The development of the EU’s electricity grids was a subject of concern for the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 September, just a few months before the publication of the European Commission’s ‘grids’ package, announced in the Action Plan for Affordable Energy (see EUROPE B1358813).
Speaking at a debate on the EU’s forthcoming second list of Projects of Common and Mutual Interest (PCIs/PMIs) (see EUROPE 13405/15), Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG Energy, explained that the Commission would “most likely” present this ‘grids’ package “in late November, early December”. It will be accompanied by the second PCI/PMI list, in the form of a delegated act to the regulation on Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E).
The Commission will also be presenting a revision of this regulation, including stronger provisions on speeding up permit-granting procedures, along the lines of the revised directive on renewable energy (RED III), and planning that is intended to be “more Europeanised”.
“Right now it’s very much bottom up. We want a more Europeanised planning, programming, to look at the bottlenecks which still exist and what are the current needs”, explained the Deputy Director-General.
She also highlighted the improvements planned to strengthen supply chains and ensure the security and resilience of infrastructures. Ms Wörsdörfer also pointed out that the future package will be accompanied by a specific guideline on grid connections.
With regard to the new PCI/PMI list, she assured that electricity would remain “the top priority”, but conceded that we could also expect “a good number of hydrogen projects”.
MEPs in favour of holistic long-term planning. In a second debate specifically dedicated to grid development, on 23 September, EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and The Left MEPs agreed on the need to seize the opportunity of the forthcoming ‘grids’ package to ensure greater predictability through “holistic long-term grid planning across Europe’s energy”, in the words of Seán Kelly (EPP, Irish).
For Bruno Tobback (S&D, Belgian), it is also necessary to focus more on the value chain of electricity grids, by increasing the standardisation of materials and equipment, as well as buying “European”.
Anna Stürgkh (Renew Europe, Austrian), for her part, stressed the need to develop European skills for the expansion and modernisation of grids, notably through the creation of a “targeted EU skills academy”.
During the debate, Joachim Balke, Head of Unit at the European Commission’s DG Energy, also stated that the future package will not only focus on infrastructure, but also on ways to make the system more flexible. In his view, the challenges of grid flexibility should be more fully addressed in the forthcoming electrification action plan, expected in the first quarter of 2026. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)