The liberalization of energy markets in Europe and the separation of
generation, transmission and distribution in most countries have played a
vital role in increasing the efficiency of energy systems for the
benefit of industrial users and consumers alike.
New players have strengthened their presence in the energy markets,
endowed with higher efficiency, a greater propensity for investment, and
greater generation capacity compared with former monopoly players.
At the same time, a significant improvement has been achieved in the
transparency of decision-making processes at a regional and pan-European
level regarding development of an interconnected European grid. This
has been enabled by the publication of the Ten-Year Network Development
Plan of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for
Electricity (ENTSO-E) as part of the framework set out by the EU's Third
Energy Package.
Processes to harmonize Europe-wide requirements in light of current
and future system developments have also been discussed regularly among
network operators, stakeholders and regulators. In 2013, ENTSO-E released its latest Network Code on 'Requirements
for Generators' (NC RfG) and published NC RfG Implementation Guidelines
to support the code by highlighting the impact on specific technologies,
the link with local network characteristics, and the need for
co-ordination between network operators and grid users.
Good progress has undoubtedly been made in respect of both market
liberalization and EU policy; however, the economic and financial crisis
of 2008-2009 hit at a time when energy systems were just starting out
on their transformation journey. Unfortunately, it caught most utilities
unprepared. Following a period of significant capital expenditure and
increased mergers and acquisitions activity, most found themselves
loaded with debt. This is why European utilities have been ranked among
the worst-performing sectors in the global share indices over the last
five years.
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