France defends its corner on energy liberalisation
Date: 11-Feb-02
Country: FRANCE
Author: Marguerita Choy
Industry Secretary Christian Pierret said French state-owned electricity and gas firms have lost respectively 13 percent and 25 percent of industrial customers eligible to change suppliers.
"I would like to stress that the energy markets of France are the most open in the industrialised countries (in Europe)," Pierret said.
Upholding a French issue of public service ahead of elections in April, France's centre-left government is willing to meet a European deadline for opening markets for businesses but not households. The same government vetoed attempts at acceleration in 2000 at a similar summit in Portugal.
In order to prevent another deadlock in Barcelona, the European Commission has softened its tone and proposed a deadline of 2003/2004 for industrial clients while delaying the total liberalisation deadline from the scheduled 2005.
France implemented an initial EU electricity liberalisation directive a year after its deadline and the government has yet to pass a gas law.
Even without a gas law, France opened the market for large industrial companies as of August 2000 but critics such as Spain say the country is still lagging behind its neighbours.
"For gas, the opening is real as 25 percent of eligible clients have changed suppliers, which represents more than 22 terawatt hours...and four new gas operators have appeared in the French market," Pierret said.
This is a rise from the 15 percent that former monopoly Gaz de France (GdF) announced last October.
Pierret named the four new gas suppliers as French oil giant TotalFinaElf , British oil major BP and utility Centrica and Belgium's Distrigas.
France came in for the harshest criticism over its electricity policy after former monopoly Electricite de France went on an aggressive acquisition spree in already neighbouring markets that had opened faster to competition.
EdF said last October that it had lost 15 percent of the eligible market since France allowed customers to change suppliers in 1999.
French market sources say that some consumers may have switched back to EdF, which can supply cheaper power thanks to its reliance on nuclear power, whose short-term operating costs are lower than for fossil fuels.
Under the EU directive, member states had to open about 28 percent of their electricity markets in 2000, a figure which rises to 33 percent by 2003, while at least 20 percent of their gas markets had to be opened by last year, rising to 28 percent in 2003.
