The long-awaited reform of the electricity market is under way. Yesterday, the European Parliament's Industry and Energy Committee debated for the first time the report presented by the rapporteur, the Spanish socialist Nicolás González Casares, in which he proposes that power outages be prohibited for the most vulnerable people and that so-called lost benefits be limited from the sky. The MEP considers that despite the fact that the Commission's proposal "is a good starting point", it is necessary to protect consumers in the face of 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 guarantee the right of citizens to receive electricity supply to cover their basic needs."
Among the amendments included is also that of limiting the benefits fallen from heaven of the so-called 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 in the face of a price crisis, but it does not establish which ones," González argued. The amendment establishes a maximum income limit of 180 euros per megawatt hour. Even so, 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 objective is that when this situation occurs, the European Commission would activate the emergency mechanism and those benefits that inframarginal technologies have achieved could be used by countries to alleviate the bills of citizens. During the first debate, the measure of helping the most vulnerable people was widely supported, however, the measure of limiting the benefits was not liked. The European People's Party was the most vocal against the measure. “It is 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 in the negotiation. The objective is that the regulation is approved before the end of the legislature.
