Consultation response: Proposals for technical amendments to the Capacity Market

ClientEarth criticizes the UK government's proposal to continue operating parts of the Capacity Market (CM) during a European Commission (EC) State aid investigation. The organization argues that the government has not provided sufficient information on the legal and commercial risks if the EC rejects the scheme. ClientEarth highlights evidence from Ofgem suggesting that the UK's security of supply has been maintained at a higher cost to consumers than necessary due to overestimated capacity gaps. The response calls for a fundamental reassessment of whether the CM is still justified, urging a transition toward a technology-neutral, low-carbon energy system that prioritizes demand-side response and storage over long-term contracts for conventional generators.

• The UK government's proposal to run a 'top up' T-1 auction and enforce existing Capacity Market (CM) agreements during a State aid standstill period creates significant uncertainty, as there is no guarantee the European Commission (EC) will approve the scheme or that existing agreements will not be rendered null and void.
• Evidence from Ofgem's 2017 and 2018 State of the Market Reports suggests that National Grid has consistently overestimated the capacity gap and that security of supply may have been maintained at a higher cost to consumers than necessary.
• The General Court's judgment in the Tempus case indicates that the EC's previous approval of the CM was flawed because it failed to properly assess the role of low-carbon resources and the potential discriminatory nature of differing agreement lengths (e.g., 15 years for new generators versus 1 year for demand-side response).
• ClientEarth contends that the government's consultation process was improper due to its short three-week duration over the Christmas period and its failure to provide a full Impact Assessment or accurately describe the legal risks to stakeholders.
• To achieve a decarbonised energy system, the UK should move toward a liquid, unbundled energy-only market that empowers 'prosumers' and encourages the growth of electricity storage, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and 'true' turn-down demand-side response (DSR).
• ClientEarth recommends that any future Capacity Market must be genuinely technology-neutral, remove very long-term contracts for conventional generators, and make compliance with the Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) a prerequisite for entry.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). Consultation response: Proposals for technical amendments to the Capacity Market. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfiffk5z/beis-consultation-technical-amendments-to-the-uk-capacity-market-clientearth-response-jan-2019-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Consultation response: Proposals for technical amendments to the Capacity Market. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfiffk5z/beis-consultation-technical-amendments-to-the-uk-capacity-market-clientearth-response-jan-2019-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Consultation response: Proposals for technical amendments to the Capacity Market |date=10 January 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfiffk5z/beis-consultation-technical-amendments-to-the-uk-capacity-market-clientearth-response-jan-2019-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2019consultation, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Consultation response: Proposals for technical amendments to the Capacity Market}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfiffk5z/beis-consultation-technical-amendments-to-the-uk-capacity-market-clientearth-response-jan-2019-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }