Brussels, 02/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Plans for the reform of the electricity market promised by the European Commission as part of energy union will include proposals to make electricity retail markets and prices more flexible Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete announced at the annual Eurelectric conference in Brussels on Monday 1 June.
“The role of energy consumers has for decades been mostly limited to paying the bill for the energy they use. That is changing rapidly. Today's consumer is no longer passive. They want to know everything they can about what they consume. And that's a good thing. It allows for competition and flexibility in the market. It attracts investors and it encourages innovation”, Canete stated.
“But modern consumers need a retail market that works. Consumers still do not have the information they need about how much they are consuming. They still don't have appropriate tools such as reliable price comparisons to make more informed decisions. And they still don't have the incentives, such as contracts rewarding active consumers, to benefit from lower energy prices. Consumers who want to profit from the ups and downs of prices in intra-day markets should be able to do so. In some countries, contracts based on spot prices are already available. In Sweden and Finland, consumers use them to save up to 30% on their energy bills. But that's not replicated everywhere”, he said.
“Consumers still cannot create the competitive pressure to positively affect the cost, quality and choice of available energy services. All of that points to the need for a reformed retail market. That's why alongside the market design initiative we will propose our views on how retail markets will have to change. The aim is to give consumers the tools they need to be active participants and enable them to control their consumption, lower their bills and benefit from new smart energy technologies. This means better connecting the retail and wholesale energy markets to give consumers access to flexible tariffs”, he stated.
The Commission is working on reform of the electricity market which it expects to be able to bring forward in 2016. The reform will also cover electricity generation systems. (Emmanuel Hagry)