Resources Adequacy Assessments in a Nutshell

The document defines 'resource adequacy' as the availability of all necessary resources—including generation, demand-side resources, and interconnection—to meet electricity demand. It outlines how RAAs can be used by campaigners to argue against the need for coal or gas plants and to challenge the legality of capacity mechanisms. It contrasts the limited, non-binding RAA rules of the 2009 Third Energy Package with the more legally binding framework introduced by the recast Electricity Regulation from 2020, which requires the consideration of interconnection and regional adequacy.

• Resource adequacy is a mid to long-term issue achieved when all resources needed for energy security—including generation, demand-side resources, interconnection, and the transmission network—are available to meet electricity demand at all times.
• Energy campaigners can use RAAs to demonstrate that fossil fuel capacity is not required for system security or that specific plants do not hold 'national importance' justifying exemptions from standard rules.
• Under the recast Electricity Regulation effective from 2020, Member States are prohibited from introducing capacity mechanisms unless a European or national RAA identifies resource adequacy concerns, and such mechanisms must be a 'last resort'.
• The transition to a regional or EU-wide approach to adequacy, which accounts for interconnection between national power systems, could result in annual consumer savings of between EUR 3.5 billion and EUR 8 billion by 2030.
• A significant weakness in the RAA process is that the data used is provided by energy companies to transmission system operators, creating an incentive for companies to provide data that suggests adequacy concerns to justify capacity payments.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). Resources Adequacy Assessments in a Nutshell. https://www.clientearth.org/media/5a3anpwj/clientearth-resources-adequacy-assessment-in-a-nutshell-memo-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Resources Adequacy Assessments in a Nutshell. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/5a3anpwj/clientearth-resources-adequacy-assessment-in-a-nutshell-memo-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Resources Adequacy Assessments in a Nutshell |date=15 May 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/5a3anpwj/clientearth-resources-adequacy-assessment-in-a-nutshell-memo-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2019resources, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Resources Adequacy Assessments in a Nutshell}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/5a3anpwj/clientearth-resources-adequacy-assessment-in-a-nutshell-memo-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }