Improving Cooperation among EU Member States in Handling Electricity Crises: Lessons for the Regulation on risk-preparedness

As part of the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package, the European Commission has proposed a Regulation on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector that aims to improve cooperation among member states in preventing, preparing for and managing electricity crises. To reap the benefits of improved cooperation compared with the current diverging national approaches, the proposal foresees, inter alia, national risk-preparedness plans, a number of principles for crisis management and ex post crisis evaluation. This Policy Insight analyses the proposal and confronts it with a case study about a recent crisis in South East Europe (in January 2017). Among other conclusions, the findings suggest that the Regulation’s provisions for clear rules and national/regional procedures for crisis management and for evaluating crisis management ex post (i.e. whether the rules were followed) are appropriate, but they may need strengthening.