On Wednesday 4 October, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) published its recommendations concerning the selection process for PCIs/PMIs, i.e. electricity and hydrogen infrastructure projects that benefit from accelerated authorisation procedures and financing, for PCIs, and projects promoted by the EU in cooperation with third countries and recognised as facilitators of the energy transition, for PMIs (introduced by the revision of the TEN-E Regulation in 2022).
ACER’s Opinion finds that the project selection process, infrastructure requirements and selection methodology need to be improved.
The Agency states that it is unable to assess the consistent application of the criteria of the TEN-E Regulation and the cost-benefit analysis for all candidate projects due to the lack of transparency in the implementation of the selection methodology and the failure to take into account multiple planning scenarios.
ACER’s Opinion will be taken into account by the regional groups in finalising the PCIs/PMIs list. The European Commission will then decide on the list by 30 November 2023.
For the first time since the first PCIs/PMIs list in 2022, hydrogen infrastructure projects are eligible.
For these projects, ACER is not only calling for greater transparency and availability of data for the next PCIs/PMIs selection process in 2025, but is also asking for a more precise methodology and synchronisation of the Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) processes and the PCIs/PMIs selection process.
To see ACER’s Opinion on the PCIs/PMIs list for electricity, go to https://aeur.eu/f/8yf
And for hydrogen, go to https://aeur.eu/f/8ye (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)