Commenting on the agreement, the European Commission said that it marks the founding stone of the largest integrated regional energy market in Europe. The countries aim to create a single integrated electricity sector by the beginning of 2009, the BBC reported.
The move has been supported by the EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who said: Regional markets are a positive step towards the creation of single European energy market. It will bring lower prices for consumers, increased security of supply and will attract investment in new generation capacity and transmission infrastructure.
The signing of the memorandum marks the German and Luxembourg authorities’ contribution to the coupled market that France, Belgium and the Netherlands presented in Brussels on February 14, 2007.
The EC said that since November 21, 2006, the new joint market has enabled the creation of a power exchange in Belgium and a more efficient use of interconnectors. In addition, the price levels between the three countries have converged.
The body commented that, having signed the latest agreement, both Germany and Luxembourg could benefit from the opportunities created by this trilateral coupled market.
In the future, the pentalateral market coupling will also link Europe’s first regional market, the Northern market, to Norway, as well as to the Iberian market, which is currently moving towards a closer integration.
In addition, once the market is coupled with eastern Europe through Germany, important progress will have been made in creating a European wholesale market functioning in a fairly harmonized way. This will, in turn, facilitate further connections with more distant countries such as the Baltic States.
