Grids Policy Package

This briefing by Ember provides recommendations for the European Commission's 'European grid package' to accelerate the upgrade, digitalisation, and expansion of European grid infrastructure. Ember argues that electricity grids should be treated as strategic infrastructure essential for economic growth and competitiveness, rather than just technical assets. The document proposes a shift toward independent and integrated planning, the establishment of a financing 'one-stop-shop', and the adoption of a TOTEX-based regulatory approach to incentivise flexibility and grid-enhancing technologies over traditional capital-heavy reinforcements.

• Ember recommends that the EU formally recognise electricity grids as strategic infrastructure to support industrial policy and regional development. This shift is intended to attract energy-intensive sectors like AI, data infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, which require grid capacity to be deployed ahead of demand to signal investment viability.
• To resolve administrative complexity and underutilisation of funds, Ember proposes a 'one-stop shop' to consolidate EU funding streams and simplify financing for grid projects. This entity would act as a coordination hub and matchmaking service between grid operators and financial institutions like the EIB and EBRD.
• Ember advocates for a new planning framework based on five principles: independent planning by public bodies without financial stakes; integrated modelling across electricity, gas, hydrogen, and heating (assigning a legal mandate to ENTSO-E, ENTSOG, and ENNOH); harmonised planning processes to avoid stranded assets; a minimum 20-year planning horizon for national plans; and a mandate for national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to align decisions with EU climate objectives.
• The document highlights the UK's National Energy System Operator (NESO) as a successful precedent for independent and integrated energy system planning across electricity and gas, operating independently of industry and government.
• To reduce the current 'CAPEX bias' that favours traditional reinforcements, Ember recommends a TOTEX-based regulatory approach. This would value capital and operational expenditures equally, encouraging the use of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) such as cable pooling, dynamic line rating, and real-time monitoring, as well as demand-side flexibility and energy storage.
• Ember suggests improving the cost-benefit cost allocation (CBCA) framework for cross-border projects by including non-financial and macroeconomic indicators, factoring in national investments that enable cross-border flows, and moving CBCA decisions earlier in the project timeline to increase investor certainty.
• The briefing calls for mandatory, standardised reporting of grid data by transmission and distribution system operators. Required data should include available grid capacity and queue information for both supply and demand, scenario assumptions for planning, and disaggregated investment data.

APA

Cremona, E. (2025). Grids Policy Package. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/07/Grids-Policy-Package-Embers-input-to-the-Commission-Call-for-Evidence-Google-Docs.pdf

Chicago

Cremona, Elisabeth. Grids Policy Package. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/07/Grids-Policy-Package-Embers-input-to-the-Commission-Call-for-Evidence-Google-Docs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cremona |first1=Elisabeth |title=Grids Policy Package |publisher=Ember |date=22 July 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/07/Grids-Policy-Package-Embers-input-to-the-Commission-Call-for-Evidence-Google-Docs.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cremona2025grids, author = {Cremona, Elisabeth}, title = {{Grids Policy Package}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/07/Grids-Policy-Package-Embers-input-to-the-Commission-Call-for-Evidence-Google-Docs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }