The existing EU Gas Directive regulates issues pertaining to the transmission of gas from third countries to the Union, but is ambiguous. It can be interpreted in such a way that gas pipelines from these countries are not covered by EU energy regulations, leaving room for abuse. The European Commission’s proposal to clarify  the application of the Gas Directive to these pipelines is therefore to be welcomed, writes Szymon ZarÄ™ba, international … [Read more...]
The European Commission’s last-ditch effort to stop Nord Stream 2: how likely is it to succeed?
The European Commission’s proposal to extend the Gas Directive to so-called import pipelines is an obvious attempt to try to block Nord Stream 2, writes Karel Beckman, editor-in-chief of Energy Post. According to Beckman, it is not likely to succeed: the opposition to Nord Stream 2 is political in nature and cannot be stopped through legal means. (This article is part of a two-part response to the Commission’s proposal of 8 November to amend the … [Read more...]
How MEPs misuse energy poverty to water down efficiency legislation
On 28 November, the Industry committee of the European Parliament will deliver a crucial vote on the EU 2030 energy efficiency target. According to ClĂ©mence Hutin, who works for the Climate Justice and Energy Programme of Friends of the Earth Europe, there is cross-party support for an ambitious 40% target, but she warns that two key rapporteurs on the file are no friends of energy efficiency. Both, she says, have incorrectly argued that higher … [Read more...]
Lost in regulation: the EU and Nord Stream 2
The European Commission has proposed changing the Gas Market Directive to include import pipelines from third countries. This would make EU regulations, such as unbundling and third-party access rules, applicable to Nord Stream 2. According to Severin Fischer, Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, the Commission’s approach to Gazprom’s pipeline project risks getting lost in legal inconsistencies. Fischer … [Read more...]
How Romania can become a key player in the European gas market
Romania has the third largest natural gas reserves within the European Union (EU) and new reserves are still being discovered. With domestic gas production within the EU declining, the country could play an important role in the regional market. But for this to happen, interconnections need to be expanded and the liberalization of the market needs to be completed, write Ramona Visenescu and Henry Bartelet of the independent international think … [Read more...]
Dutch coalition accord: the Netherlands goes for climate leadership in Europe
While the U.S. government is abandoning Obama’s Clean Power Plan and taking the U.S. back to the age of fossil fuels, the new Dutch government has presented an unexpectedly ambitious climate and energy policy. The Netherlands will adopt a Climate Law and a minimum CO2 price and it wants to persuade the EU to increase its CO2-reduction ambition from the current 40% in 2030 to 55%. It also intends to close all its coal-fired power stations by 2030 … [Read more...]
EU must take regionalisation of electricity markets a step further
The European Commission has proposed to set up Regional Operational Centers (ROCs), which is a welcome step in the further integration of the EU internal electricity market, writes Philip Baker of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). However, according to Baker, the proposal does not go far enough: more regional coordination is needed if consumers are to reap the benefits of market integration. … [Read more...]
Brussels opponents of Nord Stream 2, why do we hear so little about Ukraine?
One reason why Nord Stream 2 is opposed in EU circles is because it undermines the position of Ukraine as gas transit country. The problem is that Ukraine’s gas sector is notoriously corrupt – and recent news indicates the government is making no progress at all on “reform”. Meanwhile, the European Commission’s attempt to get a “mandate” from the European Council (the Member States) to negotiate with Russia about the pipeline, seems bound to … [Read more...]
Energy traders sound alarm: “electricity borders in the EU are closing instead of opening”
Regulations governing the EU wholesale electricity market have become so complex that the integration of the market is regressing instead of progressing, says Peter Styles, Chairman of the Electricity Committee of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET), in an interview with Energy Post. He notes TSOs (transmission system operators) on average now make less cross-border electricity transmission capacity available on the EU high voltage … [Read more...]
Interview Claude Fischer Herzog: “EU needs a nuclear industrial policy”
Europe is in danger of losing its leading position in nuclear power, warns Claude Fischer Herzog, Director of ASCPE-Les Entretiens EuropĂ©ens et Eurafricains, a prominent Paris-based pro-nuclear civil society organisation. Fischer calls on the EU to develop an industrial policy of which nuclear power will form an integral part. … [Read more...]
A pragmatic proposal for supplier compensation
The European Commission has proposed that independent aggregators should not be required anymore to pay compensation to suppliers, as is the case in many EU member states today. According to Philip Baker of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) this proposal should be supported, as it will improve the flexibility of the market and lead to lower prices for consumers. However, it may not be appropriate in the long term: once it has achieved its … [Read more...]
Stimulating demand response by forbidding supplier compensation is neither fair nor efficient
The European Commission has proposed a general framework for independent aggregators in its new draft Electricity Directive to incentivise the development of Demand Response in Europe. According to the Commission, aggregators should not be required to compensate suppliers for the electricity sourced and only exceptionally for the imbalances induced. But a new study carried out by independent experts from consultancy DNV GL for Eurelectric shows … [Read more...]
Trading biomass like oil: Lithuania shows how it can be done
European biomass markets are fragmented and intransparent, writes Jakub Kucera, economic analyst at RSJ, a Prague-based investment company. With one exception: Lithuania has a well-functioning biomass spot market, Baltpool. Could this become a model for other European countries? The Lithuanians would like to expand. … [Read more...]
A dangerous energy policy: Ukraine, despite war, is making itself dependent on Russian oil
When it comes to Ukrainian dependence on Russian energy, the spotlight is usually on natural gas. Here Ukraine has made unprecedented progress, writes Wojciech KonoĹ„czuk, analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw. But what few observers notice, KonoĹ„czuk adds, is that as a result of corruption and neglect Ukraine has let its domestic oil refining industry decay and has become critically dependent on Russian diesel and LPG … [Read more...]
Here are the results from Brussels: energy efficiency zero points
The results of the European Council’s proposals on energy efficiency are in: they will reduce the current EU energy efficiency target from 1.5% per year to less than half of that. That is, in the most optimistic scenario. In a worst-case scenario, the target could plummet to 0.04%, writes Jan Rosenow of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). According to Rosenow, this will make it nearly impossible for the EU to deliver on "Paris". … [Read more...]
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