Brussels, 02/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The entry into force on 3 March of the third package of EU legislation to liberalise the single market in electricity and gas, legislation passed in June 2009, has led to the creation of the European Energy Regulators' Agency (EERA), the headquarters of which will be officially opened in Ljubljana on Thursday by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor. EERA will support the new EU legislation and the new directives setting out European rules for the single market in gas and electricity, along with the EU regulations on accessing the grid for the cross-border sale of electricity and access to natural gas transport networks. The agency was set up by Regulation 713/2009/EC to remove technical obstacles to cross-border sales of electricity, coordinating the work of energy regulators in the member states and settling any disputes that may arise between them. The final objective is to encourage competition by ensuring fair prices for households and companies alike.
EERA will assist national energy regulators by supervising energy regulations at EU level and by setting guidelines for the running of gas pipelines and cross-border electricity grids, guidelines to be used by operators when drawing up rules of operation (which in turn will be checked by the agency to ensure compliance with the guidelines). EERA will supervise implantation of 10-year grid expansion plans at EU level and national infrastructure development. It will settle cross-border issues where national regulators are unable to reach agreement or when they seek EERA's help on matters like deciding how capacity at peak times is to be sold (very lucrative when demand is high). The agency will be responsible for monitoring the functioning of the single market, including retail prices, getting renewably sourced energy onto the electricity grid and respecting consumer rights. It will report each year on progress on the single market in energy and will be able to suggest measures to the European Commission and European Parliament to remove obstacles to expansion of the single market. (E.H./transl.fl)