ENTSO-EENTSO-E welcomes the Clean Industrial Deal and Affordable Energy Action Plan, published today by the European Commission. ENTSO-E considers both communications a significant step towards achieving a sustainable, secure and competitive energy future for Europe.
We believe that the Clean Industrial Deal will play a crucial role in driving the decarbonisation of Europe’s industrial sector, thereby contributing to the EU’s climate goals. The Affordable Energy Action Plan, on the other hand, promises to make energy more affordable for all European citizens and industries, in particular by lowering energy bills and accelerating the roll-out of clean energy and electrification, while ensuring that no one is left behind in this transition.
ENTSO-E would like to highlight the following key elements:
- The need to accelerate the expansion, the modernisation and the digitalisation of grids by streamlining planning and permitting, to ensure efficient electricity flows across borders, reducing costs and improving supply chain visibility, with the proposal of a “European Grid Package” in Q1 2026. The upcoming European Grid Package should focus on simplifying, and, where necessary, performing targeted updates to the relevant EU framework, to effectively help speed up project delivery and permitting, as well as affordable financing of electricity infrastructure projects of pan-EU interest, including interconnections, offshore grids and internal networks.
The need to make electricity bills more affordable by addressing different elements of the electricity bill, including the increase of demand through electrification. Regarding network tariffs and the announced Commission’s guidance on harmonising tariff design, ENTSO-E advocates for a well thought-out approach that maintains the incentive to invest in the grid and a level playing field with cost-reflectiveness and fairness as guiding principles. Transmission system operators need to raise debt and equity at an unprecedented scale for the needed investments in electricity grids, therefore the regulatory frameworks and network tariff methodologies must provide adequate risk-return profiles to ensure that TSOs remain or become attractive to long-term investors and maintain investment-grade rating.
The need to finance investments in electricity grids. ENTSO-E welcomes the Commission’s commitment to continuing to provide dedicated funding to support the completion of the Energy Union’s interconnectors through the Connecting Energy Facility (CEF). In particular, ENTSO-E advocates that, in the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework discussions, EU funding (like CEF-E and additional funding) is scaled up, easily accessible, at low cost, and dedicated to electricity transmission grids and related digital infrastructure in order to match the expectations and support a competitive, secure and decarbonised economy. To help TSOs secure lower-cost debt to contribute to further grid expansion while limiting the cost for society, ENTSO-E believes that TSOs should also get access to de-risking tools such as EIB counter-guarantees.
The need to strengthen grid supply chains: With the massive scale of investments to reinforce the grid ENTSO-E welcomes the announcements that the EIB will introduce a “Grids manufacturing package” to support manufacturers of grid components. ENTSO-E calls for updating and simplifying the Public Procurement Framework to make the development of grid infrastructure faster and more affordable.
The need for simplifying State aid rules: ENTSO-E welcomes the overall goal to accelerate the roll-out of clean energy, decarbonized demand but also energy infrastructure, including electricity grids. When developing its proposal, ENTSO-E encourages the European Commission to leverage the agreed EU framework, including the Clean Energy Package and the recent Electricity Market Design (EMD) Reform . One necessary element is fully recognizing the complementarity of National Resource Adequacy Assessments and the European Resource Adequacy Assessment in order to benefit from the simplified procedure for introducing Capacity Renumeration Mechanisms and adopting State aid rules aimed at supporting Member States in addressing, respectively, adequacy and flexibility concerns in time.
Cross-border interconnections as enablers of the energy transition. ENTSO-E welcomes the recognition that the interconnections are an essential tool for reducing the cost of energy, completing the internal energy market and mitigating prices crises. ENTSO-E asks for strong support by the European Commission in the development of the TYNDP to ensure a grid fit for purpose.
- Need to complete the Energy Union: ENTSO-E welcomes the set-up of an Energy Union Task Force that should examine and propose technical or regulatory adjustments in view of supporting EU decision makers. ENTSO-E is willing to be part of such a Task Force and contribute to the reflections regarding further market integration that the Commission will adopt by early 2026. ENTSO-E also welcomes the upcoming adoption of an Electrification Action Plan as well as a Strategic Roadmap for digitalisation on AI to increase electrification and help in the transition towards a more secure and flexible and decarbonised system.
ENTSO-E is committed to supporting the implementation of these initiatives through constructive collaboration with the EU Institutions and industry stakeholders.
Together, we can build a more secure, competitive, affordable, and decarbonised energy system for the future of Europe.