Negotiators from the European Parliament, Commission and Council have provisionally approved a wide-ranging EU clean energy package.
The Clean Energy for All Europeans package, which aims to reconcile environmental targets with market realities, will limit subsidies to electricity plants which produce high rates of carbon emissions. The EU clean energy package is directed to place consumers at the forefront of the transition to clean energy, with benefits for consumers including:
- Energy providers must allow consumers the option to freely switch their provider;
- Consumers will be accorded the automatic right to have smart meters installed in their homes;
- Consumers will be able to access a free online price comparison tool under the EU clean energy package to enable them to choose the best electricity provider; and
- Energy companies with more than 200,000 customers must allow their clients the option of adopting a dynamic price contract.
Miguel Arias Cañete, the Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy said: “Today’s deal marks the completion of negotiations on the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, putting the EU in the lead in terms of rules to accelerate and facilitate the clean energy transition. This takes us a step closer towards delivering the Energy Union, one of the priorities President Juncker set out for this Commission at the start of the mandate. Today’s agreement on the future electricity market design is a vital part of the EU clean energy package. The new market will be more flexible and facilitate the integration of a greater share of renewable energy. An integrated EU energy market is the most cost-effective way to ensure secure and affordable supplies to all EU citizens. The new rules will create more competition and will allow consumers to participate more actively in the market and play their part in the clean energy transition. I am particularly pleased that we agreed on a balanced approach to limit capacity mechanisms and reconcile security of supply with our climate objectives. Capacity mechanisms will not be used as a backdoor subsidy of high-polluting fossil fuels as that would go against our climate objectives.”
Once the EU clean energy package has been formally approved by the European Parliament and Council, it will enter into force by 2020.
