Speaking before the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry and Energy, the rapporteur for the reform of the design of the European electricity market, Nicolás González Casares (S&D, Spanish), expressed his doubts about the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Council of the EU at the forthcoming trilogue on 13 December, which is supposed to be conclusive.
“It won’t be easy, since the EU Council is refusing to budge on certain crucial points, such as contracts for differences (CfDs)”, he noted.
The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU should stress the importance of the article governing CfDs, as negotiated between the Member States, and emphasise that it is “a key element to be preserved”.
However, preliminary agreements were reached between the representatives of the EU Council and Parliament at the previous trilogues on the peak shaving mechanism, forward markets and virtual hubs, all to be evaluated as requested by Parliament.
Discussions will continue on energy sharing, for which Parliament wants to broaden the scope to include large-scale industry, and on the disconnection ban for the most vulnerable members of the public.
As for power purchase agreements (PPAs), “we still have a few issues to resolve, such as promoting exclusively renewable PPAs and guaranteeing a level playing field between the various players”, the rapporteur explained in detail.
Regarding the declaration of an energy price crisis, Mr Casares recalled that Parliament wanted the criteria for declaring a crisis to be clearer, and for the decision to be taken by the Commission, not the EU Council.
Finally, the rapporteur explained that other points had been requested by the EU Council, such as the one on capacity mechanisms (see EUROPE 13273/2), but for which Parliament has no mandate.
Despite the many differences that remain, Mr Casares assured that Parliament would continue to work “until the final stroke of midnight this year”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)