June 2019

Editorial

June was busy with the launch of a new public consultation, new CEER reports, events and international activities (see below for our latest work in Kenya). Besides being deep into delivering on our 2019 commitments, we are currently seeking feedback on our proposed work items for next year (see the CEER 2020 Work Programme Public Consultation).
CEER published two new reports; one on unbundling (featured below) and the other on self-consumption and energy communities. The latter report analyses the regulatory aspects of self-consumption and energy communities and includes case studies and recommendations. CEER welcomes the formal recognition of energy communities in the EU framework but cautions that energy communities should not become a vehicle to circumvent existing market principles such as unbundling, consumer rights or the cost-sharing principles applied to energy grids.
Also recently published is the European Commission’s study ”Assessing the independence and effectiveness of National Regulatory Authorities in the field of energy” .
During EU Sustainable Energy Week, we  partnered with Europex and RECS to host an event on Decarbonisation at Least Cost - Renewables beyond Support (see photo below). CEER also held a workshop on Cybersecurity. At the European Gas Regulatory Forum (Madrid Forum), we presented initial results of our recent CEER public consultation on the regulatory challenges of a sustainable gas sector. Power-to gas, cross-border capacity allocations, TSO-DSO cooperation and cyber security were some of the topics we spoke upon at the European Electricity Regulatory Forum (Florence Forum) this month.

Upcoming events:
-    Registration is open for our Unbundling workshop, 3 July in Brussels
-    CEER Customer Conference, 5 November in Brussels. Save the date!

EU Sustainable Energy Week, 18 June

FEATURE-CEER reports on TSO and DSO Unbundling
CEER has published a Status Review on implementation of the unbundling provisions of EU legislation. Its findings will be presented and discussed at a workshop in Brussels on Wednesday 3 July 2019. See the CEER Unbundling Report  and register here for the Unbundling Workshop.

Background
Under the 3^rd (2009) Package of EU energy laws, EU Member States must ensure the separation of vertically integrated energy companies, resulting in the separation of the various stages of energy supply (generation, distribution, transmission and supply).
The independence of the network operators is assessed through a certification process conducted by national regulatory authorities (NRAs).
CEER’s unbundling report examines how the unbundling provisions have been implemented at national level (in 25 countries) for Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs), with a focus on developments since 2015. The report also covers the main changes on unbundling introduced by the 2019 Clean Energy Package (CEP).

Main Findings - TSO unbundling

CEER’s report looks at the new developments in TSO unbundling practice. Topics explored include: reopening of certification decisions and the reasons for this; third-country certifications; cross-border certifications; requirements for state-owned TSOs; financial independence; compliance issues; investments, joint-venture TSOs and joint undertakings.
The CEER report finds that several TSOs went from the Independent TSO (ITO) model to full Ownership Unbundling (OU). Several Member States have decided to not take ownership shares in their TSOs in the future (instead supporting the privatisation of their TSOs). We also observe a trend of third country participations in EU TSOs so that the procedure of Article 11 of the Directives must be properly applied to involve all parties (Member States and the European Commission) equally and thoroughly assess the “security of supply” criteria.

Main Findings - DSO unbundling
The CEER report looks at the unbundling regime and DSO structure; rebranding; independence; resources; and the compliance regime. A major issue on the DSO side is DSO proper (re)branding to avoid confusion with the vertically integrated undertaking (VIU). In countries where rebranding processes have been carried out, non-compliance has been detected in several countries but more than half of the NRAs concerned consider that it was conducted to a satisfactory level in both gas and electricity.

What’s next?
The CEER Unbundling Report  will be presented and discussed at a workshop in Brussels on 03 July.

PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS
-    CEER 2020 Work Programme – deadline 09 August

PUBLICATIONS
-   CEER Report on the Regulatory Aspects of Self-Consumption and Energy Communities
-   CEER Status Review on Implementation of TSO and DSO Unbundling Provisions
-   CEER-ECRB-MEDREG Press Release: European and Mediterranean regulators team up on empowering consumers to benefit from the energy transition (26 June 2019)

INTERNATIONAL
Engagement with the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA)
CEER organised for members of the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) an executive level seminar in Nairobi, Kenya (24-25 June) on regulatory policy, autonomy and governance. Thanks to the support of the European Development Fund, regulators from 5 African countries (Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Somalia and South Sudan) joined CEER’s three regulatory experts in this two-day capacity building activity.

European regulators teamed up with fellow regulators from the Energy Community and the Mediterranean region in a closed CEER-ECRB-MEDREG tri-lateral workshop on empowering consumers to benefit from the energy transition.

CEER-RAERESA Executive Level Seminar, Nairobi, 25-26 June

CEER-ECRB-MEDREG Trilateral Workshop, Brussels, 25 June

As noted in a press release of 26 June, CEER hosted a workshop with the Energy Community Regulatory Board (ECRB) and the Association of Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG),  which strengthened regulatory dialogue across Europe and the broader Mediterranean region to support consumers in becoming active energy market participants. The focus of this joint event was on consumer empowerment in the digital era and in the context of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package.

CEER-ECRB-MEDREG Trilateral Workshop, Brussels, 25 June

Contact

Una.Shortall@ceer.eu

+32 278 873 30 or +32 484 668 599

www.ceer.eu

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