Slow and not so sure: Europe`s long march to electricity market liberalization

Journal Article · Sat Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Electricity Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-6190(97)80504-0· OSTI ID:569420

Hancher, L ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Tilburg (Netherlands)

Under Europe`s recent Directive on competition in electricity, Member States retain immense autonomy to set the competitive agenda within their borders. The result may well be a distinctly skewed - and far from open - trade in electricity, and little opportunity for even large customers to make a meaningful choice of suppliers. The final adoption last year by The European Council - effectively the legislative body of the European Community - of a regulatory measure requiring gradual liberalization of Europe`s electricity market is an event of more symbolic than real significance. During the seven years it has taken to negotiate and compromise upon a suitable legal framework for electricity market liberalization, the European market itself has moved on. Effective implementation of the newly adopted framework rules is unlikely to be a real catalyst for change in its own right, although it could still be an important force in shaping the direction of liberalization programs already underway at the national level. This article will examine the state of electricity market liberalization in what is now known as the European Union - the loose quasi-federal structure which subsists between the 15 Member States of the European Community (EC). It will focus in part upon the provisions of the new EC Directive on the creation of a single market for electricity, and in part upon the complex changes which are gradually transforming the European electricity market.

• OSTI ID: 569420
• Journal Information: Electricity Journal, Journal Name: Electricity Journal Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 10; ISSN ELEJE4; ISSN 1040-6190
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
COMPETITION
DEREGULATION
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
EUROPEAN UNION