OeNB-Freitagsseminar with Ronan Bolton (University of Edinburgh)

Energy crisis and Europe’s liberal market model

Europe’s energy crisis of late 2021 and 2022 had a dramatic effect on the livelihoods of millions of people, the economies of Europe and the politics of the European Union. In this talk I will explore the origins, dynamics and potential long-term impacts of the crisis through the lens of the energy markets. In order to provide background, I will draw on a recently published book on the history of energy markets in Europe: Making Energy Markets: The origins of Electricity Liberalisation in Europe. Based on this research I will outline how the liberalised energy market model came into being over thirty years ago and how, over the ensuing decades, cross-border markets for power and gas have become a key part of European energy security and resilience. I will describe the technical and institutional configuration of these markets and how they have been shaped by political dynamics as member states and the institutions of the European Union sought to balance national energy policy goals with the agenda of cross-border competition and system integration. The underlying thesis of the paper is that in order to understand the current energy crisis and its impacts we need to examine in detail the structural dynamics of gas and power markets over the crisis period and how the market participants reacted to the supply shocks. We also need to understand how the markets have became (re)politicised and the degree to which interventions made during the crisis period will interact with the net zero agenda and have long-term effects.

Date:
Friday, 23 June 2023, 11:00–12:30 CEST

Venue:
Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Otto-Wagner-Platz 3
1090 Vienna
and online via Webex

Please contact the Event-Management by 21 June 2023 at the latest.