The long-awaited reform of the electricity market is starting to take shape. The Committee on Industry and Energy of the European Parliament debated yesterday for the first time the report presented by the speaker, the Spanish socialist Nicolás González Casares, in which he proposes that power cuts to the most vulnerable people be prohibited and that they be limited the benefits that fell from heaven. The MEP believes that despite the fact that the European Commission’s proposal “is a good starting point”, it is necessary to protect consumers against price crises such as the one experienced in recent months. “It is necessary to introduce the obligation for member states to prohibit the disconnection of vulnerable customers, including those affected by energy poverty, and to guarantee the right of citizens to receive electricity supply to cover their basic needs”.
Among the amendments included is also that of limiting the sky-high benefits of what are known as inframarginal technologies, the cheapest, such as renewables or nuclear. “The Commission’s proposal has an unacceptable gap, because it foresees that there may be extraordinary measures against a price crisis, but it does not establish which ones”, argued González. The amendment establishes a maximum income limit of 180 euros per megawatt hour. However, the mechanism would only be activated when prices exceeded twice the average of the last five years for three months. In other words, a very difficult measure to activate.
The aim is that when this situation takes place, the European Commission would activate the emergency mechanism and those benefits that would have been obtained by the inframarginal technologies could be used by the countries to ease the bills of the citizens. During the first debate, the measure to help the most vulnerable people received broad support, however, the measure to limit benefits was not liked. The European People’s Party was the most categorically against the measure. “It’s a red line, it will kill the investment”, argued the German Christian Ehler. The representative of the European Commission, present at the meeting, also added that the limit seemed “problematic”. The vast majority of groups consider that it will be one of the most difficult points of the negotiation. The goal is for the regulation to be approved before the end of the legislature.
