EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/110

(2004/C 84 E/0147)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3895/03

by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 December 2003)

Subject: Conflicts between the objectives of the Water Framework Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Emissions Trading Directive and the goal of ensuring security of supply: the case of Austria

Austria is supposed to increase its share of renewable energy from 70 % to 78,1 % by 2010, with the help of charges introduced under the new Emissions Trading Directive for thermal power generation. However, according to E-Control, the Austrian regulatory authority for the electricity and gas market, implementation of the Water Framework Directive will mean 5-15 % less hydroelectric power being generated than at present, and thus a reduction of approximately 1,5-4,5 TWh per year in the share of Austria's electricity generated from renewable energy sources. This reduction can only be partially compensated by the increased use of environmentally friendly energy, which is itself only made possible thanks to overly large subsidies.

If it is assumed that there will be a moderate growth in electricity consumption of between 1,7 and 3 % per year, the reduction in thermal power generation brought about by the introduction of quotas for CO2 emissions will mean an additional shortfall of 16-25 TWh per year, which will need to be met through imports. Given that gaps still exist in the 380 kV high-voltage electricity grid in Styria and Salzburg, this will make it extremely difficult to maintain a high level of security of supply, as became clear in August when there was a near-blackout. The use of imported energy would also mean a considerable drop in the share of Austria's electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Can the Commission state what priorities it believes should be set in the national implementation of the above directives and in achieving the goals of the final report on the Green Paper Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply', and how it believes it is possible to achieve an overall vision and approach given these conflicts of objectives?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(25 February 2004)

The Commission recognises that a sustainable approach to energy supply security involves reconciling energy objectives with commitments in other policy areas, such as the environment and competition. This was one of the central themes of the Commission's Green Paper on the security of energy supply (1). As stated in its final report on the Green Paper (2), the Commission is of the view that the most effective way to address these challenges is greater coordination of measures affecting security of energy supply.

The Commission is aware that Austria's renewable energy commitments are ambitious. High shares of renewable energies and the resulting positive effect regarding the reduction of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are important environmental objectives. However, there are also other environmental aspects which need to be taken into account at the same time. The Water Framework Directive (3) is currently under implementation (environmental and economic analysis, establishment of the river basin management plans) so it is premature to quantify the decline in hydropower production at this point in time. In their recent report on the implementation of the Renewable Electricity Directive in Austria, the Austrian authorities drew the attention of the Commission to the implications of the Water Framework Directive (4) on renewable electricity production in Austria. The Commission is closely following this issue and will further strengthen the dialogue with Member States to ensure the environmental objectives of both policies without subordinating one of these two environmental aspects to the other.

On the subject of infrastructure, the Commission's recent proposals on investment in electricity infrastructure (5) aims to address the need for greater interconnections in the emerging internal power market. Such investments will increase both the potential for a real competitive market and contribute to security of supply. The strengthening of the Austrian grid is identified as one of the key projects in this regard. The proposals also call for a clear strategy relating to the ongoing supply demand balance to be developed by Member States.

(1) COM(2000) 769 final.

(2) COM(2002) 321 final.

(3) Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.

(4) Directive 2001/77/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2001 on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market, OJ L 283, 27.10.2001.

(5) COM(2003) 739 final and COM(2003) 740 final.