Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) A group of seven EU member states have warned the European Commission against rushing energy reforms in response to the energy crisis.
The group called on the Commission to make small adjustments to the EU electricity market rather than push for major changes, according to Reuters reporting on Monday.
The EC is preparing new rules for the bloc’s electricity market to cushion the blow of rising energy prices and prevent price surges in the future.
The group reminded that the existing market design helped to maintain low electricity prices for years, helped the bloc to expand production from renewables and made sure that production met demand.
Lars Aagaard, Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, stressed “we must resist the temptation to kill the golden goose that our single market for electricity has been in the last decade.”
The group of bloc members noted in the letter to the EC that the market can be improved, but stressed that changes must maintain functionality of the market as well as incentives to invest in renewables.
Importance of analysis
“Any reform going beyond targeted adjustments to the existing framework should be underpinned by an in-depth impact assessment and should not be adopted in crisis mode,” they warned.
Commenting on plans to move towards long-term contracts for power plants, the group noted that such moves could help to stabilise the market, but should be voluntary and focused on expansion of renewable energy.
Eurelectric lobbying group has also warned against making such contracts mandatory, stressing that the move could have negative effects on competition and drive away investors.
The group of EU member states welcomed EC’s earlier suggestion to help consumers choose between fixed-price and fluctuating power contracts, but criticised the body’s plan to extend the temporary clawback of windfall revenue from power companies.
“That could compromise investors’ confidence in the needed investments,” the bloc members warned and reminded that, according to estimates, the EU will need investments in renewables worth hundreds of billions of euro each year to help member states to move away from fossil fuels.
Other bloc members, including France and Spain, have called for more extensive reforms of the EU electricity market.
