Publication
Pensions Regulator announces changes to the DC scheme return for 2024
The Regulator has issued an online announcement about upcoming changes to its DC scheme return.
Publication | November 2018
The General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has annulled the European Commission’s State aid approval for the Capacity Market, by ruling in favour of Tempus Energy, in a case against the Commission (press release and judgement). This means the capacity market enters a standstill period’ which prevents the UK Government from holding any capacity auctions, making any capacity payments under existing agreements, or undertaking any other action which could be seen as granting State aid, until the scheme can be approved again.
Tempus argued that the Commission could not conclude, following nothing more than a preliminary examination and in the light of the information available at the time of the decision, that the planned aid scheme did not raise doubts as to its compatibility with the internal market. According to Tempus, the scheme privileges generation over demand side response (‘DSR’) in a discriminatory and disproportionate manner that goes beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives and satisfy the State aid rules. Tempus argued successfully that the following aspects of the capacity market should have led the Commission to have doubts as to the compatibility of the measure at issue with the internal market:
CJEU examined whether the measure notified by the UK raised doubts as to its compatibility with the internal market in the light of, amongst other things, the guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020. The existence of doubts should have led to a formal investigation procedure. The CJEU found that the Commission should have looked at more information than just the UK’s submissions contained in the notification. CJEU also found that the Commission failed properly to assess the role of DSR within the capacity market. The Court noted, first of all, that it was for the Commission to satisfy itself that the aid scheme was designed to allow DSR to participate alongside generation, because their respective capacities provide an effective solution to the capacity adequacy problem. In that context, the aid measures should be open and provide adequate incentives to the relevant operators. In the light of the elements available to the Commission and of the size of the role that could be played by DSR within the capacity market in order, amongst other things, best to decide whether State intervention is needed and to limit aid for electricity generation to the appropriate amount, the Commission must have had doubts. In particular, the Commission could not be satisfied merely by the ‘openness’ of the measure and conclude, consequently, that it was technology neutral, without examining in greater detail the reality and the effectiveness of the appreciation of DSR in the capacity market.
The CJEU has therefore annulled the contested decision.
Publication
The Regulator has issued an online announcement about upcoming changes to its DC scheme return.
Publication
On July 30, 2024, the Regulator published its market oversight report on how trustees are complying with their environmental, social and governance (ESG) duties, including in respect of climate change.
Publication
We reported last month that the Court of Appeal had agreed with the High Court’s previous judgment that all rule amendments to contracted-out DB schemes between 1997 and 2013 require written actuarial certification. Three pensions professional bodies have now issued a joint statement on the effect of the ruling.
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