FSR

Maria Olczak (FSR) and Peter Fraser (Head of Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division at IEA) discuss the key messages coming from the latest edition of World Energy Outlook published on 14 November 2017. The major observed shifts include: massive deployment and failing costs of clean energy technologies, mainly solar; the significant growth in the electrification of energy; and the changing landscape of natural gas markets. The IEA predicts that natural gas will grow much faster than the other fossil fuel, especially in developing economies.

In the second part of the interview, Peter Fraser explains how LNG is changing current global gas order and how rising LNG exports from the US are leading towards a more flexible and liquid global market, with major role of Qatar, Australia, USA.

Podcast recorded on the sidelines of the workshop “Promoting a flexible, liquid and transparent global LNG market” organized jointly by the European Commission (DG Energy) and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Florence, 15 November 2017.

In this podcast, Dijana Dmitruk, legal advisor of the Danish Energy Agency, discusses the Danish-German cooperation agreement for mutually opened auctions of solar photovoltaics (PVs). This significant agreement allows projects located in Germany to receive support payments from the Danish state and vice versa, and may operate as a blueprint for future cooperation agreements. While cross-border cooperation has been encouraged at European level and promoted through the cooperation mechanisms put in place by Directive 2009/28/EC, there has been little uptake to date. Despite several hurdles, among them issues surrounding taxation rules and the permitting process, from an EU perspective cross-border auctions are considered to support the development of the internal market and investment in renewable energy systems. Dijana Dmitruk outlines the myriad challenges of the pilot test and what can be learned from it for future arrangements.

ENERGY REGULATION TRAINING – INDIAN OCEAN at Mauritius, July 20-21, 2017.

In cooperation with Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)

This blended training cycle consisted of three blocks specifically designed to meet the learning objectives of the Indian Ocean participants.

The first block was a three-day kick-off residential training which provided an introduction to power systems and grid regulation; renewable energy (RE) and how to introduce them into power systems; and how to optimise energy efficiency (EE).

The second block was an eight weeks online training focusing on the regulation of power systems which allowed the participants to concentrate on the main challenges within their local setting.

The third and final block of the programme was a two-day residential training which allowed the participants to present their country cases and discuss RE and EE energy regulation and energy policy issues pertinent to their nations.

Countries Participating: Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and Réunion

Swetha RaviKumar Bhagwat

Research Associate – FSR Global

Florence School of Regulation

Samson Yemane Hadush

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Vlerick Business School

On the sidelines of the Florence School of Regulation Young Researcher’s Seminar, Pradyumna Bhagwat (FSR) and Joe Perkins (OFGEM) discuss the topics of electrical storage and electric mobility. Batteries can be expected to play a key role in providing balancing services. The trickier question is about “time-shifting”: whether batteries will provide intraday time shifting or even over a longer period. Furthermore, batteries could play a part in providing flexibility in a changing energy system.

In the context of Electric Vehicles, it is vital that we have the right networks to support EVs. The question is about getting to the most efficient solution at least possible cost. National regulatory commission in the UK is looking at pathways for supporting Electric Vehicles.

In this podcast, Antonis Metaxas and Maria Charontaki discuss the implications of the Winter Package for the Greek energy market before considering the recent legislative amendment of the Electricity Customer Supply Code. The revision aims to strengthen consumer rights by promoting a greater level of transparency as regards energy consumption, improving consumer protection, and facilitating fair competition and the switching of suppliers.

During a conference in Milan Ilaria Conti, Head of Gas at the Florence School of Regulation, interviewed Daniele Agostini (ENEL), the head of ENEL Low-carbon and EU Energy Policy.

Gas and electricity utilities are currently undergoing a deep restructuring – imposed by the changes that occurred at macroeconomic and regulatory level. In particular, the pressure coming from the decarbonisation challenge in Europe is accelerating the need for every company to look for new business models and make bets on future market developments.

What’s the starting point? Which are the most important elements to consider in this model shift? And what should, or could, regulators do?

According to Agostini, de-carbonisation is one of the major drivers of this change and a challenge that not only Europe, but most countries around the world are or will be facing. Of course, the pressure and the speed of change imposed by decarbonisation vary considerably from country to country.

