Conclusions of the last European Electricity Regulatory Forum in Florence, Italy
Between the 4th and 5th of June 2015, the 28th Electricity Regulatory Forum took place in Florence, Italy. Participants include national regulatory authorities, Member State governments, the European Commission, TSOs, electricity traders, consumers, network users, and power exchanges.
Participants discussed the Energy Union initiative and the implementation of the latest round of EU energy market legislation, namely the Third Energy Package. The Forum showed their support to the efforts made so far regarding the implementation of the network codes and guidelines for the efficient integration of the internal energy market.
Particularly interesting for the IndustRE project activities is the agreement of the role of flexible demand and supply in overcoming the challenges for market operation and integration of renewables. IndustRE will analyse the potential for flexibility in energy intensive industries in order to facilitate further market uptake of variable renewable electricity, aiming to reduce the electricity costs for industries, through innovative and cost-effective business models. The regulatory support is fundamental for the further implementation of the new business models created under the IndustRE project.
The Forum’s emphasized “the need for the energy market to properly value flexibility” and the “focus on improving the efficiency of markets so that price signals encourage the development and deployment of the different sources of flexibility needed in different market timeframes, especially intraday and balancing."