Practical information
- Composition of the Study Group
- Administrator: Ágota BAZSIK, Assistant: Vicentzia NEAGU
- TEN Section: 16 May 2023
- EESC plenary: 14-15 June 2023
Summary
The proposal is addressing consumer, industry and investors’ concerns over exposure to volatile short-term prices, driven by high prices of fossil fuels. It will optimize the electricity market design by complementing the short-term markets with a greater role for longer-term instruments, allowing consumers to benefit from more fixed priced contracts, and facilitating investments in clean technologies.
The proposal is putting forward measures to protect consumers from such volatility, empower them with greater contract choice and more direct access to renewable and low carbon energy.
To improve investment conditions for businesses, in particular those pursuing decarbonisation pathways, it proposes measures to counter exposure to short term price spikes through power purchase agreements and more prudential obligations for energy suppliers.
It also proposes measures to improve the way variable renewable and low carbon energies are integrated into the short-term market. This includes measures boosting the use of demand response and storage, among other forms of non-fossil flexibility.
The proposal also improves and clarifies access to longer term contracts for developers in order to provide secure, stable revenues for renewable and low carbon energy developers and bring down risk and capital costs while avoiding windfall profits in periods of high prices.