EC’s ‘pact for engagement’ on grids gains support

European energy sector stakeholders have signed the EC’s ‘Pact for engagement’ on the development of the region’s grids.

The signing by TSOs, DSOs and sector associations among others at the 5th PCI Energy Days on 4 November adds growing support across the region for the need for “early, regular and meaningful stakeholder engagement in grid development”.

Among the new signatories reported are the associations CEDEC, E.DSO, GEODE and Utilitalia and energy utilities Amprion, Enedis, E-Distribuzione, E-REDES and Jämtkraft Elnät AB.

The ‘Pact for engagement’ was launched in November 2023 alongside the action plan for the grids to raise awareness of their key role in accelerating the clean energy transition.

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Alongside the EC’s Director-General for Energy, the founding signatories were ENTSO-E, the DSO Entity, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy regulators (ACER) and the Renewables Grid Initiative.

The thrust of the pact for engagement is on EU member states, EU and national regulators, TSOs and DSOs, project promoters and civil society to work together towards early and regular public participation in grid development projects.

Pointing to the target of around half of the EU’s energy supply to come from renewables by 2030, it highlights the need to accelerate the development of the electricity grids and the distribution grid in particular to accommodate these renewables.

Specifically the pact for engagement calls for:

• Design and carrying out of national and European communication efforts on the key role of transmission and distribution grids as enablers of the energy transition
• Joint cooperation efforts between national and local authorities in ensuring effective implementation of permitting provisions for grid and renewable energy projects and best practices
• Commitment from member states to strengthen their involvement in regional cooperation fora in order to accelerate the implementation of projects of common interest
• Regular open dialogue between ministries, regulatory authorities and TSOs and DSOs on adequate regulatory support for stakeholder engagement activities
• The necessary organisational conditions among all parties involved in permitting or stakeholder engagement processes aligned with the significant needs for grid deployment.

The Commission has commited to working closely with all parties adhering to the pact within the appropriate grid-related cooperation fora, such as the PCI Energy Days, the Energy Infrastructure Forum and the National Competent Authorities’ Platform (NCA Platform) in order to support its implementation.