According to the amendments tabled in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) to the European Parliament’s own-initiative report on electricity grids, obtained by Agence Europe, the rapporteurs will have to find common ground on the coordination at European level on the planning of electricity grids for their modernisation and expansion (see EUROPE 13603/5). The compromise amendments are expected to be finalised before a vote in committee on 3 June.
While the initial report (see EUROPE 13591/9) calls on the European Commission to revise the TEN-E (‘Trans-European Networks for Energy’) regulation in order to “introduce more coordinated cross-sectoral planning” and to give a stronger role to the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in the planning process, some of the amendments emphasise “maintaining the responsibilities of national system operators”.
However, the aim of the rapporteur Anna Stürgkh (Renew Europe, Austrian), interviewed by Agence Europe, is to promote “a solid European regulatory framework” and to ensure that existing requirements are fully implemented, without creating new supranational agencies or conflicts of jurisdiction.
More generally, the aim of the own-initiative report is to “set a benchmark” and send a strong message to the Commission, ahead of its forthcoming European grids package, but also in anticipation of the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), on which the fate of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will depend (see EUROPE 13604/2).
Several amendments from the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe MEPs explicitly call for “an increase in the percentage of CEF funds devoted to electricity grid projects with cross-border relevance”.
Secondly, a series of amendments by MEPs from the EPP, The Left and Patriots for Europe add the concept of “resilience” of physical infrastructures to extreme weather events and climate change, as well as to cyber threats.
In addition, several amendments tabled by S&D and Renew Europe MEPs focus on collaboration with third countries, in particular the UK and Norway, notably for the development of offshore wind energy.
Renew Europe MEPs also stress the need to take account of the challenges faced by the outermost regions and other areas not connected to the European electricity grid. Others underline the need to pay attention to high energy prices in south-eastern Europe and congestion in central and eastern Europe.
In addition, the S&D group is calling for maximum standardisation or normalisation of key electricity grid equipment, “insofar as technically possible”.
Some of the amendments also highlight the labour shortage in the energy sector, but also the need to include the principle of “energy efficiency first”, to accelerate the deployment of so-called “smart” grids to improve congestion management, and to apply the principle of “overriding public interest” to the permitting of grid infrastructure.
To see the amendments tabled: https://aeur.eu/f/g4o (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)