On Monday 25 March, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) published a report examining the way in which EU countries are managing early investment in electricity networks. The report identifies the main obstacles to anticipated investment and provides a series of recommendations for overcoming them.
The aim of these early investments is to strengthen the network in line with anticipated future needs, thereby facilitating the integration of renewable energies, but they entail a risk of initial under-utilisation.
The analysis reveals the need for effective implementation of existing measures, with an emphasis on consistent regulatory treatment for all types of network investment.
The recommendations include strengthening the role of energy regulators in assessing infrastructure needs and projects, facilitating the decision-making process of national regulatory authorities (NRAs) by reducing uncertainties about the development of new uses for the network, and early notification by producers of potential connection requests.
ACER and CEER also suggest greater coordination between future grid users, grid operators and energy regulators, and a detailed analysis of transmission needs by transmission system operators.
By contributing to the discussions arising from the European Commission’s action plan on electricity networks (see EUROPE 13302/8), this report therefore aims to accelerate the development of smart grids and support the deployment of renewable energies, while minimising sunk costs.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/biu (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)