Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » Electricity backup systems given EC green light

    Electricity backup systems given EC green light

    npsBy nps8 February 2018 No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Competition Energy EU News Headline1
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Electricity backup systems given EC green light

    Margrethe Vestager – Photo © European Union 2018

    (BRUSSELS) – The European Commission approved Wednesday under EU State aid rules electricity capacity mechanisms in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland, to safeguard security of electricity supply.

    While capacity mechanisms can help to safeguard security of electricity supply, they must be designed so as to avoid distortions of competition in energy markets, said the EU’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager: “I am glad that our close cooperation with national authorities has enabled us to today approve well-designed capacity mechanisms in six EU countries. They will foster competition among all potential capacity providers to the benefit of consumers and our European energy market.”

    Capacity mechanisms covers arrangements by which EU Member States pay electricity generators extra in order to keep plants open or to build new ones with the goal of ensuring security of electricity supply.

    The Commission acknowledges that ensuring security of electricity supply is an important objective. But it says that if they are not well-designed, they can cause higher electricity prices for consumers, give undue advantages to certain energy operators or hinder electricity flows across EU borders.

    The Commission has, in close cooperation with the relevant national authorities, assessed six mechanisms in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland to ensure they meet strict criteria under EU State aid rules, in particular 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy.

    In this context, the Commission says it has also taken into account insights from a 2016 State aid sector inquiry on capacity mechanisms.

    The six capacity mechanisms approved by the EU executive concern more than half of the EU population. They cover a range of different types of mechanism that address the specific need in each Member State.

    EC approves 6 capacity mechanisms in 6 Member States

    In the cases of Belgium and Germany, the Commission has authorised strategic reserves.

    Strategic reserves keep certain generation capacities outside the electricity market for operation only in emergencies. In the cases of Italy and Poland, the Commission has authorised market-wide capacity mechanisms. These can be necessary where electricity markets face structural security of supply problems.

    In the cases of France and Greece, the Commission has authorised capacity mechanisms specifically promoting demand response.

    Demand response schemes pay customers to reduce their electricity consumption in hours when electricity is scarce. The advantage of such schemes is that demand response operators may be able to react more quickly than electricity generators and are generally more environmentally friendly.

    EU approval of six electricity capacity mechanisms - background guide

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    Deforestation - Image by Robert Jones from Pixabay

    EUDR saga: Parliament votes to undermine enforcement and EU credibility

    Sponsor: WWF European Policy Office9 July 2025
    EuroCommerce

    EU Stockpiling Strategy: Retail and wholesale essential partners in EU crisis resilience

    Sponsor: EuroCommerce9 July 2025
    Medical supplies - Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay

    EU strengthens crisis readiness with stockpiling and medical countermeasures strategies

    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Euro continues to hold its ground – Euro currency news daily

    CCBE logo

    Legal Advisor, Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, CCBE

    Chemical production nature clouds - Image by andreas N from Pixabay

    EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance

    LATEST EU NEWS
    Medical supplies - Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay

    EU strengthens crisis readiness with stockpiling and medical countermeasures strategies

    9 July 2025
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Euro continues to hold its ground – Euro currency news daily

    9 July 2025
    Chemical production nature clouds - Image by andreas N from Pixabay

    EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance

    8 July 2025
    Bulgaria euro - Photo © European Union 2025

    Bulgaria takes its place as 21st member of the eurozone

    8 July 2025
    Cars CO2 emissions- Photo by Alexey Demidov on Pexels

    Brussels seeks views on CO2 emission standards for cars and vans, car labelling

    7 July 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?