Presentation
This Issue Brief outlines the challenges that climate neutrality poses for European grid planning, examines how the governance framework proposed in the revised Trans-European Networks for-Energy (TEN-E) Regulation addresses them, and identifies avenues for improving its implementation.
Key Messages
- The 2025-2026 revision of the TEN-E regulation comes at a time where the European grid is facing several systemic challenges which question the governance framework, including large-scale electrification of end uses, integration of variable renewables and geopolitical shocks.
- Shifting responsibility of drafting the scenario for EU network development from transmission system operators to the European Commission was proposed to address concerns over the current process’s ability to account for the true benefits of cross-border connectivity and to support European energy and climate ambitions.
- For such a shift to contribute to a more efficient governance framework, several aspects not covered by the Commission’s proposal and Council amendments should be clarified: the scenario’s role in investment decisions for infrastructure projects, how it depicts national-level information, constraints and policy orientations, how it underpins cross-border cost allocation for infrastructure project, and transparency of data inputs and modelling results.
