Bridging theory and practice, this book offers insights into how Europe has experienced the evolution of modern electricity markets from the end of the 1990s to the present day. It explores defining moments in the process, including the four waves of European legislative packages, landmark court cases, and the impact of climate strikes and marches.

Liberalisation in the power sector is high on the agenda of policy makers, regulators and the industry around the world. There is growing recognition of the benefits of power marker liberalisation and the need to further integrate regional markets in a liberal trade and investment environment. This volume brings together articles written by leading experts in the field of electricity trade and regulation in Europe. Organised in two parts, the contributions cover a range of issues from market structure, trade flows, infrastructure and investment to the regulatory framework within which the industry operates, including international trade rules and national technical, environmental and regulatory regimes. These are complex and sensitive issues requiring an in-depth understanding of the economics and regulation of the electricity trade and the primary object of this volume is to contribute to an informed debate on the subject. To this end, the contributors demonstrate how a competition ?friendly and liberal environment for electricity trade, including a system of non-discriminatory and transparent access to transmission and distribution networks, could contribute to improving market integration, economic efficiency , supply security and environmental health.

This book aims to describe the mechanisms of the internal wholesale electricity market in terms of the legal tools and practices used by electricity producers, the most important market participants. In this regard, the focus is on Northwestern Europe. Because of the book’s functional perspective, it is not limited to the external regulation of electricity markets at the EU level and also describes the business models and practices employed by electricity producers. Both the physical and financial marketplaces are examined and topics including electricity supply, balancing, transmission and derivatives are covered. The target for the completion of the EU’s internal electricity market was 2014. The internal wholesale electricity market is very important not only for electricity producers, suppliers and major end consumers but also for network operators, marketplace operators, electricity technology firms, investment firms and market regulators.

The liberalisation of the electricity sector has changed the way in which electricity is traded. De facto or legal vertical monopolies are gradually abandoned and new participants have entered the market. At the wholesale level, one of the important developments is the establishment of organised electricity markets, i.e. electricity power exchanges. This book analyses the role and evaluates the impact of these new organised markets, which until now received little attention. The introduction provides an overview of the developments on EC level as this creates the legal environment within which power exchanges operate. The implementation of the EC Electricity Directive has inter alia resulted in a commodization of electricity trading. Thereupon the development of power pools and electricity exchanges is discussed as well as the products which can be traded. Subsequently, the development of the most important national and/or regional exchanges in Europe will be examined. National experts will analyse the role of power exchanges in the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Italy. The authors analyse the most important developments in their jurisdictions according to a fixed outline (e.g. implementation of the EC Electricity Directive, market structure, emergence and functioning of the organised market, products traded and the impact of cross-border trade) which allows for a comparative analysis and facilitates understanding. Finally, some conclusions with regard to the establishment of a single electricity market will be presented as well as some future developments.

. . . this volume comes across as one of the most profound sources on the specifics of European electricity market restructuring. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries The SESSA study on the Internal Energy Market was an important and influential contribution towards the Commission s proposal for a third package of proposals, intending to bring more effective competition and better security of supply to Europe s energy markets. This volume, based on the results of the study is an important and welcome contribution to the ongoing debate on these proposals. Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Energy at the European Commission The chapters in this book are written by the leading European scholars who have studied the structure, behavior and performance of liberalised electricity markets in many European countries as well as in other regions of the world. Both the analyses and the policy recommendations contained in this volume are well worth careful consideration by policymakers in Europe, as well as by policymakers in other countries that are seeking to adopt successful electricity sector liberalisation programs. From the foreword by Paul L. Joskow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Dynamism or dissipation? Competition or national champions? Will enlargement promote or delay reform? Energy economists contemplate the challenges posed by the restless and discontent European Commission. Stephen Littlechild, University of Birmingham and Judge Institute for Management Studies, University of Cambridge, UK The challenge of European electricity reform is being met, although gradually, delays notwithstanding. This book provides precious help in spotting where the necessary further efforts should be directed. In the US mistakes and delays have occurred, no less than in Europe, but an aggressive federal regulator (absent in Europe) is working to overcome them. Electricity markets do not happen, they have to be built. Here are suggestions for a workable European market design. No ideology, just competence and wisdom from both theory and experience. Will Europe learn? Pippo Ranci, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy The realisation of a European internal market for energy is still a work in progress. Written by leading European scholars and discussed with major energy stakeholders, this book presents a thorough analysis of the motives and methods needed to achieve a single European energy market. The authors discuss the critical issues surrounding an internal European energy market including: market design, competition and market power, sustainable energy versus the market, regulation and harmonisation, benchmarking and indicators, modelling of competition, market prices and energy forecasts. They provide a multi-disciplinary assessment of the best way to build the market base of a future European energy policy. Electricity Reform in Europe will be of great interest to decision makers and managers in the energy industry or business sector as they will be able to see the whole European energy policy picture beyond their own corporate interests. The book will also appeal to national and European energy administrations, regulatory bodies and policy makers providing a synthesis of all relevant policy issues.

The second in CEPR's annual Monitoring European Deregulation (MED) series, this report explores the economic and regulatory aspects of a single European market for electricity and provides a basis for policy choices both at national and EU levels. The report combines analyses of key issues in electricity market integration and liberalization with evaluations of practical experiences in selected European countries: France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Key issues include: to what extent competition in national electricity markets is a necessary requirement for the integration of these markets, and the design of national electricity markets in which competition in generation and supply is allowed. Lars Bergman is at the Stockholm School of Economics; Gert Brunekreeft is at Institut fuer Verkehrswissenschaft, University of Freiburg; Chris Doyle is at the London Business School; David M G Newbery and Michael Pollitt are at Cambridge University; Pierre Regibeau is at Institut d'Analisi Economica CSIC, Bellaterra; and Nils von der Fehr is at Nuffield College, Oxford.

This book is a sociological account of the historical trajectory of feed-in tariffs (FITs) as an instrument for the promotion of renewable energy in Europe. Chapters analyse the emergence and transformations of feed-in tariffs as part of the policy arsenal developed to encourage the creation of markets for RES-E in Europe. The authors explore evolving conceptions of renewable energy policy at the intersection between environmental objectives, technological change and the ambition to liberalise the internal electricity market. They draw conclusions on the relationships between markets and policy-making as it is instituted in the European Union, and on the interplay between the implementation of a European vision on energy and national politics. Distinctive in both its approach and its methods the books aim is not to discuss the design of feed-in tariffs and their evolution, nor is it to assess their efficiency or fairness. Instead, the authors seek to understand what makes feed-in tariffs what they are, and how this has changed over time.