Energyforum

Tarradellas told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, that the commission welcomed the result of Tuesday's vote in the European Parliament's energy committee, which backed full ownership unbundling as the only option for the EU's power sector. The committee was voting on an amended text of the commission's draft third EU power market opening law, which was proposed last September.

The committee rejected both the commission's alternative option of having grids managed by an independent system operator, and the so-called "third way" that eight EU countries, led by France and Germany, proposed that would have allowed parent companies to keep ownership of their grids under strict regulatory supervision.

"We feel that the [committee] has decided that the [third way] does not guarantee the independence of the network operations in vertically integrated companies," Tarradellas said. The commission was prepared to work very closely with the Council of EU governments, the Slovenian presidency of the EU and the parliament "to find a political compromise that's acceptable to all in order to have real unbundling," he said.

"The commission remains confident that this compromise will be reached at the next [EU energy ministers'] council on June 6," he said. The committee's text, adopted Tuesday, goes forward to be voted on by the parliament in full on June 17. The commission, council and parliament have to agree a common text before the draft can become law.