The European Grids Package, expected end of this year may still be under wraps but for the electricity sector, it’s already high on the radar.
And for good reason: Europe’s electricity grid is under increasing pressure. Modernisation is overdue, investment needs are steep and the stakes – for electrification, renewables and industrial competitiveness – are only growing.
As the publication awaits, Eurelectric published today its recommendations to help shape the package’s final form. This Friday Feature will dive in our position paper but before diving into it, let’s rewind a little and retrace how we got here.
It’s been a long time coming
The Grids Package is the latest step in a growing political and regulatory focus on Europe’s electricity infrastructure and the investment it needs.
The Commission first rang the alarm in May 2022, when the REPowerEU Implementation Plan estimated that Europe would need €584 billion in grid investments by 2030 to meet its climate and energy goals. On the one hand that figure signalled meeting climate goals required electrification. On the other hand, it marked a clear recognition that the energy transition would not succeed without massive upgrades to electricity infrastructure, especially at distribution level. Echoing this, the revised TEN-E Regulation entered into force just a month later. Focused primarily on transmission and cross-border infrastructure, TEN-E helped streamline project selection and permitting rules, laying the legal groundwork for faster infrastructure delivery.
And yet, the Commission recognised that there were broader systemic issues to tackle. These issues came to the forefront in November 2023, when the Commission published its Grid Action Plan. The Action Plan changed the narrative. Grids are not just a technical issue; they are a bottleneck caused by lengthy permitting processes, a lack of digital tools and insufficient anticipatory investments.
In 2025 the EU listened. In January, the Competitiveness Compass named the Electrification Action Plan and European Grids Package as headline initiatives for delivery in early 2026. In February the Clean Industrial Deal confirmed that commitment. Accordingly, in May the European Commission launched the public consultation and call for evidence. In June new guidance was issued on anticipatory investments, followed by Parliament’s adoption of the Grid Action Plan proposal and in July the Commission issued recommendations on grid technologies and future-proof network charges, as well as the coordination of dedicated infrastructure areas.
With the legislative proposal expected in Q4 2025 and currently in the hands of the European Commission, the focus now shifts to shaping the last details of the content of the proposal and preparing for its delivery.
The European Grids Package
Europe’s grid infrastructure is ageing. Over 30% of low-voltage lines are already over 40 years old. If investment doesn’t pick up, that number could climb to 90% by 2050.
At the same time, electricity demand is changing fast. EVs, heat pumps, and decentralised renewables are all adding pressure, especially on distribution networks, which will need to connect 70% of new renewables by the end of the decade.
If grids aren’t reinforced, delays in connection will grow, flexibility won’t scale and the electrification of homes, transport and industry will most likely stall. That’s why getting this package right matters and why Eurelectric is weighing in at every step.
Eurelectric’s recommendations
Eurelectric’s new position paper outlines five key areas where the Grids Package can make a difference. These are not new problems, but they need urgent solutions.
1. Investments must be worthwhile
Grid investment will only flow at the needed scale if regulation makes it attractive. This is why Eurelectric calls for stable and predictable regulatory frameworks that reflect investments promptly, competitive returns in line with international markets, the recognition of both CAPEX and OPEX in the same way in revenue models (including for digital and cyber upgrades) and incentives for anticipatory investment and funding uptake.
Put simply: Europe needs to move from cost control to strategic grid investment paving the way for decarbonisation and the Grids Package must reflect that shift.
2. Fund distribution grids – not just flagships
Most public funding currently goes to large, cross-border projects. But we know that the energy transition will be won or lost at the distribution level. To this end, Eurelectric recommends creating a dedicated funding for DSOs in the next MFF, expanding the scope of CEF-E, simplifying application procedures, reducing procurement times from years to months (beneficial to smaller DSOs) and recognising the full lifecycle costs of funded projects, including OPEX and depreciation for future renewal, in tariffs.
This is about fairness but also about scale. The bulk of new clean technologies connect at distribution level and the funding framework must move away from flashy projects and reflect that reality.
3. Speed up permitting
Permitting delays are holding up projects across Europe. Some public procurements take up to 2.5 years. Expanding the dedicated infrastructure areas introduced in RED III to cover all types of distribution projects is essential, but so is aligning national planning tools (like DNDPs) with permitting distribution priority corridors, exempting minor upgrades from redundant impact assessments and capping permitting and procurement timelines, with inflation-indexed public procurement thresholds.
Time is quickly becoming the scarcest resource. Europe needs a permitting framework that matches its policy ambition.
4. Resilience must be part of the equation
Grids are critical infrastructure exposed to physical, climate as well as cyber threats. To secure distribution, reliance needs to be part of the equation and that building in protection. Concretely this means we need to incentivise climate adaptation and make these costs eligible for recovery, embed resilience in national energy and climate plans (NECPs) and network development plans, ensure consistent implementation of NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Acts and avoid layering digital legislation without ensuring interoperability.
5. Smarter planning with the right data
Grid planning is evolving. But Eurelectric warns against applying centralised solutions to fundamentally local networks. We instead propose including DSO data and forecasts in national and EU-level planning tools (like the TYNDP), creating a common repository of DNDPs across Member States, with comparable summaries, ensuring transparency in planning exercises through open-source modelling and extending structured stakeholder engagement to tools like ERAA and FNA (not just the TYNDP).
Looking ahead
The direction of travel is clear: Europe needs to double grid investments, tackle connection delays and make infrastructure a central pillar of its industrial and climate strategy.
Eurelectric will continue to advocate for a package that does just that, and ensure that the final legislation delivers on what the energy transition demands.
