(FRANKFURT) - Vattenfall Europe, a leading German energy company, said Friday it will sell its electricity distribution network, as requested by the European Commission.

"We have studied the options in the past months and came to the conclusion that a sale of our high-tension lines to a serious and financially solid investor was the best solution," head Tuomo Hattaka said in a statement.

The decision came "against a background of a political debate in recent months on the separation of electricity production and the ownership of distribution networks," the fourth-biggest German power group said.

The European Commission has been pushing reform of the energy supply sector in Europe, seeking the separation of power generation from distribution to ensure greater competition and lower prices in the industry.

Germany is especially concerned because its entire power grid is owned by four companies which are also the biggest producers -- EON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall Europe.

The government has managed to get European Union partners to approve relatively flexible regulations that avoid a complete break-up of energy groups by separating at least administratively their production and distribution activities.

But the companies themselves have gone further, with EON and Vattenfall deciding to sell their electricity networks and RWE announcing that it would sell its gas pipelines.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed Vattenfall's decision.

"I am convinced that selling the transmission network will benefit both consumers and electricity companies with more competition and freedom of choice," he said in a statement.

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