(Finance) – Today the Council reached an agreement on a proposal to modify the structure of the EU electricity market. The agreement will allow the EU Council to start i negotiations with the Parliament European to reach a definitive agreement. The reform aims to make electricity prices less dependent on the volatility of electricity prices fuels fossilsprotect consumers from price spikes, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and improve consumer protection.
“I am proud to say that today we have taken a strategic step forward for the future of the EU. We have reached an agreement that would have been unimaginable just a couple of years ago. Thanks to this agreement, consumers across the EU will be able to benefit from much more stable energy prices, less dependence on the price of fossil fuels and better protection from future crises. We will also accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, a cheaper and cleaner source of energy for our citizens,” he said Teresa Ribera Rodriguezthird interim vice-president of the Spanish government and minister for ecological transition and demographic challenge.
The proposal is part of a broader reform of the EU electricity market structure which also includes a regulation focused on improving the Union’s protection against market manipulation through better monitoring And transparency (REMIT).
There reform aims to stabilize long-term electricity markets by reviving the power purchase agreement market (PPA), generalizing i contracts for difference (CfD) two-way and improving the liquidity of the futures market. The Council agreed that Member States will promote the adoption of electricity purchase agreements, eliminating unjustified barriers and disproportionate or discriminatory procedures or burdens. Measures may include, among other things, state-backed guarantee schemes at market prices, private guarantees or structures that pool demand for PPAs.
Member States have also strengthened the Council’s role in declaring a crisis temporary electricity prices at regional or Union level. They also amended the conditions for declaring an electricity price crisis so that a crisis can be declared when very high average wholesale electricity prices are expected to last for at least six months and sharp increases in retail prices of electricity continue for at least three months.