NordREG publishes recommendations for how to implement new EU-legislation

Today, NordREG publishes 21 recommendations on how to implement some of the retail market related articles in the Clean Energy Package into national legislation. NordREG believes that a coordinated implementation will have an important and positive impact on the Nordic retail markets.

– The recommendations support the functioning of the retail market and the integration of the Nordic markets which are important factors for efficient competitive markets to the benefit of the consumers, says Carsten Smidt, Director of The Danish Utility Regulator, DUR, and this year´s Chair of NordREG.

NordREG is an organization for the Nordic energy regulators that promotes a legal and institutional framework and conditions necessary for developing Nordic and European electricity markets.

With NordREG´s long-term ambition to work towards a harmonized Nordic retail market in mind, NordREG has selected four retail market related articles in the new electricity directive as particularly important to implement in a similar way. The articles regulate basic contractual rights, fees related to switching, comparison tools and billing information.

When these articles are implemented in national legislation, NordREG recommends that:

  • Termination fees for fixed term, fixed price contracts should still be permitted, as long as the fees do not exceed the supplier’s direct economic loss of losing a customer.
  • Nordic energy regulators do not issue trust-marks for all comparison tools on the market, but instead ensure the quality of publicly driven comparison tools, according to the standard set by the new directive.
  • Five key contractual conditions shall be highlighted in a prominent and easily readable way in the beginning of a supplier contract.
  • Customers are able to choose their prefferd direct channel for information on contractual changes during the contract period.
  • All customers should be able to receive bills and billing information free of charge. There should be no billing fees for paper bills, but discounts may be allowed for customers that choose electronic bills.

NordREG also publishes several recommendations for how suppliers should present mandatory information on bills.

The published recommendations represent the views of the Nordic energy regulators. However, it depends on the national legislators in each Nordic country how these recommendations will be implemented.

About NordREG

NordREG is an organization for the Nordic energy regulators. Our mission is to actively promote legal and institutional framework and conditions necessary for developing the Nordic and European electricity markets. The basis for the co-operation within NordREG is to identify areas of work where cooperation can take the following forms: exchange of views, working together to map and analyze energy market issues, producing reports and statements and taking common action to influence the development of the Nordic or the European energy markets.