ACER and CEER welcome the new gas decarbonisation legislative proposals with some recommendations

ACER and Europe’s energy regulators welcome the European Commission’s hydrogen and decarbonised gas market legislative package.  In their joint Position Paper on Key Regulatory Requirements to Achieve Gas Decarbonisation, ACER and CEER provide recommendations in three areas:

• Enabling gradual and flexible regulation for hydrogen.

• Ensuring a level playing field in a decarbonised and integrated energy system.

• Empowering and protecting consumers for the energy transition.

It is clear that a successful energy transition must not only meet decarbonisation targets but also must meet consumers’ legitimate expectations of having reliable and affordable energy services. ACER and CEER set out nine key recommendations to carry out a successful energy transition:

1. Adopt a gradual and flexible regulatory approach to facilitate the emergence of competitive hydrogen markets, by defining core market and regulatory principles, guaranteeing a level playing field, ownership unbundling, third-party access, transparency and regulatory oversight;

2. Monitor hydrogen markets periodically to identify their development and whether more regulation is needed;

3. Apply cost reflectivity and beneficiary-pays principles to hydrogen networks, avoiding cross-subsidies between energy carriers;

4. Ensure an integrated, liquid and interoperable EU internal gas market, including by foreseeing a more flexible approach to the application of relevant network codes with respect to specific cross-border charges;

5. Adopt a more integrated approach to infrastructure development, both in relation to different levels of the supply chain (vertical), and to the various energy carriers (horizontal), consistent with the revised TEN-E Regulation;

6. Guarantee consumer rights regardless of energy carrier;

7. Embed robust consumer protection, future innovation, technology developments and new market trends in decarbonisation policies, recognising the specificities of gas markets;

8. Ensure cost efficiency and affordability to safeguard inclusiveness and a just transition, including by promoting and facilitating energy efficiency measures and information; and

9. Provide consumers with clear and reliable information and support, as well as ensure effective enforcement of their rights and consumer-centric digitalisation rules to enhance their empowerment and trust in the energy transition.

ACER and CEER stand ready to provide advice and they continue to work towards putting the consumer at the centre of the energy transition by promoting consumer awareness and protection.