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REPORT (2025/2006(INI))

On electricity grids: the backbone of the EU energy system

A-10-2025-0091

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy · Rapporteur: Anna Stürgkh

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution on electricity grids calls for modernising and expanding EU grids to meet climate goals, improve integration, and ensure affordable energy. It urges faster permitting, more investment, and stronger EU planning and funding. The text stresses the need for coordinated planning, better data, and regulatory reforms to reduce curtailment, enhance flexibility, and secure supply chains. It also highlights the importance of offshore grids and cooperation with non-EU countries.

Committee position. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy proposes a resolution calling for comprehensive action to modernise and expand EU electricity grids, including regulatory reforms, increased funding, and better planning.

Key points

  1. Calls on Member States to expand and modernise electricity grids, including transmission and distribution, to support a net-zero economy by 2050.
  2. Urges implementation of EU grid action plans and legislation without delay, including the grid action plan, affordable energy action plan, and electricity market design reform.
  3. Notes that completing energy market integration saves up to EUR 40 billion annually and a 50% increase in cross-border trade could raise GDP by 0.1%.
  4. Highlights that over 40% of distribution grids are over 40 years old and that EUR 584 billion is needed for grid investment by 2030, including EUR 375-425 billion for distribution.
  5. Calls for a strategy to reduce dispatch-down of renewables and address grid congestion, which cost EUR 4.2 billion in 2023 and led to nearly 30 TWh of curtailed renewable electricity.
  6. Urges a targeted revision of the TEN-E Regulation to strengthen ACER's role, improve planning, and simplify access for smart grid projects and small DSOs.
  7. Proposes extending network development plans to 20 years and enhancing cooperation with neighbouring countries through Projects of Mutual Interest.
  8. Calls for better data on grid planning, implementation of Article 32 of the Electricity Directive, and a centralised repository for transmission and distribution plans.
  9. Asks the Commission to amend Article 6 of the Electricity Directive to allow prioritisation of grid connections, moving away from 'first-come, first-served'.
  10. Urges faster permitting, including digitalisation and tacit approval, and calls for guidelines on dedicated infrastructure areas for grid projects.
  11. Calls for increased CEF-E funding, a dedicated funding instrument for decentralised projects, and better use of EU funds for grids.
  12. Emphasises the need for regulatory frameworks to attract private investment, including anticipatory investments and cost-reflective tariffs.

Who is affected

  • Member States, transmission and distribution system operators, and national regulatory authorities.
  • Energy communities, SMEs, and smaller operators face barriers to grid access and funding.
  • Grid equipment manufacturers and suppliers, affected by supply chain pressures and standardisation efforts.
  • Workers in the energy sector, needing training and upskilling to meet workforce demands.
  • Outermost regions and areas not connected to the European grid, needing support for autonomous energy systems.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 40 billion annually saved by completing energy market integration.
  • 0.1% increase in EU annual GDP from a 50% increase in cross-border electricity trade.
  • 60% expected increase in electricity consumption by 2030.
  • EUR 584 billion needed for transmission and distribution grids by 2030, including EUR 375-425 billion for distribution.
  • EUR 4.2 billion cost of managing grid congestion in 2023.
  • Nearly 30 TWh of renewable electricity curtailed in 2023.
  • EUR 5.84 billion CEF-E budget for 2021-2027.
  • EUR 1.5 billion in counter-guarantees from EIB's Grids Manufacturing Package.

Legal basis: Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union