The European Commission has opened its consultation into proposed electricity market reforms first announced during its State of the Union address last September. The consultation focuses on how exactly it should change the electricity market to better protect European consumers during episodes of volatile pricing on the TTF exchange caused by volatile natural gas prices. The consultation will remain open until February 13th and aims to be implemented within this quarter, EU countries and lawmakers will negotiate the final market reforms. The proposals include increasing the use of contracts for difference (CfD), long-term fixed-price contracts for energy procurement, and power purchase agreements (PPAs). Increasing the use of CfDs has already been called for by France and Spain for hydropower and…