On Wednesday 5 December, EU ambassadors endorsed an agreement on risk preparedness in the electricity sector. On 22 November, the EU institutions reached political agreement on this issue of the clean energy package.
This new Regulation makes it easier for Member States to assist each other in the event of an electricity crisis(see EUROPE 12144).
“We will be better prepared and there will be fewer electricity cuts at peak times”, commented the Austrian Presidency of the Council.
The 'European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity' will draw up regional crisis scenarios and identify the most relevant risks for each region. On the basis of both these regional and national electricity crisis scenarios, each Member State will be required to draw up a risk-preparedness plan, including both national and regional measures.
Close coordination between Member States and all those involved will ensure that the preparedness of Member States is harmonised as far as possible (with sufficient flexibility to enable Member States to take into account their own specific circumstances). A clearly-defined assistance mechanism between Member States will be introduced, so that cross-border assistance can be provided rapidly in the event of an electricity crisis.
The provisions of the Regulation concerning regional cooperation shall not apply to Cyprus. The file will now be passed to the European Parliament for approval in the plenary before final adoption by the Council, most likely in spring 2019. The regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal. The report is available at: https://bit.ly/2zU40eD. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)