Trinomics has been awarded a study contract by the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee, in collaboration with Aether Ltd and Energiaklub, to research and analyse key decisions for the realisation of a fully integrated energy market. The overall EU energy strategy is years determined by three main pillars: competitiveness, climate and security of supply. However, balancing between these three key objectives and between the EU and Member States’ policy priorities, has proven to be difficult (as reflected in the EU Energy Union Package). The Package acknowledges that a fundamental transformation of the European energy system is needed as it is still suboptimal and does not allow to reach the above-mentioned objectives in an effective and cost-efficient way. The current market design fails to attract sufficient investments in flexible power generation capacity, achieve an adequate market concentration and competition, and the European energy landscape remains too fragmented. This means that despite the fact that the EU has started to build the most integrated, competitive and sustainable Internal Energy Market in the world, the current energy policies do not ensure the level of security and reliability, competitiveness and sustainability that the EU Energy Strategy aims to achieve.
The vision of the Commission is the need to evolve to “an integrated continent-wide energy system where energy flows freely across borders, based on competition and the best possible use of resources, and with effective regulation of energy markets at EU level where necessary”. In addition, in this transformation of the energy system, maintaining a leadership regarding the development and implementation of innovative technologies (next generation of conventional and renewable energy technologies, smart appliances and grids, DSM, storage) is imperative to ensure a competitive and secure energy supply.
This research study will assess whether and to what extent the EU’s internal energy market objectives can be reached with the current policies and measures. The study will provide input and updated information on policies, measures and practices directly or indirectly relevant for the energy market integration, evaluate them, comparing specific Member States’ policies and results and highlighting both barriers and best practices. The specific objectives of this research study are to:
- Describe array of instruments in place, both at EU and national levels, supporting the realisation of an integrated European energy market;
- Describe how and to what extent the measures are implemented at community level;
- Identify bottlenecks that may affect effectiveness;
- Propose policy recommendations for further improvements.
If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact Jeroen van der Laan.
