The UK model of incentive regulation of power grids was at one time the most advanced, and elements of it were adopted throughout the EU. This model worked well, particularly in the context of limited investment and innovation, a single and strong regulatory authority, and limited coordination between foreign grid operators. This enlightening book shows that since 2010 the whole context has changed and regulation has had to catch-up and evolve. The EU is entering a wave of investment, and an era of new services and innovation which has created growing tensions between national regulatory authorities in terms of coordinating technical standards and distribution systems. This is being played out against an increasingly disruptive backdrop of digitzation, new market platforms and novel business models.

The UK model of incentive regulation of power grids was at one time the most advanced, and elements of it were adopted throughout the EU. This model worked well, particularly in the context of limited investment and innovation, a single and strong regulatory authority, and limited coordination between foreign grid operators. This enlightening book demonstrates how the landscape has changed markedly since 2010 and that regulation has had to work hard to catch up and evolve. As the EU enters a wave of investment and an era of new services and innovation, this has created growing tensions between national regulatory authorities in terms of coordinating technical standards and distribution systems. This is being played out against an increasingly disruptive backdrop of digitization, new market platforms and novel business models. Electricity Network Regulation in the EU adopts a truly European approach to the complex issues surrounding the topic, focusing on the grey areas and critical questions that have traditionally been difficult to answer. Incentive regulation and grids are addressed simultaneously at the theoretical and practical level, providing the reader with fundamental concepts and concrete examples. This timely book is an invaluable read for energy practitioners working in utility companies, regulators and other public bodies. It will also appeal to academics involved in the world of electricity regulation. The book utilizes language that would make it suitable for interdisciplinary students, including engineering and law scholars.

Bridging theory and practice, this book offers insights into how Europe has experienced the evolution of modern electricity markets from the end of the 1990s to the present day. It explores defining moments in the process, including the four waves of European legislative packages, landmark court cases, and the impact of climate strikes and marches.

Liberalisation in the power sector is high on the agenda of policy makers, regulators and the industry around the world. There is growing recognition of the benefits of power marker liberalisation and the need to further integrate regional markets in a liberal trade and investment environment. This volume brings together articles written by leading experts in the field of electricity trade and regulation in Europe. Organised in two parts, the contributions cover a range of issues from market structure, trade flows, infrastructure and investment to the regulatory framework within which the industry operates, including international trade rules and national technical, environmental and regulatory regimes. These are complex and sensitive issues requiring an in-depth understanding of the economics and regulation of the electricity trade and the primary object of this volume is to contribute to an informed debate on the subject. To this end, the contributors demonstrate how a competition ?friendly and liberal environment for electricity trade, including a system of non-discriminatory and transparent access to transmission and distribution networks, could contribute to improving market integration, economic efficiency , supply security and environmental health.

Since the very beginning of European integration, electricity has been within the legal sphere of the EU. Much of this is found within the binding European acts making up the framework of the Energy Packages. The established legal institutions have had a significant impact on the shape of the energy market in Europe. Nevertheless, the European energy market still seems to be developing, as demonstrated by the current lively discussion about the state of the Energy Union. Regulation in the European Electricity Sector delves into European energy law and reflects on some of the primary issues related to the public legal impact on the European energy sector. The book offers a brief explanation of the background operation of the electricity sector, as well as liberalisation within the area, and traces the evolution of the EU’s approach towards the issue of public law regulation within the electricity sector. Finally, the book presents an analysis of European and national laws, considering their interpretation, and explores the future of public law regulation. Aimed at giving the reader a deep insight into a nature of the state’s presence in the power sector, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of EU energy law and policy.

With regulation seeking to foster competition at the same time as also having to protect essential services, the authors investigate regulatory styles, costs of new regulatory functions and how firms in the new regulatory landscape access and influence regulatory authorities. The authors consider how EU pressures may hinder or help the functioning of new regulatory markets and the establishment of business-regulator relationships, as well as the broader policy implications for these new regulatory environments. The book also determines how regulatory authorities emerge and evolve under different state traditions and assesses, over time, the degree to which there is potential for convergence, divergence and continued differences as regulatory functions mature.

Recent years have seen a major growth in the European law concerning the operation of the energy industry, especially with respect to electricity and gas. Several directives have been adopted that are aimed at the promotion of competition in this key sector of the European economy. At thesame time, the jurisprudence of the European Court had developed further on matters such as access to networks, import and export monopolies and security of supply.In this book the authors examine the principal legislation, Treaty provisions and decisions of the Court of Justice and Court of First Instance of the EU as they related to the promotion of competition in European energy markets. In particular, two chapters are devoted to a detailed analysis of theprovisions of the two directives that set out common rules for the creation of an internal market in the electricity and gas sectors. In each case, the analysis is set in the context of the various programmes of energy market liberalization and privatization in the Member States, which aresummarized in this book. However, the authors also take the wider pan-European context into account, explaining the requirements and the implications of the European Economic Area Agreement, the Energy Charter Treaty and the Europe Agreements with countries of Central and Eastern Europe.The approach adopted by the authors is both analytical and historical. They locate the legislation in the context of the EU Internal Market programme that began in the late 1980s and explain the roles played by the various parties (energy industries, consumers and EU institutions) in shaping thefinal legislation. Importantly, they explain how the framework character of the energy directives has led to further important rule-making in the implementation of the directives across the EU. They conclude that a co-ordinated response between the European Commission and the national regulatorswill be essential to resolve problems arising in the transition to a competitive energy market in the EU.