1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,840
We're in Switzerland, more exactly in Brunnen, on the shores of Lake Lucerne.

2
00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:24,040
At the end of 2003, all of Italy came to know this calm tourist resort.

3
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,440
A high voltage line on the neighbouring mountain transmits several hundred megawatts of electricity

4
00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,240
every day from France to Italy.

5
00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:37,020
Italy imports one quarter of its electricity needs.

6
00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:42,040
On the night of September the 27th, 2003, overheating due to intense traffic caused

7
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,440
the cables to dilate to such a point that they lengthened and touched the treetops.

8
00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,640
The result was an electric arc that caused the high voltage line to lose its power.

9
00:00:52,640 --> 00:01:01,760
This is an incident which happens very seldomly and it happens more frequently if the trimming

10
00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:09,120
of the trees around the line is not well performed, but you cannot say that you can fully exclude

11
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:10,120
such an event.

12
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,080
It may happen.

13
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:17,040
The line should have automatically returned to service, but that night it didn't.

14
00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,520
So the electricity was redirected to other lines.

15
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,440
Day two overheated and lost power causing a chain reaction.

16
00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,120
What at first seemed to be a banal incident ended up plunging all of Italy into darkness

17
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,640
for hours.

18
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,000
Countermeasures were foreseen to face that loss and to keep the system, to return the

19
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:44,480
system even to a safe state, but these countermeasures, which are a group of technical measures,

20
00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,000
has not been executed timely.

21
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,600
This was not the first such blackout in Europe.

22
00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:57,680
In 2003 London and Helsinki had also had blackout problems, though less important.

23
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,200
These incidents raise the question of the security of energy supply in the European

24
00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,360
Union.

25
00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,200
First question, how is electricity demand evolving in Europe and are there enough generating

26
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:09,200
plants?

27
00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:16,280
We are now developing a growth of two or three percent per year, which means that there is

28
00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:22,280
still an increased demand for electricity, but at lower rates than in the past.

29
00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:27,920
In Europe, according to our estimates, there will be a considerable need for new investments,

30
00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:33,160
not only to cope with the increasing demand for electricity, but also to cope with the

31
00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:40,000
situation that a lot of the existing power plants are growing older and need to be replaced.

32
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:46,720
There is around 500,000 to 600,000 megawatts of installed capacity to be foreseen.

33
00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:54,080
In the coming 30 years we must invest as much as is actually installed already.

34
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,120
Impressive though it may be, this figure takes account of the programmed replacement of certain

35
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,240
power plants reaching the end of their life cycle.

36
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,360
Growth in consumption is slowing.

37
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,280
This is a success for the European Union, which has made managing the demand side one

38
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,120
of its great priorities.

39
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:10,120
There's a hitch though.

40
00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:46,120
Indeed, some countries have a chronic deficit of generating capacity.

41
00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:50,240
For the European Commission, it's each member state's responsibility to ensure that it has

42
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,960
enough generating means, including for peak consumption periods.

43
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,680
It therefore proposes that member states, in collaboration with the regulatory authorities,

44
00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,720
be allowed to intervene to step up the construction of necessary infrastructure, or even to issue

45
00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,520
calls for tenders to have it built.

46
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,000
Simultaneously, the regulators can steer choices towards the most environmentally friendly

47
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:13,660
generating means.

48
00:04:13,660 --> 00:04:17,840
They could thus contribute to achieving the Kyoto Objectives, not forgetting that Europe's

49
00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:26,000
made a commitment to generate 21% clean electricity by 2010.

50
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,520
Second question, is the electricity transmission network between member states in line with

51
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:31,520
its needs?

52
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:43,520
The objective of the domestic market is to allow each consumer, you, me, the companies,

53
00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,520
to progressively choose their electricity suppliers.

54
00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:56,520
For this market to function well, each national market must be better linked to the other

55
00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:57,520
national markets.

56
00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,520
Originally, interconnections between countries were established for mutual assistance in

57
00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,520
case of failures.

58
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:10,520
Today, they're proving to be undersized for massive commercial exchanges.

59
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:15,520
So there's a danger of seeing users remain captives of national suppliers, in spite of

60
00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,520
the market opening up.

61
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,520
The Italian blackout also demonstrates that it would be wise to provide more alternative

62
00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:26,520
routes for electricity in case of a problem on a line.

63
00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:33,520
The main bottlenecks are located between what we call the continental plate, i.e. Germany,

64
00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,520
Belgium, France, and the peninsulas.

