Member States to Coordinate Energy Policies Starting at Regional Level with ENTSO-E Commitment to Contribute
Ahead of todays European Councils discussions on the Energy Union Pierre Bornard, ENTSO-Es Chairman of the Board insisted on the need to speed up energy policy coordination among Member States, to start with the regions.
In order to achieve Europes ambitious targets on renewables, climate, energy efficiency but also on competitiveness and security of supply, Member States will have to acknowledge the interdependence of their energy policy decisions and co-ordinate them much better at least at a regional level, he said. If we are really serious about putting the citizen at the core of the Energy Union we have to be faster and more ambitious in our actions. Member States have indeed the right and responsibility to ensure their security of supply and to make energy mix decisions at a national level, within the framework of the Internal Energy Market. However, power does not stop flowing at Member States borders and security of supply is achieved with mutual help and primary resource pooling, Bornard continued.
Regionalisation, which features strongly in the Commissions Energy Union Communication, can be a fast track towards an integrated electricity market. This means that energy policy choices are coordinated on such issues as system adequacy on a regional level, flexibility to balance renewables, capacity remuneration mechanisms, generation reserves and back-up capacity, continued ENTSO-Es Chairman of the Board. All of these decisions have important cross-border impacts and could, if not co-ordinated, result in market fragmentation and thus higher prices, elevated risks and less choice for the 500 million European citizens.
The implementation of regionally coordinated system adequacy would be an important step forward and would anchor the role of ENTSO-Es Scenario Outlook & Adequacy Forecast and seasonal outlook assessments as Member States reference point for defining policies related to security of supply and energy-mix strategies. This could, if necessary, be addressed through a review of the Security of Supply Directive 2005/89/EC.
In its paper on the Energy Union Strategy, ENTSO-E highlights the importance of a sound regulatory framework of the policies related to the energy mix as a prerequisite for efficient planning and realisation. And there is a need to strengthen ACER, which might require increased resources to ensure the implementation of the network codes, improve the cooperation between national regulators and create an adequate and coherent pan-European regulatory framework. Bornard stressed further.
The Commissions Energy Union paper recognises also the increasing importance of ENTSO-E. TSOs offer solutions on a national, regional and pan-European level. They provide objective assessments on the impacts, opportunities and risks to power system operation of different policy options and thus help ensure that the transition will be smooth and cost effective.
Last but not least and because power does not stop at the EUs borders, cooperation with the European neighbours, and here in particular with the Energy Community but also Turkey is high on ENTSO-Es agenda. In addition to the fact that TSOs from almost all the South-East European Contracting Parties of the Energy Community are ENTSO-E members, on 15 April ENTSO-E will sign the Long-Term Agreement on synchronisation with the Turkish TSO TEIAS. Reliability, sustainability, and connectedness are the contributions ENTSO-E will make to turn the Energy Union from promise to practice.