The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on Future-Proofing Electricity Bills, describing it as an important step towards a more electrified European economy.

ENTSO-E said the energy transition will require a significantly more electrified economy, powered by carbon-neutral generation and supported by the timely development of electricity grids. The association also stressed the need for predictable and forward-looking regulatory frameworks, stronger supply chains and shorter permitting processes. 

The organisation expressed support for several elements of the Commission’s proposal, including principles for network charges, remuneration frameworks for grid operators, faster grid connections, rapid smart meter deployment and fair electricity taxation. 

However, ENTSO-E said the final regulation should better balance affordability for consumers with the financeability of grid investment, allowing transmission system operators to attract the capital required for the scale of network expansion needed by the energy transition. 

Five recommendations to strengthen the proposal

ENTSO-E called on the European Parliament and Council to amend the proposal in five areas.

First, it recommended that remuneration frameworks for transmission system operators provide investors with adequate risk-return profiles that reflect market conditions and help attract the capital needed for grid investment. ENTSO-E said these frameworks should support access to both equity and debt markets while preserving the financial flexibility required by system operators. 

Second, the association called for incentives that go beyond cost efficiency and also support security of supply, market integration, grid resilience, physical security, cybersecurity and system stability. ENTSO-E argued that incentives should reflect not only performance but also the risks borne by transmission operators. 

Third, ENTSO-E said National Regulatory Authorities, working with transmission system operators, should assess appropriate performance frameworks rather than relying on mandatory top-down efficiency comparisons led by ACER. It argued that transmission systems differ significantly in size, geography, network characteristics and national context, making one-size-fits-all comparisons difficult. 

Fourth, the association called for greater subsidiarity and flexibility in the design of network tariffs and remuneration frameworks. ENTSO-E said tariff structures should reflect national differences in generation, consumption, geography and system costs, and proposed that the European Commission issue recommendations rather than binding guidelines on harmonised tariff methodologies. 

Finally, ENTSO-E said any EU framework for grid data exchange should remain voluntary, secure, focused and adequately financed. It added that participation should not require the creation or operation of an EU-wide data-sharing platform and that participating operators should be able to recover related costs through regulatory or funding mechanisms. 

Grids as a condition for electrification

ENTSO-E also backed measures aimed at accelerating grid connections, including tools to discourage speculative applications, ensure project maturity and allow prioritisation between categories of users seeking access to the network. 

The association also supported rapid smart meter deployment and measures that allow residential consumption profiles to be adjusted when necessary to preserve grid security and reliability. 

ENTSO-E’s position is that affordable electricity and deeper electrification will depend not only on lower bills, but also on modern, resilient and adequately financed grids capable of integrating new generation, rising demand and flexibility solutions across Europe.