Tighter but effective market control pushed for electricity markets
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Tighter control is the ‘call of the day’ for most electricity markets globally, but regulators also emphasized on having “effective market monitoring measures” so they will not counter prudent business judgments and practices.
In a World Forum on Energy Regulation conference here, the global regulators have further noted that “penalties must be sternly imposed when market breaches are committed.
According to Alberto Pototschnig, director of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), there have been marked increase in the market breaches committed in power markets, hence, that should intensify the ‘monitoring radar’ of regulators.
Beyond the mandated regulation of natural monopolies in the electricity sector, mainly in the transmission and distribution segments, regulators have noted that part of regulatory monitoring would be on how investments are implemented within the ambit of ensuring security of supply.
In power markets like Albania, the regulatory policy is still manifestly on the heavy-handed side as it requires monitoring and setting up of controls even in the un-regulated segments of its electricity and gas markets.
Albania Energy Regulation Commissioner Entela Shehaj has opined that “monitoring is important in more liberalized market to make sure that they are competitive and transparent.”
She added “we monitor all agreements in unregulated markets … to make sure that no participant will exercise market power.”
The regulators similarly noted the ‘need for credible data’ to become the basis of their actions – including penalty impositions – when it comes to monitoring market activities or offenses of participants or industry players.
Shehaj said regulatory agencies should be able to process data competently as a component of any decision’s premise and that “site monitoring” must also be enforced when warranted.
In some countries, electricity market regulators have qualified that “we have specific article in our laws which speak about penalties, so we can penalize companies which are in breach of market rules.”