The Commission said it would probe the workings of 11 capacity markets of EU countries – Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden – but if any distorting affects are discovered, the investigation could be extended to other member states, including the UK.
The inquiry will investigate whether the government subsidies are favouring any particular type of technology, certain producers, or erecting barriers that hinder the flow of electricity between EU member states.
The EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: “Governments have a legitimate interest to ensure that there is sufficient electricity supply – households and industry should not face blackouts.
“My role is to safeguard that public measures to underpin investment in electricity supplies do not unduly favour particular producers or technologies, or create obstacles to trade across national borders.”
“For example, in some cases it might be more efficient to invest in improving electricity grid connections between EU countries than to build new power stations.”
In a statement, she added: “This sector inquiry sends a clear signal to member states to respect EU state aid rules when implementing capacity mechanisms, and contributes to the Commission’s goal to build a true Energy union in Europe.”
The Commission said it would invite comments on its preliminary findings before the end of 2015 and would publish the final results of the initial phase of the inquiry by mid-2016.