New market design needs strong transmission grid

Friends of the Supergrid, Europe’s largest industrial alliance for electricity interconnections, welcomes the European Commission’s consultative Communication on the new electricity market design. FOSG believes that this Communication is going into the right direction of adapting the market to the new system in which renewables will soon represent at least half of the electricity production and probably more in a near future.

FOSG encourages the efforts of the European Commission to create an integrated and strong liquid market in all timeframes and across all regions of Europe which will improve Europe’s competitiveness and the secure supply of electricity. FOSG strongly supports an increased coordination of national policies that should ultimately lead to coordinated RES support schemes and a common European approach to system adequacy assessment. These measures are crucial in achieving the European energy transition in a cost-effective way.

To be successful, the updated market design fit for renewables urgently needs a strong interconnected pan-European transmission grid. The Supergrid will act as the backbone of the internal market by significantly contributing to balance the power system through a continent-wide connection of areas of production with areas of high demand where citizens need their power. FOSG hopes that the policy makers will undertake more initiatives to ensure an efficient and faster permitting process, which is urgently needed for the construction of the needed infrastructure.

FOSG will contribute with concrete proposals to this public consultation and is looking forward to the long-term work of the European Commission to implement an integrated and liquid energy market based on a pan-European Supergrid.

FOSG represents the key sectors active in the electricity grid industry, i.e. global multi-industrial companies with a combined turnover of €200 billion representing close to 1 million jobs. The main purpose of FOSG is to support the creation of an integrated European electricity market supported by a pan-European offshore and onshore electricity network, the Supergrid, which will significantly foster Europe’s energy independence.