35 Amendments of David BORRELLI related to 2015/2323(INI)
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point b
Paragraph 3 – point b
b. empower citizens to produce and store their own cleanfossil-free energy, to take energy-saving measures, and to become active participants in the energy market through consumer choice, and allow them the possibility of safely and confidently participating in demand response; in this context a practical common understanding of the definition of "prosumers" should be agreed at the EU level, through a participative process guided by the European Commission;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point d
Paragraph 3 – point d
d. protect consumeritizens from abusive, uncompetitive and unfair practices by suppliersdifferent players active in the market and enable them to fully exercise their rights;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 3 – point d a (new)
da. contribute to the achievement the of EU's climate and energy objectives in order to match the increased ambitions expressed in the recent COP21 Paris agreement, aiming to keep the rise in temperature below the 1.5°, which are closely interrelated with the vision of a fully decarbonised economy by 2050;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Towards a well-functioning energy market benefiting all citizens and ensuring high protection for consumers' rights
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the aim of the Third Energy Package to provide a truly competitive and consumer-friendly retail energy market has not yet been realised, as evidenced by disappointingly low levels of consumer switching and satisfaction across the EU, persistent high levels of market concentration, and the failure to reflect falling wholesale costs in retail prices;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a
Paragraph 6 – point a
a. Recommends improving the transparency and clarity of bills, which should include information on the final price, with an explanation of the different taxes, levies and tariffs, together with information on the different energy sources and complaint handling, clear indication of contact points, and information on switching and energy efficiency measures; insists thatparticular attention need to be given to a clear indication on bills of the different energy sources actually composing the electricity supplied, considering that this is an important dimension driving consumers' choices and behaviours; insists that plain, clear language must be used, with technical terms either avoided or clearly explained; in this respect requests the Commission to identify minimum standards in this respectkey principles for establishing the minimum guaranteed information that must be provided in the bills;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
aa. As a general rule, recommends that the Commission, when performing the impact assessments for upcoming energy related legislation proposals, should differentiate among a reasonable variety of consumers' segments, identified according to relevant demographic, social and economic dimensions; this differentiation shall recognise that no single theoretical "consumer" can capture the remarkable diversity of the European Union; it is essential for the inclusive, reality-oriented design of any new measures which will affect citizens' lives;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b
Paragraph 6 – point b
b. Recommends that consideration be given to requiring energy bills to include comparisons of offerssimple, understandable comparisons, advice, and offers, conceived in order to enable all consumers, even those without internet access or skills, to see whether they could save money by switching; believes that peer-based comparisons should also be included in bills to help reduce energy usemodifying their consumption pattern and/or switching contracts or even suppliers;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point c
Paragraph 6 – point c
c. Recommends developing rulguidelines for price comparison tools to ensure that consumers can access independent, up-to- date and understandable comparison toolsenergy analysis tools combining inputs from both their own household consumption and from commercial and technological offers available in the market; believes Member States should develop accreditation schemes covering all price comparisonsuch tools, in line with CEER guidelines;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point d
Paragraph 6 – point d
d. Recommends that at the core of the range of tariffs and contracts offered by every supplier there should be a limited rangenumber of standardised tariffs, in order to facilitate comparison between different suppliers and tariffs and avoid a confusing arraycommon for all market players, in order to facilitate to the customer the comparison, avoiding that he or she becomes confused by an extraordinary proliferation of different tariffs and offers for the same product;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point e
Paragraph 6 – point e
e. Recommends that consideration be given to requiring energy suppliers to automatically placenotify customers onabout the most advantageous tariff they could use, based on historicthe actual consumption patterns of their household; notes, given that switching rates are still disappointingly low throughout Europe, that many households, especially the most vulnerable, are not sufficiently informed to engaged in the energy market and as a consequence are stuck on outdated expensive tariffs;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point f
Paragraph 6 – point f
f. Recommends measures to enable retail prices to better reflect wholesale prices and thus reverse the trend of an increasing proportion of fixed elements in energy bills, in particular network charges, taxes and levies, which are often regressive elements; recommends that such elements be applied progressively or, where, possible funded from alternative sources; stresses that both fixed charges and tax & levies should be clearly identified as such in the bills, allowing the customer to distinguish them easily from the variable, consumption-related cost;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Insists that the provisions on switching, as set out in the Third Energy Package, should be fully implemented by Member States, and that national legislation must guarantee consumers the right to change suppliers within a quick, easy and cost-free way, with no termination fees or penaltiemaximum delay of three weeks, in an easy and cost-free way, with minimum administrative burden and no termination fees or penalties; underlines that the enforcement of this basic right is essential for the credibility of the EU energy market; as such, authorities must ensure that suppliers live up to this responsibility, through proper market surveillance and complaint handling, and the imposition of fair and