First Madrid, then Paris and Rome, and the summary in Brussels. The Polish Electricity Association has concluded in the capital of Belgium a series of conferences concerning the power market..
The European electricity market is currently facing structural problems of security of supply due to capacity shortages and the "missing money" problem. New investments are insufficient to fill this gap. This leads to a number of questions about the future of power markets in the EU.
During the debate, which gathered more than 100 experts, Maciej Burny, a representative of PKEE, argued that the power market creates opportunities to obtain new funds for financing transformation of the energy sector in Poland towards green energy. - – If at the moment we are incurring very high costs for the purchase of CO 2 then we have less money to make new investments in low-carbon generating capacity - Maciej Burny emphasized. The PKEE expert also added that the reduction of CO 2 emissions should be implemented through a single tool - the EU ETS. Thus, the introduction of an additional tool to reduce emissions by adopting a CO 2 per level of 550g CO 2/ kWh in power markets (EPS550) increases the cost of energy transition and is not economically justified. - – Tools can't be mixed because it just inflates costs for consumers - added the expert.
Maciej Burny also pointed out the threat of retroactivity with the new regulations, therefore, as he stressed -. T he auction participants to expect that supply contracts concluded prior to the entry into force of the new market regulation will be protected under the acquired rights doctrine. As is the case with the just-agreed amendment to the RES Directive, which fully respects the acquired rights of investment in renewable sources. We need the same predictability of the regulatory environment for conventional sources that is necessary in the electricity system to maintain its stability .
Fabien Roques, vice-president of Compass Lexecon, one of the most experienced consultants analyzing power markets in the EU, emphasized during the debate that the Polish power market will be technologically neutral, open to cross-border participation and based on consumer auctions with the lowest prices. He reminded that the power market has already been implemented in 6 EU countries. In each of those member states it contributed to increased security of supply.
Among the topics discussed, which will have a significant impact on the future of power mechanisms in the EU, was the issue of the EPS 550 standard. So far, some of the EU countries have introduced power markets, and others - strategic reserves, which according to the EU competition policy are power mechanisms, so as the PKEE representative pointed out, they should be subject to equal treatment. - – The European Parliament's proposal provides for exemption of strategic reserves from the requirements of EPS 550, and this means adopting double standards. We expect that the new regulations will not, in practice, favour some countries at the expense of others. - noted Maciej Burny.
He was echoed by Christof Schoser, a representative of the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition, who admitted that the strategic reserve should not be favoured. He stressed that power markets must be open to cross-border energy flows.
PKEE notes that the Polish power market approved by the European Commission in February 2018 is fully compliant with EU state aid rules. The EC Directorate General for Competition, after a detailed analysis, concluded that the power market is the right option to solve the structural problem of ensuring security of electricity supply in Poland. The European Commission's decision also concerned five other member states.
The participants of the debate agreed that due to the specificity of Poland, transitional solutions are needed in the Power Decision Regulation of February 2018, Which approved the power market without EPS 550.
The expert debates organized by the Polish Electricity Association in European capitals are a contribution to the process of negotiating regulations of the EU electricity market, which should be completed during the Austrian Presidency by the end of this year.
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