In a report published on Thursday 19 March, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) points to shortcomings in the metering of railway traction energy.
Railway traction energy represents a major item of expenditure for the rail sector, and the lack of a proper metering system for energy consumption undermines its energy and economic efficiency. Obligations have been set for data collection systems since 2020.
The study revealed that thirteen EU Member States do not comply with the technical specifications for energy interoperability, either because they have not yet set up a data collection system, or because their systems are limited to national trains. Railway undertakings can only benefit from third-party access and free choice of energy supplier in seven Member States.
In addition to guaranteeing the application of the technical specifications, the ERA recommended analysing the possibility of modifying and extending their scope. Indeed, most of the problems identified lie in the functions of exchanging and settling energy consumption data, which are currently left to self-regulation by standards and agreements in the rail sector. There is a lack of clarity at EU level about the boundaries between energy and rail market legislation.
The agency also recommended analysing the legal status of infrastructure and energy supply managers with regard to traction current infrastructure and services in Member States.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/lai (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)