June 22nd, 2011
Electricity market regime is at a crossroads. There is a fundamental tension between short term pricing as a signal for investing in the whole generation mix and the long term policy objectives in matter of energy security and carbon emission control. It is due to inherent specific price- and volume-risks inherent to electricity markets for investing in large-sized technologies with large upfront costs and long lead times, like non-fossil technologies, and more generally low carbon equipment. Risk mitigation and risk sharing by long term contracts or vertical integration are needed with even the generalization of these arrangements under the government coordination as it is envisaged by the Electricity Market Reform in the UK.
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Posted in Electricity | 1 Comment »
March 1st, 2010
The Nabucco consortium strongly supported by the European Commission in the name of EU energy security interests is going ahead. It decided on February 2010 to order the steel to forge the 3000 km future pipe. Such a strong determination is striking because there is only room for one transit pipe-line and the rival project lead by Gazprom, namely South Stream, has much better chances to win the competitive battle because there will be gas to fill it and money to finance it, which is not the case of Nabucco.
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Posted in Gas | 2 Comments »
June 29th, 2008
No well-earned rest for the warrior. By end of 2008 after the EU will adopt the third package, the game will not be over for the European Commission. To reform long-term, oil products-indexed contracts will be the next step on the liberalization process. They, however, present some advantages relatively to gas-on-gas price contracts.
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Posted in Gas | 2 Comments »
February 5th, 2008
Market integration results in increasing electricity bill for consumers in countries enjoying large power generation capacities at low cost. Generally, the rationale for opening-up the market makes sense if enough freedom of choice exists so that considerable effects of production reallocation can be expected. When there are too many restrictions in the system, market opening leads to redistribution without any reallocation. Continue reading »
Posted in Electricity, English | 4 Comments »
November 6th, 2007
Alarmed by fears stirred up by the short supply cuts following the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine in January 2006 and Belarus in 2007, the European Commission and many member states are increasingly concerned about the leverage that Russia could find in a coalition with other exporters to the European market. Continue reading »
Posted in English, Gas | 5 Comments »
