Germany, Denmark and Norway has been given the green light by the Commission, opening up the North European electricity market.

Households and neighbourhoods feeding small-scale electricity and heat into a decentralised European energy grid: this is the vision developed by proponents of microgeneration. Yet at present, the EU's energy system remains centralised and dominated by large power plants. 

The merger of French energy companies Gaz de France and Suez has created a new national 'champion', triggering accusations of protectionism from some of the country's neighbours. But the Commission expects the new giant to respect its obligations under EU competition law.

The European Commission said on Thursday it is stepping up an investigation against E.ON and Gaz de France, saying it suspects the two energy utilities of illegally sharing the German and French markets in natural gas.

Energy ministers from the 27 member states are meeting today (6 June) in an attempt to reach a compromise over plans to force more competition onto EU energy markets - otherwise they risk delaying any decision until 2010.

The Commission should envisage greater powers for a new regulatory agency in its proposals on EU energy market liberalisation, according to MEPs in Parliament's Industry (ITRE) Committee. 

The battle over energy liberalisation shifted to the gas sector yesterday (19 May) when Parliament's industry committee threw its weight behind France and Germany in their bid to prevent the forced break-up of large integrated gas groups.