Negotiators from the European Parliament and Council reached political agreement on Thursday 22 November in Brussels on one of the important issues of the 'Clean Energy for all Europeans’ package: the 'Risk Preparedness' Regulation in the electricity sector (see EUROPE 12126).
But there has not yet been any 'white smoke' concerning the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).
Under a provisional deal, compulsory national plans will be put in place to asses risk of shortages. Parliament rapporteur on this issue, Flavio Zanonato (S&D, Italy), explained that the agreement ensures that if an electricity crisis affects a Member State it will be promptly resolved in cooperation with its neighbours and the Regional Coordination Centres. The solidarity principle will ensure that “no one will be left alone in coping with the cold spell and with sudden interruptions to electricity”, he comments.
The purpose of this legislation is to improve the identification of possible crises and the risk-preparedness of the electricity sector across the EU.
There is currently no common approach to risk identification and assessment. Under the provisional deal, Member States will be obliged to draft risk-preparedness plans, based on a common template. These plans should include measures to prevent simultaneous shortages in a region and ensure regional crisis management. EU countries will be obliged to alert the Commission and neighbouring Member States when they have an electricity crisis. Member States will have to adopt the plans within two and a half years after entry into force of the Regulation.
Compensation. A Member State receiving assistance should ultimately bear all reasonable costs associated with the assistance by other Member States. However, as requested by Parliament, Member States should agree on a fair compensation before providing assistance. The Commission will draft non-binding guidance for determining fair compensation in this context.
Next steps. The agreement must now be approved by the Council (first at EU ambassadorial level on 5 December), by Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee and in the Parliament plenary. The Regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, welcomed the political agreement reached as a "major step forward in our transition to a clean and secure energy system”. Electricity markets are increasingly interlinked. With today's deal, Europeans will be better protected against black-outs, he said. Member States will have to put in place “appropriate tools to prevent, prepare for and manage crisis situations in the supply of electricity”, the Commissioner confirms. It also refers to text based on cross-border coordination "in a spirit of solidarity among neighbours”.
No agreement on ACER yet. But another trilogue, the day before, on ACER, did not make it possible to conclude an agreement. The last trilogue on this subject will take place on 5 December. The Council is working at a technical level to facilitate compromises, in particular on power given to ACER to make decisions directed to the European network of electricity transmission system operators (ENTSO-E) and the European network of gas transmission operators (ENTSO-G). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)