WRITTEN QUESTION E-2959/03 by Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Risks of electricity blackouts.
Date: 2003-10-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: electrical energy, energy grid, energy production, energy transport, renewable energy, security of supply

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/443

Does the Commission recognise this problem? If so, will it very shortly be taking measures to rectify this
contradiction in the legislation by permitting a derogation from the maximum percentage of assistance of
4,1 % in the case of transnational producer organisations?

(1) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(5 November 2003)

In line with the commitments it has made to Parliament in particular the Commission has already devoted
a great deal of attention to simplifying and clarifying the implementing rules for common organisation of
the market in fruit and vegetables.

It has, in close consultation with Member States and interested parties, identified a number of problems to
be tackled, including that raised by the Honourable Member, who correctly states that the present 4,1 %
aid ceiling often makes it difficult in practice to apply a Community part-financing rate of 60 %.

The Commission is reflecting on possible solutions. The budgetary implications of various options will be
examined and the budget neutrality requirement reflected in the proposal for amendment of Regulation
(EC) No 2200/96 (1) that the Commission will be making to the Council in furtherance of the ongoing
process of simplifying this particular market organisation.

Simplification will be carried out as quickly as the work programme of the Institutions involved permits.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in fruit and

vegetables.

(2004/C 78 E/0465)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2959/03

by Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(8 October 2003)

Subject: Risks of electricity blackouts

On Thursday, 28 August 2003, parts of southern London were hit by an electricity blackout thanks to
which some 250 000 people were immobilised in trains, on the underground, in lifts and at crossroads.
A spokesman for the management of National Grid, the British electricity distribution network, claimed
this was an ‘unusual occurrence’ which, even in the wake of the recent blackout in the US, he had never
thought could happen in the UK.

In Italy, the Ministry for Productive Activities has announced that new infrastructures will be put in place
by 2005, while a management spokesman for the national distribution network has warned that there will
be more blackouts over the next two years.

Does the Commission consider that the privatisation of infrastructures could be the cause of these

1.
occurrences?

2. What initiatives will the Commission take to ensure that the infrastructure development plans are
compatible with the growth trends of individual countries’ productive and social needs?

C 78 E/444

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

3. What initiatives will the Commission take to harmonise security standards with a view to preventing
or reducing blackout risks?

4. What measures have been taken to encourage greater use of new energy sources, especially
the only guarantee against
renewables, given that, as decentralised energy sources,
blackouts?

these represent

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2003)

Ownership is not relevant to the question of network failures. Whether networks are owned by private
investors or government agencies, it is crucial that appropriate incentives are maintained on the companies
concerned and their employees to maintain, operate and develop the network. For the electricity industry,
this must be done with the oversight of the national regulatory authorities since they, in effect, control the
resources that are available to the transmission and distribution businesses.

Development of transmission infrastructure is,
in the main, the responsibility of the Member States
concerned. However, the Community does have an interest in ensuring security of supply in the context of
the emerging competitive market for electricity.
It also wishes to develop competition through cross
border exchanges. Accordingly, following the Commission’s proposal at the Barcelona European Council
(15 and 16 March 2002), the Council has adopted Guidelines for the trans-European network programme,
which identifies axes of priority of European interest. Relevant projects are considered favourably for TENs
finance.

The Commission has already taken measures on this issue by requesting, via the Florence Electricity
Regulators Forum, that the Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE) develops an
Operation Handbook which will consolidate the various guidelines that currently exist. Parts of this
Handbook could be made legally binding in the context of Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003 of the
Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border
exchanges in electricity (1).

There can never be a 100 % guarantee against blackouts. Having said that, decentralised generation such as
renewable energy sources and combined heat and power (CHP) can make a contribution to network
security. The Renewables Directive (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 (2)) requires Member States to set targets for the development of renewable
energy. A similar proposal relating to CHP generation is currently passing through the legislative process.

(1) OJ L 176, 15.7.2003.
(2) OJ L 283, 27.10.2001.

(2004/C 78 E/0466)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2966/03

by Brian Simpson (PSE) to the Commission

(8 October 2003)

Subject: Spanish National Hydrological Plan: the impact of the La Brena dam project on the Iberian lynx

and protected raptors

Is the Commission aware of the problems likely to be encountered by the Iberian lynx, the Spanish
imperial eagle and other vulnerable species under the Spanish Government’s National Hydrological Plan, in
particular the La Brena dam project?

Can the Commission outline what plans it has to protect all the species under threat but in particular the
Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle?