Members of new Expert Commission on Energy Transition Monitoring take up work by analysing the electricity market design

The members of the new Expert Commission on Energy Transition Monitoring have taken up their work, starting with an analysis of the electricity market design. In the summer, the federal cabinet had approved the appointment of four scientists for four years (1 July 2022 until 30 June 2026) by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck.

Professor Dr Andreas Löschel (Professor of Environmental/Resource Economics and Sustainability at the Ruhr University Bochum) and Professor Dr Veronika Grimm (Professor of Economic Theory at Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg) were reappointed to the Commission. Professor Dr Anke Weidlich and Dr Felix Christian Matthes were new appointees.

Anke Weidlich is Professor of Energy Distribution Technologies at the Sustainable Systems Engineering Institute (INATECH) of the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg. Her main focus is on energy systems, distributed energy supply, system integration, flexibility and smart grids.

Dr Matthes is the Research Coordinator for Energy & Climate Policy at the Öko-Institut – Institute for Applied Ecology. His work covers areas including the shaping of the electricity market design, the evaluation of energy technologies and instruments in energy markets, and decarbonisation strategies.

Alongside the analysis of the energy transition monitoring process, the Commission is also mandated by the Coal Phase-out Act with evaluating the Federal Government’s reviews of the coal phase-out and with providing recommendations for publication.

In view of what is currently a highly dynamic situation in the energy sector and its specific challenges for energy policy, the next energy transition monitoring report is scheduled for the summer of 2023, in a modernised, adapted format. The Commission’s work now commences with an analysis of the current situation and the possibilities to further develop the electricity market design in view of the increasing importance of renewable energy sources. The Commission will present its first findings by the end of 2022.