Euro-MPs vote to open up EU electricity market

6th May 2008

MEPs today endorsed European Commission plans to separate Europe's electricity networks from generation and open up the EU energy market to more competition.

The vote in the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee will be a blow to the governments in Paris and Berlin which have been resisting the plans.

British Labour Euro-MP Eluned Morgan is leading the debate in the European Parliament on the issue.

ELUNED MORGAN said:

"Today's vote should stiffen the resolve of the majority of countries in the EU who are anxious to see the introduction of a level playing field. Some companies currently have great difficulty in accessing certain markets within the EU."

Dismissing the alternative proposals or ‘third way' put forward by France and Germany and six other member states ELUNED MORGAN added:

"If Member States where serious about making the European energy market work they would have implemented the current EU laws. The so-called ‘third way' or alternative suggested by France and Germany is tantamount to an admission of guilt in not enacting the rules that they have already signed up to.

"The ‘third way' proposal would leave the problem of the current energy market intact, in that there will always be a conflict of interest if companies are allowed to own both generation and transmission systems.

"For too long the voice of the consumer has been drowned out by the interests of the monolithic energy giants. The Parliament is seeking to redress this balance and put the interests of the consumer back at the heart of the issue."

On the issue of investment ELUNED MORGAN said:

"The Commission has calculated that up to one trillion Euros needs to be invested in Europe's energy markets. This will be impossible unless there is a stable regulatory framework. Opposing full ownership unbundling or the total separation of electricity generation from transmission systems will lead to more uncertainty as there is no doubt that this issue will be brought back to the table in the near future if the current proposal is foiled. "

ELUNED MORGAN added:

"Today's vote will strengthen the role of consumers, both industrialists and householders, and give national regulatory authorities more power to intervene on their behalf.

"This report will also put the issue of energy poverty firmly on the EU agenda. Energy poverty is a severe problem now for millions living in the EU, and in future years the situation will become even more difficult. At the moment there is almost no data on the scale of the problem across the EU and very few countries have strategies to deal with the issue."

Notes
• Eluned Morgan is MEP for Wales and a member of the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee.