Europe’s electricity industry has thrown its weight behind efforts to maintain the UK’s integration into the wider EU energy market.
Eurelectric, which represents the electricity industry across Europe, has called on policymakers to minimise disruption to the energy and climate agenda resulting from Brexit.
In a paper issued ahead of next week’s EU summit, Eurelectric calls for continued wholesale energy market integration, cross-border interconnection and efficient energy trading arrangements between the trading bloc and the UK post-Brexit.
The pan-European organisation backs UK groups remaining full members during the Brexit transition period of EU technical bodies such as the regulatory umbrella organisation ACER, as well as ENTSO-E and ENTSOG, which operate the electricity and gas network codes respectively.
And the paper recommends that the UK should continue to participate in these bodies “to the largest extent possible” after the transition period, in order to prevent regulatory divergence or oversight that could create unnecessary barriers to cross-border trade.
Eurelectric supports the UK’s continued participation in schemes to promote infrastructure investment like TEN E and the Projects of Common Interest, assuming the UK continues its financial support for such EU programmes.
The association also highlights the need to preserve the all-Ireland Single Electricity Market (SEM) and says continuing UK collaboration on the EU’s energy and climate goals would be welcome.
And it backs continued UK participation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which is due to enter its fourth phase in 2021.
Any future agreement between the EU and the UK must include a full and comprehensive energy and climate chapter, covering the Internal Electricity Market (IEM), the trading and transmission framework created by the network codes, the SEM, and the EU ETS.
Kristian Ruby, secretary general of Eurelectric, said: “Every effort should be made to minimise disruption of these objectives which must form part of an energy and climate chapter governing the EU-UK future relationship.”
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, welcomed the Eurelectric paper. He said: “This is an important message from the other European countries underlying the benefits of mutual cooperation and regulatory alignment post Brexit, that we have long highlighted.
“It also supports our calls for a comprehensive energy and climate chapter in a future trade agreement, based on ongoing participation in the Internal Energy Market, which is essential to keep costs down for UK customers and businesses, enhance security of supply in the UK and in Europe and to meet our shared climate targets.”