proportionate sanctions on any significant non-compliance, with a particular emphasis on those non-compliances that are systematic and/or repeated and affect large numbers of consumers;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that collective switching schemes and campaigns should be promoted in order to help consumers find a better deal, defined by a combination of final prices and qualitative conditions that suit their needs and preferences; emphasises that such schemes must be independent, trustworthy, comprehensive and inclusive, reaching those who are less engaged; suggests that local authorities, regulators and consumer organisations and other not-for-profit organisations are well placed to fulfil this role, and that support from European funds for such activities should be considered;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Insists that the provisions of the directives on unfair commercial practices and consumer rights relating to doorstep selling, unfair terms or practices and aggressive marketing techniques be properly implemented and enforced by Member States so as to protect energy consumers, especially in those households who are more vulnerable for demographic, social or economic reasons;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Democratising the energy system by helping consumeritizens take ownership of the energy transition, produce their own energy and become energy-efficient, thus helping consumers willing to become prosumers to progress to that new status
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that local authorities, communities, households and individuals should form the backbone of the energy transition and should be actively supported to help themprocess; accordingly they should be actively informed and supported in order to allow them to decide in full autonomy whether they want to become energy producers and suppliers on an equal footing with other market players; for this reason it is important that the European Union adopts a common operational definition of "prosumers";
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. In order to contribute proactively to fill the current void, proposes the following common operational definition: prosumers are active energy consumers, such as households (including both owners and tenants), institutions and small businesses that participate in the energy market by producing renewable energy either on their own or collectively through cooperatives, other social enterprises or aggregations; prosumers can also contribute to energy efficiency and/or support energy system management and grid integration of fluctuating renewable energy sources through demand side response; prosumers contribute to reaching the full potential of renewable energy generation by maximising the development of photovoltaic, wind or other renewable energy projects on suitable urban areas, including rooftops, and on land areas which are not in competition with food production or with biodiversity conservation;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Considers that prosumers and consumers must have free access to the best up-to-date information about the energy market, in order to fully develop their autonomous, responsible participation in it; such information, together with their social and environmental awareness, will be at the basis of the significant social behavioural changes necessary for the achievement of the energy transition; therefore, calls on the Commission and on the Member States to develop and coordinate dedicated education and training programmes and information campaigns, addressed to all citizens of the Union;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Considers that up to now, the first steps of the energy transition have mainly addressed technological possibilities, whilst the potential for individual and collective behavioural changes has not been adequately tapped yet, even if it appears evident that only the synergic combination of technology and behaviour will have the deep-reaching impact that is necessary to fully decarbonise our economy within a few decades; calls on the Commission to include in its upcoming legislative proposals concrete solutions to facilitate such behavioural changes in terms of energy consumption patterns, demand response, energy savings and other energy-related measures;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that access to capital, high and financial know-how, together with realistic planning of upfront investment costs and lotheir corresponding repayment periods, represent additional barriers to the take-up of socially desirable self- generation and energy efficiency measures; calls, therefore, for the development of new business models and innovative financial instruments to incentivise self- generation, consumption and energy efficiency for all consumers; suggesttaking into account the demonstrated return on investment of properly designed energy projects, stresses that thisey should become a priority for the EIB, EFSI and the Structural Fundfull range of financing or co-financing programmes and instruments active now or to be activated in the future by the European Institutions;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for stable and sufficient remuneration schemes to guarantee investor certainty and increase the take-up of smalllocal small- and medium-scale renewable energy projects; believes that grid tariffs and other fixed fees should be non-discriminatory and should fairly reflect the impact of the consumer on the grid and the actual distribution costs, while guaranteeing sufficient funding for the maintenance and development of advanced distribution grids; regrets the recent abrupt changes to support schemes in certain Member States, as well as the introduction of unfair and punitive taxes or fees which are detrimental to the continued expansion of self-generation; emphasizes that the utmost care must be put into the design of such support schemes, learning from the best experiences across the Union and out of it, in order to ensure their legal and economic sustainability; reminds that their attentive, close monitoring is essential, especially at their initial stages, in order to ensure their performance, and to implement prompt corrective measures, when needed, which do not jeopardise their continuity;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recommends reducing to an absolute minimum the administrative barriers to commission new self-generation capacity, and suggests replacing lengthy, burdensome authorisation procedures with a simpletraightforward notification requirement that can be checked by authorities ex- post; suggests that the revision of the renewable energy directive could include specific provisions to remove barriers and promote community/cooperative energy schemes via "one-stop-shops" and/or specific information campaigns at local and community