May 2021

 

Editorial

May is a month full of bank holidays and this year also marked by many rainy days (at least in Belgium). However, this has not prevented us from being active, and in this issue, we highlight some of our recent activities. We have been busy reviewing stakeholders’ feedback received on our proposed new strategy for 2022-2025. We are preparing the response on the European Commission’s public consultation on hydrogen and decarbonising the EU gas market and following discussions on the revision of the TEN-E Regulation. 

CEER fit for innovation through Dynamic Regulation

As energy regulators, we believe regulation must be stable but not static and coherent with the fast-changing environment and market evolution. In our view, dynamic regulation might notably be an efficient means for decarbonisation and digitalisation that is capable of driving growth and innovation within the energy system. NRAs already rely on experimental regulatory tools to test and anticipate future evolutions such as 1) regulatory sandboxes, 2) pilot projects or 3) pilot regulation. We have created a dedicated space for “Dynamic regulation” on the CEER website to showcase examples and share what energy regulators are doing. You can also subscribe to an upcoming newsletter and receive updates on this topic.

Publications

This paper considers carefully a November 2020 study that was produced to help policy-makers consider regulatory priorities on this important topic.  Demand Side Flexibility, an innovative and challenging topic, is expected to be mostly relevant at the local level. All could benefit from testing different approaches and collect lessons learned. In general, energy regulators believe it would be more efficient to await the effects of the national implementation of Article 32 of the Electricity Directive (EU/2019/944) by all Member States before considering an additional Network Code.

As more renewables, with their low marginal costs, are integrated onto the system, the price signals and volatility of the market are being affected. This brings about challenges, not only for areas such as market design, but also in continuing to provide adequate long-term investment signals to remunerate the necessary capacity providing both flexibility and security of supply. Therefore, CEER experts explored these challenges and shared some considerations on whether the market framework currently in place in Europe is fit for the development of renewable energy, and if it will carry the necessary long-term generation investment signals. The report proposes several options for the current market to evolve in order to solve the challenges brought. Finally, the paper addresses some of the current market failures in Europe and finds that the source of concerns in terms of investment is more related to these failures than merely to the penetration of renewables. Therefore, it is essential that EU Member States and regulators prioritise eliminating as many market failures as possible.

Events

Upcoming events

  • 14-15 June: 36th meeting of the European Electricity Regulatory Forum, online – also known as the “Florence Forum”. CEER experts will take part in the important discussions on the cross-border trade of electricity, in particular the management of scarce interconnection capacity and how to organise electricity markets to meet our decarbonisation objectives and facilitate the integration of renewable electricity. The draft agenda will be published closer to the event date.
  • 6 July (tbc): Webinar on the ACER-CEER Wholesale Gas Market Monitoring Report – more information will be forthcoming and sent to all CEER Newsletter subscribers.
  • 27 July (tbc): ACER-CEER webinar on methane emissions – more information will be forthcoming and sent to all CEER Newsletter subscribers.
  • July (date tbc): Online stakeholder forum on the new CEER strategy and public consultation on the 2022 Work Programme – more information will be forthcoming and sent to all CEER Newsletter subscribers.

Recent events

  • 3rd Trilateral CEER-ECRB-MEDREG Workshop on 26-27 May 2021

The third trilateral workshop of these associations (CEER with the Energy Community Regulatory Board and the Association of Mediterranean Energy Regulators), held online for the first time, discussed the regulatory means to foster active customer engagement, which is the core activity for all three organisations. This year the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on end consumers was also included on the agenda. The special focus was put on the issues of flexibility, demand-side response and prosumers. The event gathered around 60 participants. You can read the full press release on the event here.

Public consultations

New CEER Strategy “Empowering consumers for the energy transition”

CEER is developing a new strategy for the period from 2022 to 2025. Part of the process was to consult stakeholders to capture their views. We thank the 20 respondents for taking their time to provide us with helpful feedback. We are finalising the strategy and will publish it in early June.  

Based on the new strategy, CEER is developing a 2022 Work Programme. As per our usual practice, we will also consult on the work item proposals. The public consultation will be opened in early June and will run until August.

International

EU4Energy Phase II Project

The EU4Energy Project, of which CEER is one of three implementing partners, is gaining momentum with finalisation of the Inception Report: Energy Sector Analysis for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus and respective Action Plans for Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Action Plans focus on those areas, where beneficiary institutions require expertise and knowledge sharing in order to meet undertaken obligations and bring energy sectors closer to the EU standards and best practices. In June 2021, after the EC approval of the country action plans, CEER will publish assignment packages with reference to topics and timeline. Furthermore, the communication and visibility campaign, which is CEER’s responsibility at regional level, will be officially launched with kick-off conference, Blog on Women in Energy, thematic regional campaign, various visibility activities and products.  

Contact

Charles.Esser@ceer.eu

Tel Logo +32 278 873 36

www.ceer.eu

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