EU in favour of ownership unbundling in the transmission grid business

On October 10, 2008, Europe’s energy ministers adopted the “Third Liberalization Package,” putting an end to the years of heated debate on new rules for the European gas and electricity market. The final adoption of the package is subject to the approval of the European Parliament, which is expected in the first half of 2009.

In September 2007, the Commission presented a total of five ordinances and directives to strengthen the single European market. A large number of the Commission’s proposals gained widespread approval. Conversely, the call for the unbundling of the ownership of electricity and gas transmission grids from other areas of business activity by energy utilities triggered a heated debate. A group of ten member states, including Germany and France, rejected this demand, alleging that it was unreasonable. As a compromise, the group suggested the establishment of an independent transmission operator, which would strengthen the autonomy of a transmission system operator within an integrated energy company.

RWE welcomes the “Third Liberalization Package” as a step towards a functioning single European energy market. We believe that the independent transmission operator model is a workable solution for effectively separating regulated grid operations from business areas subject to free competition.