level;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Highlights the need for developing a favourable framework for, inclusive framework recognizing the constraints influencing the energy behaviour of tenants and of those citizens living in multi-dwelling buildings, in order to enable them to also benefit from self-generation and energy efficiency measures, both collective and linked to individual housing units;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Points out that to incentivise demand response energy prices must vary between peak and off-peak periods, and therefore supports the development of dynamic pricing on an opt-in basis, subject to a thorough assessment of its impacts on all consumers; believes that dynamic tariffs must be transparent, comparable and clearly explained; underlines that the consumer's adoption of dynamic tariffs schemes should always be voluntary, and that whenever the customers request it, the suppliers should provide alternative offers with reduced price fluctuation or even with fixed prices; stresses that authorities should monitor attentively such schemes, both proactively and in swift reaction to customers' complaints, in order to verify that the guarantees offered to customers are effectively respected; reminds the Commission that when drafting the upcoming legislative proposals, it must be guaranteed that the introduction of dynamic pricing is matched by increased information to the customers, both ex-ante and ex-post, allowing them to check easily the forecasted and effective benefits of such a pricing;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that the development of smart technologies must not leave the most vulnerable or less engaged consumers behind, nor see bills rise; stresses that in no case the introduction of a smart technology can serve as a pretext for a technology-based lock-in effect, which could diminish the customers' capability to switch between offers, tariffs or even suppliers; accordingly, calls on the Commission to coordinate the development of open standards that ensure that all market players can effectively use such smart technologies without entering into dependencies at any level which would hamper the efficiency of the market;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Highlights the need to developfacilitate the development of smart appliances which automate the management of energy demand in response to price signals; accordingly, energy-related data flows, data readings and data repositories must be designed in a way that strikes a balance between protection of privacy and of commercially sensitive data, and large- scale free access for developers and researchers who purport to contribute to the energy transition using the potential of such data, creating value through innovative data-supported ways for saving energy, increasing security and reducing costs through all the links of the energy chain;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that the processing and storage of citizens’' energy-related data should be managed by neutral entities, equipped with sufficient resources and placed under adequate governance schemes, and should comply with the existing EU legislation, which lays down that the ownership of all data lies with the citizen and that data should only be provided to third parties by explicit consent; considers that, in addition, citizens should be able to exercise their rights to correct and erase information; stresses that the emphasis on enforcement of technological and commercial requirements of the energy system should keep a balance with the parallel surveillance of the enforcement of its data and information related requirements;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls for the development of a strong EU framework to fight energy poverty, including a broad, common but non- quantitative, multidimensional definition of energy poverty, focusing on the idea that access to a sensible minimum amount of affordable energy is a basic social right; urges the Commission to prioritise measures to alleviate energy poverty in upcoming legislative proposals and to present a dedicated action plan by mid- 2017;
Amendment 391 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Insists that better data availability and collection are essential in order to assess the situation and target assistance on energy-poor citizens as effectively as possible, households and communities as effectively as possible; underlines that any significant changes to the market must be previously assessed regarding their positive or neutral impact on vulnerable households, and evaluated ex-post in order to confirm such initial assessments, or to implement promptly corrective measures, when needed;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers that the Energy Union governance framework should include objectives and reporting from Member States for energy poverty, aiming to the eradication of energy poverty throughout the Union by 2025, and that key indicators for energy poverty should be developed;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Considers that energy efficiency measures are central to any strategy to address energy poverty and are much cheaper in the long run than tackling the issue exclusively through social security policies; calls for action to ensure that energy-efficient renovation of existing buildings gives priority to energy-poor citizens in the context of the review of the EPBD; suggests that an ambitious objective of reducing the number of energy- inefficient homes by 203025 should be considered, with a focus on rental properties and social housing;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the revised EEDnergy Efficiency Directive to include a provision for a significant minimum percentage of measures in energy efficiency obligation schemes targeting low-income consumers, in coherence with the objectives stated above;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Believes that well-targeted social tariffs are vital for low-income, vulnerable citizens, and should therefore be promoted; stresses that the introduction of dynamic pricing systems should pay a special attention to ensuring, through adequate commercial guarantees, closely monitored by authorities, that their impact on vulnerable households is positive or at most neutral;
Amendment 448 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls on the Commission to involve NGOs and civil society organizations in the development of simple, reliable, publicly-guaranteed schemes which encourage non-vulnerable households to donate a share of the savings obtained either through efficiency measures, through demand response, through improved, more competitive offers, through dynamic pricing or through any other consumer-oriented improvement of the energy market, in order to alleviate energy poverty in their local environment or in any other Union area of their choice.