The electricity employers respond in Brussels to the government’s proposal to reform the electricity market

The debate on the reform of the European electricity market is served, and all the parties involved want to establish their position before the Community Executive makes its proposal public in mid-March. The 11 Spanish employers in the sector have put into circulation this Thursday in the community capital a document in which they charge against various master lines of the plan with which the Government of Pedro Sanchez went ahead of the rest of the neighboring countries in January. Hours later, in view of the controversy aroused, these organizations have clarified that this is not a criticism of the position outlined by any Member State.

In the text, of three and a half pages and written in English, the representatives of the sector defend that a model in which “the majority of inframarginal energy is purchased centrally, with fixed prices [en referencia velada a la propuesta del Ministerio para la Transicion Ecologica y el Reto Demografico], could affect the domestic market and marketing activities”. In addition, they explicitly warn of a possible “fragmentation of the internal market”, thus alluding to one of Brussels’ biggest fears whenever the melon of reforms in regulated sectors is opened.

The organizations, led by Aelec (the former Unesa, which brings together Iberdrola, Endesa and EdP), call for the final reform of the European electricity market to guarantee “legal security for investors and consumers without allowing retroactive changes” and ” preserve the climate of confidence in the financial markets. They also call for recognition of PPAs (long-term bilateral contracts between suppliers and large consumers) as a mechanism that “efficiently encourages investment in renewables and reduces price volatility for consumers.”

further clarification

Hours after its publication, and given the commotion caused, the long dozen employers in the sector have released a second text in which they clarify that the document “should be framed within the current public consultation process on the reform of the electricity” launched by the European Commission in mid-January. “Any interpretation of its content that could convey a message of confrontation or alarmism does not respond to the spirit in which it was prepared and agreed upon,” they justify.

“Although examples can be referenced in the content of the document, this, in no way, is focused on explicitly criticizing any national proposal prepared by a Member State, but rather provides, in a constructive way, technical and economic criteria that must guarantee the proper functioning future of the markets within the EU”, he adds in a kind of reversal in view of the dust raised. “Professional associations, as representatives of thousands of companies with different profiles in the electricity sector, are and will be the most interested in reaching solutions agreed upon with the administration and for this we will always be willing to work in this regard.”

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