WRITTEN QUESTION No. 204/99 by Manuela FRUTOS GAMA Protection for small and medium-sized electricity consumers as a consequence of liberalisation in the energy sector
3. 12. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 348/35 (1999/C 348/042) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0204/99 by Manuela Frutos Gama (PSE) to the Commission (12 February 1999) Subject: Protection for small and medium-sized electricity consumers as a consequence of liberalisation in the energy sector Does the Commission consider it consistent with the objectives of the Treaty that the outcome of the Electricity Directive in Spain in the coming decade for SMEs and domestic consumers should be a limit on any fall in charges to 1 or 2 % agreed between undertakings and the authorities and a fixed 4,5 % increase in charges to offset costs linked to the transition to competition, regardless of developments in other energy market parameters? Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (12 April 1999) The liberalisation of the electricity market according to Directive 96/92/EC of the Parliament and the Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (1) is introduced with a gradual approach. The share of ‘eligible customer’, i. e. customers which may choose their electricity supplier, has to represent in the first step at least a Community average of large industrial customers with more than 40 GWh yearly consumption and is successively extended to a larger share of also smaller customers. It is true that during this gradual opening period the benefit of liberalisation tends to be larger for those consumers which are already ‘eligible’. However, the Commission expects that through the further extension of the eligible customer segment also to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as through eligible distributors and newly entering electricity traders and suppliers, the liberalisation will become more and more beneficial also for small consumers. In this context, the Spanish electricity law fully complies with the market opening schedule of the Directive, and goes even further, with reductions for smaller customers. As liberalisation progresses, the Commission hopes that its benefits will also be shared to a greater extent by residential consumers. On the question of the cost of transition to competition in Spain, the Commission is still examining the case pursuant to both Article 24 of the Directive (stranded costs) and to the state aids rules under the EC Treaty. Therefore, for the time being, the Commission can only refer the Honourable Member to the replies it gave to oral questions H-161/99 by Mr Izquierdo Collado and H-162/99 by Mrs Garcia Arias during question time at Parliament’s March 1999 post-session. (1) OJ L 27, 30. 11. 1992. (1999/C 348/043) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0205/99 by Manuel Escolá Hernando (ARE) to the Commission (12 February 1999) Subject: Funding of restoration schemes in Aragón The 1997 Commission report on the Cohesion Fund indicates that the Autonomous Community of Aragón received funding for nine restoration schemes amounting to ECU 29 million. Can the Commission say what projects benefited, how much funding was allocated to each and what the current situation is in each case?