Can we reconcile different capacity adequacy policies with an integrated electricity market?

Authors

Dominique Finon

Abstract

In the present European Union debate, many consider capacity remuneration mechanisms (CRM) as useless and, if they are eventually considered as useful, there is a necessity of total alignment of capacity adequacy policies in time. We develop an opposite position. The adoption of CRM is a necessity because the market and regulatory failures to invest in peaking units, which are amplified by the large, scale development of intermittent sources by out-of-market policies. Then, provided that some minimal harmonization is sought by regulators and TSOs, each member state should have some freedom in the adoption of his capacity adequacy policies.