Agreement reached by Council on electricity market design reform after months-long wait

Overview Recently, the European Council reached an agreement on their proposal for a Regulation to amend the EU’s EMD. This agreement follows from the European Commission’s suggestion to begin negotiations for electricity market design (‘EMD’) reforms earlier in March 2023. This reform aims to deal with the shortcomings of the current EMD by stabilising energy … Read more

Consultation Open for Re-Design of EU’s Power Market

On January 26, the European Commission (“EC”) launched a consultation resulting from the ongoing discussions around the reform of the European Union’s (“EU”) electricity market. Cracks in the market design became visible after a drastic reduction in the importation of Russian gas, prompting a re-assessment of the structural shortcomings of the market. This consultation primarily … Read more

RIDERS ON THE STORM – UK AND EU RAMP UP ENERGY CRISIS RESPONSES AS WINTER LOOMS

The post below was first published on our Policy Matters blog. On her third day as Prime Minister, Liz Truss announced an unprecedented £150 billion support package for households and business alongside emergency electricity market interventions which will feed into a more fundamental ongoing review. The EU also announced radical proposals. We take a look at … Read more

UK REVIEW OF ELECTRICITY MARKET ARRANGEMENTS: STARTING GUN FIRED ON MULTI-YEAR REVOLUTIONARY REFORM?

On 18 July 2022 the Government released a consultation on options for all non-retail electricity markets in Great Britain: the wholesale market, balancing mechanism and ancillary services. Everything is on the table from the most radical to the incremental. Investors and market participants should pay attention. Days after the new Energy Security Bill was introduced … Read more

UK Energy Security Bill introduced amid political turmoil has wide-ranging implications for the energy sector

On 6 July 2022, a day of significant political uncertainty, the Government published its long-awaited Energy Security Bill. Notwithstanding the current political turmoil, this is expected to survive to become the most wide-ranging legislative reform of the UK’s energy market for several years. The Energy Security Bill (Bill) was published and introduced to Parliament for … Read more

Key energy takeaway’s from the Queen’s Speech

The Queen’s Speech delivered on 10 May 2022 announced a new energy bill (the “Bill“), which expands on the UK Government’s Energy Security Strategy, announced in April 2022. The Bill aims to reduce the UK’s exposure to the volatility of global gas prices, focuses on developing an energy system based on renewable energy and low … Read more

Energy and Infrastructure Consenting Notes – New HSF UK infrastructure planning blog

The London planning team at Herbert Smith Freehills has a new blog called Energy and Infrastructure Consenting Notes, focused on infrastructure planning in the UK. The team has promoted some of the biggest and most high-profile nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) applications to go through the Planning Act 2008 process, from the Hinkley Point and … Read more

THE FUTURE OF THE UK ETS – UK GOVERNMENT PUBLISHED UK ETS CONSULTATION

At the end of March, the UK Government published its long-awaited consultation on the further development of the UK ETS (the “Consultation“), indicating the future capacity and scope of the UK scheme. The UK ETS was launched on 1 January 2021 to replace Great Britain’s participation in the EU ETS after the end of the … Read more