Europe agrees on Clean Energy for All Europeans package

By Nuran Erkul Kaya

ISTANBUL

The European Commission, European Parliament the European Council agreed Wednesday on the Clean Energy for All Europeans package that aims to make the electricity market more flexible and facilitate the integration of a greater share of renewable energy while marking the end of coal and subsidies in Europe, a statement from the Commission said.

On Nov. 30, 2016, the Commission proposed new rules to revise the electricity market regulations and the electricity market directive on the EU energy market design in order to help energy markets include more renewables, empower consumers, and better manage energy flows across the EU.

The agreement ended the political negotiations on the Clean Energy for All Europeans package that is considered a major step towards completing the Energy Union and combatting climate change, the statement said.

"Today's deal marks the completion of negotiations on the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, putting the EU in the lead in terms of rules to accelerate and facilitate the clean energy transition," Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete was quoted in the statement.

"This takes us a step closer towards delivering the Energy Union, one of the priorities President Juncker set out for this Commission at the start of the mandate. Today's agreement on the future electricity market design is a vital part of the package," Canete underlined.

He stated that the new market would be more flexible and facilitate the integration of a greater share of renewable energy.

"An integrated EU energy market is the most cost-effective way to ensure secure and affordable supplies to all EU citizens," he said.

"The new rules will create more competition and will allow consumers to participate more actively in the market and play their part in the clean energy transition.

"I am particularly pleased that we agreed on a balanced approach to limit capacity mechanisms and reconcile security of supply with our climate objectives. Capacity mechanisms will not be used as a backdoor subsidy of high-polluting fossil fuels as that would go against our climate objectives," he noted.

No more capacity mechanisms or subsidies

According to the statement, the new electricity market proposals include a directive and a regulation that aims at adapting the current market rules to new market realities.

"They introduce a new limit for plants eligible to receive subsidies as capacity mechanisms. Subsidies to generation capacity emitting 550 grams of CO2 emissions per kilowatt-hour or more will be phased out under the new rules," the statement read.

Furthermore, according to the statement, the consumer is put at the center of the clean energy transition.

"The new rules enable the active participation of consumers while putting in place a strong framework for consumer protection. By allowing electricity to move freely to where it is most needed, society will increasingly benefit from cross-border trade and competition," the Commission stated.

The share of electricity produced by renewables is expected to grow from 25 percent to 55 percent in 2030 in EU.