Electricity market design should provide equal conditions for all energy sources, avoid capacity mechanisms and build on bottom-up regional cooperation, according to the Czech Republic, Euractiv.com/Euractiv.cz report.

The EU needs to change its perception of the energy system, as it is shifting from a centralised electricity market to a more decentralised one, the Commission’s Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič told a conference in Brussels on 31 January..

In a jumbo legislative package presented in November, the Commission submitted several proposals focusing on a new power market in Europe.

One of the aims of the so-called Winter Package is to put consumers at the centre of the Energy Union, the Commission says.

“We should focus on a bottom-up voluntary cooperation which works well. The 4M market coupling, integrating the markets of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, is a good example,” Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek said.

“We want to have a market without distortions. If there is a need to create capacity mechanisms, they must be the last resort measure in cases of resource inadequacy, and they have to be market-based, technologically neutral and open to cross-border participation,” Mládek added.

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