Utilities do not necessarily have to adapt quickly to the new business environment, but – more importantly- they need to ensure that they are equipped with the “right instruments” to adapt to a fast-changing world.

Is the market going to provide all answers? “Markets are great,” says Agostini. “But they are not perfect”. Cooperation with other sectors and dialogue with regulators and policy makers is essential to look together to the future and be ready to face its challenges. “What is important is not to lag behind. Moreover, regulatory evolution is essential to avoid market shocks” he concludes.

In the context of the first FSR Young Researcher Seminar (http://fsr.eui.eu/event/fsr-researcher-seminar/) held on 4-5 July 2017 in Florence, Luca Lo Schiavo, Infrastructure Regulation Deputy Director and Head of Innovative Regulation Unit at AEEGSI, has been interviewed about the Italian experience with smart meters by Tim Schittekatte (FSR).

Italy is an interesting case as it can be considered as one of the frontrunners in the roll-out of smart meters. Already in 2001 the first smart meters were installed in the country. Today, the second generation of smart meters is introduced. To know more about the why and how, listen to the podcast!

For more information on the topic: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/2/199/htm

The regional approach to the internal energy market: by what means? | Alberto Pototschnig (ACER)

At the end of the Annual Conference of ACER near Ljubljana, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Alberto Pototschnig, the Director of the Agency for the Cooperation of the Energy Regulators (ACER), discuss the regional dimension of the internal energy market. Currently, there is a consensus that the EU has to move forward with regional cooperation in the field of electricity and gas. However, it is not yet clear how to implement such regionalisation. Thus far, the experience was mainly based on voluntary initiatives like the Pentalateral Energy Forum. Discussions on the matter are ongoing, with several questions hotly debated: what aspects should be part of the regional dimension? What geographical scope should the regions have? What are the most appropriate governance and regulatory frameworks for the regions?

The discussion is particularly lively in the area of electricity, where ENTSO-E and the European Commission have partly diverging opinions on the issue and the legislative proposals presented at the end of 2016. There is an undisputed need for political backing to regional cooperation in electricity: for some, this requires new initiatives by the national policy-makers and regulators (NRAs), while for others the backing is already embedded in the current rules (i.e., Third Energy Package). In the latter case, regionalisation is a merely technical and regulatory issue that must be implemented by TSOs and NRAs, possibly with the contribution of ACER.

Indeed, the role of ACER is becoming more important with the shift of the policy level from the Member States to the regions and the whole Europe. A stronger and better staffed ACER is required to support the regional cooperation of NRAs and ensure that regions do not diverge. Eventually, the goal is to have a European single market and not a bunch of poorly integrated regional markets.

At the margins of the RTE executive seminar, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) talks with Jean-Francois Gahungu (Coreso) about the cooperation of electricity transmission system operators at the regional level. Initiatives like the creation of Coreso in 2008 was undertaken by TSOs to ensure security of supply through better coordination and avoid disruptions to the supply of electricity like the one that happened in November 2006. Over the years, new services have been added and today Regional Security Coordinators (RSCs) like Coreso play an official role in the operation of the European transmission grid. Growing cross-border electricity trade and the integration of variable renewables make the role of such regional coordination centres more and more important. Cooperation among different RSCs is the next obvious step that Coreso and TSCnet have recently embarked on. Extreme events like the extraordinary safety control of the French nuclear fleet over the winter and the cold spell of January 2017 successfully tested the resiliency of the coordination and cooperation mechanisms put in place in Western Europe.

On the sidelines of the FSR Executive Seminar on EU Power system operation and solidarity: the issues and practices, Pradyumna Bhagwat (FSR) and Jens Møller Birkebækt (Energinet.dk) discuss the regional operation of EU power systems. It can be expected that with growing interdependencies of markets and renewable implementation, there would be greater dependence on regional coordination of all activities related to power systems. The availability of a common grid model would not only be beneficial for the operations of the TSOs but also for all customers in the future.

In the context emergency events, the risk of such events occuring will always exist. Therefore, it is important to be prepared for the restoration of the system if such low probability events do occur. Understanding how the system reacts, the adequacy of generation and the system state at a regional perspective would enable TSOs to restore the system more efficiently and may also aid in preventing crises.