De ices permanent on the one hand and transient rates on the other

A ter the Attali commission on growth, Copé commission on public tele ision, the Ailleret commission on the uture o the position, the Go ernment is poised to appoint the commission Champsaur. Chaired by Paul Champsaur, the pattern o the electronic communications and postal regulation authority, it should gi e lat electricity rates and de ine ways o thinking or a new tari building. All under the watch ul eye o Brussels.

This commission, whose members could be appointed as early as tomorrow, must be composed o parliamentarians deputies Jean-Claude Lenoir (UMP) and rançois Brottes (PS) and Senator Ladislas Poniatowski (UMP) are including approached and experts. The goal is to establish a State o the premises, to raise awareness and de elop scenarios on the table. Members will ha e a ew months, until the beginning o spring, to ormulate proposals.

Alleged is that the current rates They are not legible, with regulated prices, on the one hand, and the market price, on the other hand. De ices permanent, on the one hand, and transient rates, on the other. It goes without saying, the European Commission does little tastes to this mixture o genres. In addition, although they are generally based on mathematical ormulas, their attachment is o ten being between the State and ED ...

End o re ersibility in 2010

or Paul Ra etto, lawyer with Denton Wilde Spate and specialist energy commission Champsaur, whate er the letter o engagement which will be entrusted, shall decide the question: "How do you meet the requirements o Community law and to ensure that the market actually opening competition, while ensuring that rench consumers a price consistent with the reality o the nuclear Park rench"

Se eral pro isions arri e precisely at maturity. This is especially the case o the regulated tari transitional adjustment to the market, the amous Tartam, which enables companies who ha e chosen to return to a regulated tari competition. They expected to see their bills decrease with the opening o the market and instead su ered head-on the skyrocketing prices. Originally planned or two years, until this year, this rate has been extended to July 1, 2010. Re ersibility, which allows indi iduals disappointed by the competition to return to the regulated tari s, reach, also due in 2010.

The creation o the Champsaur commission is also in ull negotiation o the public ser ice contract between ED and the State, the commitments o the group, and the principles o ixing o rates o sale. At the same time, the Go ernment must decide on the use o public networks o electricity (Turpe) tari .

All subjects up while, or its part, the European Commission prepares to reopen two cases in sleep during the Presidency o the rance, until 31 December. A irst procedure, o the Directorate-General energy and transport, is the rance or ailure to transpose directi e on opening up the market to competition. This procedure also applies to other Member States, including the Spain.

Gi e signs to Brussels

A second procedure was launched the year last against the rance by DG competition, State aid deemed to large and medium-sized companies in regulated electricity tari s. In practice, Brussels considers that the weakness o prices green and yellow standards to market prices would ha e con erred a bene it to some companies. The Tartam also contain elements o aid.

In this context, the rance should gi e signs in Brussels, e en i the liberal doctrine ad ocated by the European Commission may be weakened by the current crisis. Not to mention that the pressure can also come rom the hexagon: without a discount lat tari system, competitors o ED risk, too, to climb to the niche. Last year, the Council o competition, seized by Direct Energy, he has gi en reason in orcing ED to supply alternati e suppliers at a much lower price than in the past.