Electricity trade balance 2015 - Imports/Total demand
European countries already meet national power demands through their European neighbours. An effective internal energy market is essential to ensure the lights stay on.
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The integration of electricity markets optimises the use of assets across Europe. This leads to more efficient market functioning and ultimately to more cost-efficient energy delivery to consumers. In 2015, European countries continued to rely on electricity imports to meet their respective national demands.
EURELECTRIC data shows there is a significant variance across electricity imports of countries. This is mainly driven by the degree of interconnectivity between national electricity systems. According to the European Commission, at the end of 2014, 13 European countries had interconnection levels between 10-30%; 3 countries had interconnection levels between 30-50%; with another 4 countries accounting for interconnection levels above 50%. However, some countries at the fringes of the European Union are still displaying interconnection levels of below 10%.
Ensuring that levels of interconnectivity increase in a cost-effective way is a key requirement to further develop the internal energy market and ultimately drive down costs for consumers.
