Members of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) adopted (by 60 votes to 11, with 5 abstentions) on Monday 22 March the draft own-initiative report by Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, France) that calls for integration of the EU’s energy system.
In response to the vote, Grudler said: “This report proposes (...) serious options for achieving our objectives: accelerating decarbonisation, ensuring the balance of networks, building interconnections, facilitating the deployment of renewables, developing digitalisation, and extending storage and local production”.
The Strategy for Energy System Integration, which was presented by the European Commission on 8 July last year (see EUROPE 12523/2), is expected to support a climate-neutral economy, improve energy security, boost employment and protect health and the environment, say MEPs.
The report sets out measures to optimise, decarbonise and balance energy systems, with particular emphasis on the Energy Efficiency First principle (see EUROPE 12670/21), the decarbonisation of transport and heating systems and the development of interconnections between the Member States’ electricity networks (see EUROPE 12673/7, 12681/15).
The MEPs also stress the benefits of a ‘multi-directional’ system in which the consumer plays an active role in energy supply. “Member States shall ensure that all citizens have the right to produce, consume and store their own energy individually or as a community”, the report says.
The MEPs also stress the importance of the “additionality” principle, whereby the electricity requirements for producing renewable hydrogen mean that there needs to be a guarantee that sufficient additional renewable energy production capacity is deployed.
All MEPs will vote on the report on 26 April during Parliament’s plenary session.
Details of voting can be found at: https://bit.ly/2QofKkc (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)