The emergency intervention of the electricity market announced this Monday by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will occur in two stages. The intention of Brussels is to present in a matter of “weeks & rdquor; a mechanism to alleviate the problems caused by the “energy blackmail & rdquor; of the Kremlin and the impact of supply interruptions on gas and electricity prices. In a second phase, which will arrive at the beginning of 2023, the idea is to introduce a structural reform of the electricity market to modify a pricing system that does not work.
“Now we see that as a result of skyrocketing gas prices we have to decouple them (gas and electricity prices). And a second thing is that we have to make sure that in the case of renewable energy, which is produced at a cost much cheaper, it is also done for the benefit of consumers & rdquor ;, von der Leyen explained this Monday at a forum on transformation held in Berlin.The issue once again dominates the european calendar and center a extraordinary meeting of energy ministers convened for September 9 by the Czech presidency of the EU to try to curb high prices.
Although Prague hopes to have a draft on the table by that day, the Community Executive has not confirmed whether the proposal will be ready by then and has limited itself to pointing out that they are examining “different possible models” and that they will present the one that best suits the situation facing the EU. “Everyone recognizes the seriousness and urgency of the situation, but they are areas in which the Member States have strong powers and it is important to listen to them & rdquor ;, the spokesman for the Community Executive, Eric Mamer, has limited himself to pointing out, who has not given clues and has explained that they will study possibilities and present proposals.
complex system
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“We need to take into account two elements. On the one hand, the seriousness of the situation and the consequences for consumers and the industry. On the other hand, a proposal is needed that adjusts to the complexity of our energy market, and in particular electricity, so it is important to take the necessary time so that our proposals respond to these two dynamics & rdquor ;, added the spokesman who has reiterated that they will present a proposal as soon as they can.
Until now, the European Commission, and many Member States, had resisted moving towards setting a cap on the price of energy or reforming the price-setting system of the electricity market, something that the southern countries, such as Spain , Italy and Portugal, began to claim a year ago and that after months of negotiations and a lot of pressure ended with the approval in the March European Council of the so-called “Iberian exception & rdquor;, which allowed Madrid and Lisbon to cap the price of gas destined for electricity production and possible due to the high presence of renewables in the energy mix and the few interconnections with the rest of the European continent. Now, the path undertaken by both countries could serve as an example to the rest of the European partners. “We are facing a situation that is evolving rapidly & rdquor ;, acknowledge the community spokespersons who point to a radical change in the situation compared to the situation that was experienced last October.