European Electricity Markets: Part I

Jakub Tomczak, Marcin Walendowski and Jarosław Wajer

This chapter presents the current situation in the electricity market in Europe, focusing on the most important trends and EU policies aiming at reduction of carbon footprint, introduction of third-party access principle and market liberalisation, and increasing the share of renewable-energy sources.

The first section, “Trends in electricity production and demand in Europe, generation sources and price trends”, presents Europe’s electricity statistics and its position in comparison with other parts of the world. The section also provides information concerning the fuel mix of electricity generation and average prices for electricity in particular European countries.

The next section, “EU policy, objectives and directives”, applies to the European regulatory environment, especially the strategic objectives set by the European Union (EU), and their quantification and identification of tools that will enable the achievement of the goals. The EU’s objectives are refined in the form of energy strategies, notably the one entitled “2020 Energy Strategy” (colloquially referred to as “3×20”). This section also focuses on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which is naturally related