EU is bringing Energy Efficiency to the Liberalised Markets

Wuppertal Institute and Eurelectric welcome EU initiative

The EU could save an additional ten percent of its energy consumption by 2013 through a broad-scale implementation of energy efficiency services and programmes. The European Commission’s planned Initiative and Directive proposal on Energy Services is to contribute to the realisation of such a target.

These are the issues that around 200 high-profile participants from governments, parliaments, energy industries, energy efficiency industries, environmental and consumer NGOs, trade unions, energy regulators, energy agencies, and science, are discussing today at the Conference ’Bringing Energy Efficiency to the Liberalised Markets’ in Brussels.

’We believe that the Commission’s Initiative will be an important step for completing the European energy markets’, said the Conference Chairmen, Stefan Thomas from the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, and John Scowcroft of Eurelectric. Scowcroft added: ’Energy Services help our customers to reduce their energy bills and will be an important part of electricity suppliers’ marketing effort in the competitive environment.’ As Thomas pointed out, there are also many barriers for energy companies to engage in demand-side energy efficiency. He therefore welcomed that the planned Directive would require the Member States to create a favourable framework, e.g., through energy efficiency funds. This framework will enable energy companies and other actors to build up the market for energy efficiency programmes and services.

With the planned Directive, demand-side energy efficiency would receive the attention that it deserves based on its benefits for the economy, employment, security of supply, and the environment.

The conference is organised within the project “Bringing Energy Services to the Liberalised Markets (BEST)”, a project co-funded under the EU SAVE programme.