Stockholm (energate) - The German government advocates a two-stage approach to the upcoming reform of the EU electricity market design. This became clear at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Stockholm. There, Sven Giegold (Greens), State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economics, advocated a cautious approach. First, only 'no-regret' measures should be taken until the next European elections in spring 2024. By this he referred to long-term power purchase agreements and, under certain conditions, Contracts for Difference (CFDs). The latter is to be voluntary and only is to apply to new plants.
In a second step, the electricity market design could be changed in the long term after an impact assessment, he said. "The electricity market reform must be made in such a way that it strengthens, not weakens, investments in sustainable energy," Giegold added. There should be no roll backwards to a fully regulated electricity market, he cotinued. "You can do a lot of good with a common electricity market reform, but you can also do a lot of harm," Giegold commented. The German State Secretary thus agrees with the approach the EU Commission outlined in January (
energate reported). He also proposed to further reduce electricity demand in the EU before reforming the electricity market, i.e. tightening the emergency regulation to reduce energy prices from 2022.
Reduce electricity consumption further
This regulation, in addition to capping market revenues of inframarginal electricity producers at 180 €/MWh, provides for a reduction in total gross electricity consumption between 1 December 2022 and 31 March 2023 in each EU country, on a voluntary basis by 10 per cent and on a mandatory basis by 5 per cent at peak times. "After all, we have already reduced more than 15 per cent of electricity consumption in the EU," Giegold stated. On 14 March, the EU Commission intends to propose an amendment to the 2019 Electricity Directive. /rl
