Competition in Energy Markets – Competition Law vs

Transcript:Competition in Energy Markets – Competition Law vs:
Competition in Energy Markets – Competition Law vs Changing Priorities in Energy Policy Prof. Peter D Cameron (CEPMLP, Dundee, UK) & Dr. Henning Matthiesen, LL.M. Lawyer Bucharest, 9 June 2022 1 Summary I I want to argue that there have been three ‘ages’ of competition interventions in EU energy markets linked to specific social/economic priorities. I then want to raise the question of whether a fourth has begun. The first age was linked to the idea that bringing the energy sector within the scope of the internal market would bring about cost reductions, enhanced consumer choice and less risk of abuse by established players. The second age evolved out of the first and involved an intensification of the competition drive with an unprecedented application of competition law to the energy sector, and an interplay with the new body of EU energy regulation. A third age evolved out of this: the Clean Energy age. It saw a series of adaptations to allow MSs to support various forms of clean energy and initiatives to address climate related issues that implied a tolerance of more state intervention in the energy sector than before. Bucharest, 9 June 2022 2 Summary II Two assumptions: There is a long-standing tension between the integrative measures in the EU project (‘an ever closer union’) and MS control over the energy sector for strategic and social reasons. This remains of key significance. Competition has been perhaps the policy priority most challenged by this tension – and by the rise of new and influential policy aims for both MSs and the EU. Bucharest, 9 June 2022 3 The Approach Some years ago the American legal scholar, Grant Gilmore, presented a short history of American law with the title, ‘The Ages of American Law’. He described distinct periods of legal history in his reflections on the American approach to law since the 18th century related to social change. I have borrowed this framing device in an attempt to capture the complex development of competition law and policy with respect to the EU energy sector. Bucharest, 9 June 2022 4 Part I The First Age For several decades, the competition law was not applied to the energy sector. Few complaints made to the EC. Closed monopolistic trade areas were prevalent – in Germany demarcation agreements excluded certain areas from competition in energy supply, and exclusive concession agreements allowed the holder rights to