Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel has welcomed the European Commission's third legislative package for the EU electricity and gas markets, which proposes measures for the liberalisation of the European energy markets. Specifically, the Commission calls for gas and electricity supply companies either to give up their ownership of transmission grids or, alternatively, to retain the ownership of their network assets but with the transmission network itself being managed by an independent system operator. Gabriel: "The German energy market is characterised by a concentration of a few large energy suppliers. Fair prices can only be achieved through greater supplier diversity. To allow the integration of new power plants, electricity produced from renewable energy sources and the growing cross-border trade in electricity in the EU, the networks must be expanded rapidly. This third legislative package for the EU electricity and gas markets sets the right course: through effective unbundling, the transmission network will become a neutral market place with more favourable prices for consumers and better network access for new supply undertakings."
The third legislative package for the EU electricity and gas markets follows on from the integrated energy and climate change package published in January this year. In it, the Commission identifies deficiencies in the liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets. According to the Commission, problems with access to the transmission grids and with investments in grid infrastructure result from the failure to separate grid operation from energy production and energy distribution to an adequate extent. The third legislative package for the EU electricity and gas markets proposes two options for more effective unbundling: option one provides for a clear ownership separation between transmission system operators and other companies, especially energy production, while option two enables energy supply companies to retain ownership of their network assets, but requires that the transmission network itself be managed by an independent system operator. In this case, the independent system operator makes the decisions on the use of and investment in the grid, flanked by intensive regulatory monitoring by the authorities.
In order to improve market regulation at national level, additional powers will be granted to the regulatory authorities. Furthermore, cooperation among regulatory authorities at European level is to be improved and an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators established at EU level to handle cross-border issues.