Brussels, 16/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - Early next year, the European Commission should be proposing rules for costing electricity transit between Member states, as no consensus has been found on a voluntary agreement. The aim is to allow for the setting up of a genuine single market for electricity, as the EU remains a "juxtaposition of fifteen liberalised markets", according to the words of the European Commissioner for energy Loyola de Palacio, despite the liberalisation of the electricity market since 1998. National authorities, consumers, producers, etc., meeting within the "Forum of Florence" did not reach agreement at their meeting last week, whereas common tariffing principles should have been applied since last October.
The differences relate to the tariff systems. Germany, France and Belgium would like to apply a tax on energy exports of 2 euro per megawatt, the other States want to integrate the cost of transit in the price of electricity (according to a system of "cost socialisation"). The European Commission should now indirectly conduct discussions with national authorities and operators, to propose a new system of tarification and enable a provisional transit system to come into effect early 2001 already.
The Forum of Florence, moreover, made progress on the question of network congestion management, essentially covering two principles: 1) national electricity transmission authorities should publish as of next March information on their available capacity, 2) the methodology for the assessment of capacity should be transparent.