Tempus Energy has launched a new legal challenge, turning its sights on the state aid approval of the Polish capacity market.
The company, which successfully challenged the state aid approval of the UK Capacity Mechanism (CM), resulting in its suspension following an ECJ ruling, points out that the Polish CM also discriminates between technologies: New build generation can build for 15-year contracts, demand-side response can only bid for one year contracts.
Tempus says that approach is anticompetitive and successfully argued that the European Commission should have undertaken an in-depth investigation of the UK’s plans, which it did not do. Neither did it undertake an investigation of the Polish plan. Five other EU countries have used the UK’s CM design as a template.
In the UK, Tempus has subsequently launched legal action to recover the money already paid out under the Capacity Mechanism.
Tempus CEO Sara Bell said it was a “dereliction of duty” for the EU to keep subsidising coal plant.
“We have one planet. We need to work together to rapidly deploy technologies and commercial solutions in the interest of consumers so we can decarbonise as cheaply and quickly as possible,” she said. “Our legal action will ensure this happens.”
Tempus plans to expand operations into Poland. It already operates in the UK, Sweden and Germany, as well as Australia, where it has a relationship with Origin Energy, which owns Australia’s largest coal-fired power station.
See details of Tempus’ challenge here.
Related stories:
Tempus launches fresh Capacity Market action, goes after the money
Sara Bell: Aggregators ‘ecstatic’ about CM legal ruling
What has the Capacity Market ever done for us?
Tempus wins court case over Capacity Market bias against DSR
EMR delivery body confirms all capacity payments suspended, auctions shelved
Decc “confident” of beating Tempus legal challenge
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