In the wake of volatile energy prices in 2022, the European Commission proposed a reform of the Electricity Market Design (EMD), seeking to make electricity bills less dependent on short-term fossil fuels prices, boost deployment of renewables and fully utilise alternatives to gas, such as storage and demand response. A public consultation was launched to gather stakeholder views in January 2023.
Despite intense engagement from the fossil fuel and utilities sectors that two-way contracts for difference (CfDs) should remain voluntary, the finalized proposal mandates CfDs for new public investments in renewable and nuclear energy facilities. However, the proposal also allows continued subsides for fossil-fuel generators of last resort until 2028.
IPCC aligned transition from carbon-emitting technologies; and renewable energy
Inactive: completed. The file was approved in May 2024 and entered into force in July 2024.
IPCC aligned transition from carbon-emitting technologies; and renewable energy
Inactive: completed. The file was approved in May 2024 and entered into force in July 2024.
On 9 December, an industry coalition representing the European chemicals, aluminium, and electricity sectors published a series of policy recommendations to EU policymakers, as an outcome of the Antwerp Dialogue on Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness. The signatories of the joint recommendations, which included the European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU), the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) and Eurelectric, expressed broad support for a Clean Industrial Deal to enable the decarbonization of the energy sector. However, several policy recommendations did not appear to be aligned with the EU Commission's original policy ambition. For example, entities advocated against reducing indirect cost compensation as part of reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System, and did not seem to support prioritizing non-fossil flexibility support schemes in the EU Electricity Market Design reform.
In a December 11th meeting with the EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič on the clean industry transition, ArcelorMittal did not support EU state aid conditions for the steel industry to use green hydrogen to decarbonize, advocating that the industry should be able to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) or fossil gas in the short-term. The company also advocated to weaken the EU Emissions Trading System and EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, whilst supporting the Electricity Market Design reform on renewables and a range of policy to scale up demand for low-carbon steel.
In a December 15th LinkedIn post, E.ON’s CEO and the current President of Eurelectric supported the compromise agreement reached by European Parliament members and Member states on the proposed electricity market design reform, stating that “it is for sure much better than any other outcome we could have imagined one year ago”.
Eurogas and Hydrogen Europe released a November 15th joint industry association statement advocating against non-fossil flexibility in favor of a technology neutral market design, which does not appear to support a move away from utilizing natural gas for flexibility.
In a press release dated November 15th, Eurelectric advocated that demand-side flexibility options in the EU Electricity Market reform should be market-based and technology neutral, in contrast to the EU Commission's proposal of using demand-side response and storage measures to reduce usage of fossil gas for power system flexibility.
The table below lists the entities found to be most engaged with the policy. The entities are ranked by performance band. InfluenceMap tracks over 500 companies and 250 industry associations globally. Each entity name links to its full InfluenceMap profile, where the evidence of its engagement can be found.
| Influencemap Performance Band | Organization | Policy Position | Policy Engagement Intensity |
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