This book provides an insight into some of the most significant issues presented at the Florence School of Regulation and Hellenic Energy Regulation Institute’s joint conference on European energy law and policy, which took place in September 2016 in Athens, Greece. The purpose of the conference was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current status of the European and Greek energy sector, and the issues it faces, from both a legal and an economic perspective. The discussions included an assessment of the low carbon challenges for Europe, examining the future of renewable energy systems and support mechanisms, electricity market design, and the current regulatory framework of the gas and electricity markets in Greece. Finally, the discussions turned to the future role of Distribution System Operators, both in their function as independent supervisors of the electricity market and in their evolving relationship with the Transmission System Operators.
The publication seeks to critically examine the status of current and proposed draft provisions in EU energy law and practice, while evaluating anticipated future developments. Indeed, many of these highly significant developments are now particularly topical, following the launch of the Commission’s Clean Energy Package in late November 2016 and hence, the contributions to this volume provide useful insights into the advantages and disadvantages of the Commission’s proposal on the new market design.