European Parliament Report on Electricity Grids: ENTSO-E Welcomes the Spotlight on Accelerating Grid Transformation

ENTSO-E welcomes today’s adoption by the European Parliament of the INI report on Electricity Grids: the backbone of the EU energy system, which sets out a clear political position on a critical topic for achieving a carbon-neutral, competitive, secure and increasingly electrified Europe.

The report comes at a pivotal moment as electricity Transmission System Operators (TSOs) across Europe are preparing for a major wave of investments to transform their grid in the upcoming years and await the European Grids Package announced by the European Commission. ENTSO-E strongly believes that the upcoming Grids Package should focus on simplifying the relevant EU framework to effectively help accelerate project delivery and permitting, and aid affordable financing of electricity infrastructure projects of pan-EU interest such as interconnections, offshore grids and domestic network elements.

With regards to the European Parliament’s INI report, ENTSO-E particularly welcomes the focus on several key areas:

Accelerating grid development. The report rightfully highlights the need to accelerate the electrification of the European economy and recognises the contribution of interconnectors, offshore grids, and projects of common and mutual interest (PCI/PMIs) to further integrate the EU electricity market, reduce system costs and facilitate the energy transition. It also stresses the importance of further strengthening national grids, including through more flexibility solutions, to integrate renewables and address congestion.
Effective grid planning. ENTSO-E agrees that effective grid planning is essential to guide upcoming investments and, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, is committed to delivering high-quality Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDPs). ENTSO-E believes that through each improved issue of the TYNDP, the European planning of the transmission network can reliably identify cross-border capacity needs in Europe. While TYNDP scenarios are already based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), ENTSO-E believes a pan-European network planning could benefit from a better harmonisation of NECPs across Member States in terms of content, format, time horizon and timing of publication, as well as better alignment between gas and electricity sectors and with the overarching EU climate targets. To ensure the implementation of projects of cross-border relevance, ENTSO-E calls for measures in the upcoming Grids Package to simplify the PCI/PMI selection process and permitting procedures.
Speeding up permitting procedures. ENTSO-E shares the European Parliament’s view that lengthy permitting procedures are among the main bottlenecks for infrastructure development. ENTSO-E also welcomes the Parliament’s call to build upon the positive elements introduced by the Emergency Regulation on Permitting and the latest revision of the Renewable Energy Directive to further simplify the bureaucratic processes, remove the first-come first-served principle and, thus, accelerate the permitting for grid and Renewable Energy projects.
Scaling up EU funding for grids. ENTSO-E supports the Parliament’s call for enhanced financing tools, including an increase in CEF-E funding, as well as its portion dedicated to electricity grid projects, under the next MFF period. As highlighted in the report, institutions such as the EIB can play a more decisive role in facilitating access to financing for system operators, including by offering instruments like counter-guarantees to de-risk and lower the cost of investments and accelerate the deployment of grids. Lastly, ENTSO-E agrees with the urgency to step up regulatory incentives for system operators and remove barriers to the approval of anticipatory investments, among other means to provide adequate cost recovery.
Tackling supply chain and skills challenges. The increase in grid investments raises concerns over the access to key technologies and components essential for the grids, as well as the availability of skilled labour. The upcoming revision of the public procurement framework should be an opportunity to strengthen Europe’s industrial base while at the same time ensuring the reliable and affordable supply of critical technologies and components.
Ensuring infrastructure security. The physical and cyber security of grid infrastructure must remain a priority for EU Institutions and partner countries. A swift implementation of existing rules, including the NIS Directive and the Network Code on Cybersecurity, is crucial. ENTSO-E also reiterates that all resources connected to the grid must contribute to system security.
Investing in digitalisation and flexibility. Enhancing the digital capabilities of the grid, increasing access to data from all metering devices, ensuring efficient price signals will be key to unlocking flexibility and enabling a smarter, more resilient and more affordable electricity system.

This report marks a strong and timely signal from the European Parliament, showing a growing awareness of the strategic importance of electricity grids and the challenges they are facing. ENTSO-E is pleased to see that these reflections come ahead of the upcoming Grids Package and other energy policy initiatives, which are expected to address many of the issues highlighted in the report.