Grids Policy Package

Ember proposes a comprehensive overhaul of European grid policy, arguing that electricity grids should be treated as strategic infrastructure for economic growth. Key recommendations include establishing a 'one-stop-shop' for financing, mandating independent and integrated infrastructure planning across energy carriers, and extending national planning horizons to 20 years. The briefing also advocates for a shift toward TOTEX-based regulatory approaches to incentivise flexibility and grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), alongside the standardisation of data sharing between transmission and distribution system operators to improve visibility of distributed assets and grid capacity.

• Electricity grids should be formally recognised as strategic infrastructure essential for economic growth and competitiveness, as they are critical for attracting energy-intensive industries like AI and data infrastructure.
• To reduce administrative complexity and underutilisation of funds, the EU should create a one-stop shop to consolidate funding streams and facilitate connections between grid operators and financial institutions.
• Infrastructure planning should be conducted by independent public bodies to avoid commercial conflicts of interest and should be integrated across electricity, gas, hydrogen, and heating networks.
• The minimum planning horizon for national grid development plans should be extended to 20 years, as current 10-year thresholds are insufficient for transmission projects that typically take 12 to 15 years to build.
• National regulatory authorities (NRAs) should be legally required to ensure that grid investment decisions and cost-benefit analyses are consistent with EU and national decarbonisation targets.
• The EU should move away from CAPEX-biased frameworks toward a TOTEX-based regulatory approach to better incentivise non-wire alternatives, energy storage, and grid-enhancing technologies (GETs).
• To improve system planning and investor confidence, system operators must publish standardised data on available grid capacity, connection queues for supply and demand, and planning scenario assumptions.

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} }