65
00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:44,520
Electric peninsulas, mainly the Iberian peninsula, the Italian peninsula, and also to a lesser

66
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,520
degree, Holland.

67
00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:52,520
In 2002, the member states decided to raise their interconnection capacity to at least

68
00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,520
10% of electricity generated.

69
00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,520
We're up to 8% so far.

70
00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,520
The map of priority interconnections speaks for itself.

71
00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:40,520
The European Commission has proposed two new concepts, which can be easily understood.

72
00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:48,520
The first is that certain energy transport infrastructures be declared of European interest.

73
00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:58,520
And it has also proposed that there be European coordinators who can simplify all the necessary

74
00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,520
procedures.

75
00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:06,520
It is also necessary that there is a will from the network managers of transport to invest

76
00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:08,520
to carry out these works.

77
00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:13,520
It is therefore necessary that there is an economic interest, i.e. that there is a profitability

78
00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,520
that is ensured to carry out such infrastructures.

79
00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:22,520
In the case of an interconnection of community interest that is difficult to implement, the

80
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,520
extra cost of the works could be offset by granting preferential operating conditions.

81
00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,520
But some point out the limits of excessive interconnection.

82
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:37,520
We should not forget that electricity is a product that is not made to be transported

83
00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,520
over long distances.

84
00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:44,520
So we should not have the illusion that we can build a market where electricity is freely

85
00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,520
transported from the north of Europe to the south of Europe and vice versa.

86
00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:54,520
So we must also take into account a number of physical limitations.

87
00:07:54,520 --> 00:08:00,520
And as a consequence of that, generation capacity will, to a large extent, continue to be built

88
00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:01,520
locally.

89
00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,520
It is not the electricity which is moved all over Europe.

90
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,520
Yes, partly this is true, but this is not the fundamental base of the market.

91
00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:18,520
It is the market players who look to be present in the many different sub-markets on the European scale.

92
00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,520
After investigating the Italian blackout, the European Commission also stressed the

93
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:28,520
importance of better cooperation between transmission system operators in different member states.

94
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,520
The opening of the market has considerably changed how the land lies.

95
00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:40,520
In the past we had one operator who was responsible for generation and transmission and supply

96
00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:46,520
and it was perfectly previsible where the flows over the grid would flow.

97
00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,520
Today there are numerous commercial transactions.

98
00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:55,520
That means that the control over what is happening, the data exchange that has to happen between

99
00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:01,520
transmission system operators, is now more complicated and therefore there is a need

100
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,520
for improved data exchange.

101
00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:08,520
There is a need for improved cooperation between transmission system operators.

102
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,520
Along with electricity, another source of energy has the wind in its sails in Europe.

103
00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:16,520
Gas.

104
00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,520
It is expected to amount to one third of our energy consumption within 20 years.

105
00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,520
One of the reasons for the growing demand for gas is that it is increasingly being used

106
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,520
as a primary energy source to generate electricity.

107
00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:33,520
So Europe could become dependent on gas producer regions for its supply of gas and indirectly

108
00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:35,520
for its supply of electricity.

109
00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:05,520
We can be too dependent on certain sources of supply for geopolitical reasons.

110
00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:11,520
And the Commission, in particular through a strategic document called the Green Book

111
00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:17,520
on the Safety of Supply, promotes a diversification of energy sources.

112
00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,520
It is a very important issue.

113
00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:21,520
It is a very important issue.

114
00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:23,520
It is a very important issue.

115
00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:32,520
The Green Book on the Safety of Supply promotes a diversification of gas imports and a cooperation

116
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:38,520
with the producing countries, in particular with Russia, to link with these countries

117
00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:46,520
through long-term supply contracts and common infrastructure projects.

118
00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:52,520
This diversification of energy supply will involve extending various gas pipeline networks

119
00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,520
and increasing the number of liquefied natural gas terminals.

120
00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,520
The idea is to create a gas safety belt for Europe.

121
00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:06,520
In parallel, the build-up of strategic gas stocks will protect the European Union

122
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,520
from the ups and downs of the market.

123
00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:18,520
The Italian blackout of September 2003 has highlighted the importance of interconnections between countries.

124
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:25,520
Strengthening these, both for electricity and for gas, will allow the creation of a vast network of European networks

125
00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,520
which will aid transfers and mutual assistance.

126
00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,520
A sort of energy internet.