18.2.2012

Official Journal of the European Union

C 49/5

(Case C-242/10) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Directive 2003/54/EC - Internal market in electricity - Electricity generating installations essential to the operation of the electricity system - Obligation to submit tenders on the national electricity exchange market in accordance with the limits and criteria laid down by the electricity transmission and distribution system operator - Dispatching and balancing service - Public service obligations)

2012/C 49/09

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Enel Produzione SpA

Defendant: Autorità per l’energia elettrica e il gas

Intervener: Terna rete elettrica nazionale SpA

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per la Lombardia — Interpretation of Articles 23 EC, 43 EC, 49 EC and 56 EC and Article 11(2) and (6) and Article 24 of Directive 2003/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 96/92/EC (OJ 2003 L 176, p. 37) — National legislation requiring electricity producers, when submitting bids for the supply of electricity, to comply with rules laid down by the company responsible for the management of the electricity transmission and distribution grid

Operative part of the judgment

Directive 2003/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 96/92/EC and, in particular, Article 3(2) and Article 11(2) and (6) of that directive must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, for the purposes of reducing the price of electricity in the interests of the end consumer and of ensuring the security of the electricity system, imposes on operators which own installations or groups of installations which are considered, on the basis of the criteria laid down by the national regulatory authority, to be essential in order to meet the requirements of the demand for electricity of dispatching services, the obligation to submit bids on the national electricity markets in accordance with conditions pre-determined by that authority, provided that that legislation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to attain the objective which it pursues. It is for the national court to ascertain whether that condition is met in the case before it.

(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ C 209, 31.7.2010.