Eurelectric Position Paper on Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action

KEY MESSAGES

• Eurelectric welcomes the revision of the Governance Regulation and the discussion on the introduced tools, namely the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). We understand the Regulation as a central element of working towards the EU’s 2030 climate targets. Nevertheless, there is a wide range of ambition among countries in the NECPs, revealing that some will most likely miss their targets. This will, in turn, affect the EU’s ability to fulfil its goals. The EU is striving to be a climate leader but can only do so if all its members deliver on their commitments by implementing adequate national decarbonisation policies.
• When looking at the National Energy and Climate Plans, Eurelectric would like to call more attention to overall electrification rates as direct electrification is in most cases the most cost-efficient means to decarbonise. Therefore, we encourage Member States to include electrification rate indicators to deliver an envisaged electrification rate corresponding to an indicative target of 35% by 2030 and 50% across the EU by 2040. This would be in line with the REPowerEU targets as well as those outlined in the recent 2040 target C This would provide a concrete and overarching goal for Member States as well as harmonise each plans’ structures, advance transparency, and increase comparability.
• We need more efficient permitting procedures and a proper implementation of the respective provisions agreed upon in the RED revision. To this end, key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the total length of the permitting process for RES, decarbonised energy investments, and power grids should be established to guide and monitor the 2030 energy & climate framework.
• By the same token, Eurelectric sees the need to enhance the security of supply perspective and establish corresponding KPIs, such as avoided fossil fuel imports. These would support the monitoring of energy security improvements made by Member States and facilitate systematic and iterative assessments to identify areas of improvement and recalibrate strategies as needed.
• Lastly, Eurelectric is disappointed with the lack of reference to grid development in most NECPs. We urge the Commission, as well as Member States and National Regulatory Authorities for due consideration, in particular on distribution grids, in these plans. European grids need modernisation efforts and adequate investment to integrate more renewables and decarbonised technologies in a forward-looking manner.