29 May 2008 - Every week we will invite people in the sustainable energy business to react on an actual statement.
 

This month, following the news of the amendments of rapporteur Claude Turmes to the EU Directive for the Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, the postulate is:

"The EU Directive and its amendments will remove the existing barriers and ensure a prosperous growth of sustainable energy in Europe”

This week, our guest is Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs (Latvia, 1957). He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Latvia, and before joining the European Commission in 2004 he worked for almost a decade in diplomacy.

"I believe opening of the energy markets is key to ensuring a prosperous growth of energy in Europe, in addition to delivering environmental benefits, thus creating a more sustainable energy supply.

With the current unbundling rules, companies that control energy production and transmission networks make it very difficult, particularly for new small renewable energy undertakings to have access to the pipes and cables on fair conditions.

However, in a new open energy market scenario, new energy producers would have the opportunity to offer energy services that will benefit citizens, bringing a real choice for consumers.

To our experience, open energy markets bring better prices, innovative products and high quality services.

The consumer’s freedom of choice will also make them active players in the fight against climate change, since they will be able to choose suppliers that offer low-carbon or renewable energies.

Giving the opportunity to switch suppliers is only one of the ways by which the new package for Europe’ energy internal market will contribute substantially to reducing greenhouse emissions. There are two more.

First, competition brings energy efficiency, particularly for electricity producers who will no longer be able to afford high losses of energy in transmission or production.

Secondly, the Emissions Trading Scheme needs a well functioning market to be effective. In an open market, the CO2 price is a great incentive towards efficiency, low-carbon sources and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. Needless to say, in such a framework, investing in clean energies research and development will be far more attractive.

This is why I do consider that market liberalisation is good for consumers, for the existing energy companies, for others that may come up in the future, particularly in the field of renewable energies, and in general for a prosperous growth of sustainable energy in Europe."