The tasks facing Europe’s DSOs in 2025

The DSO Entity work programme for DSOs for 2025 envisages grids remaining high on the agenda and the shift in focus from the Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal.

In its Annual Work Programme 2025 publication, the DSO Entity points to 2025 as a special year as the first full year of the EU’s new legislative term and importantly will be decisive for reaching the landmark 2030 energy and climate ambitions.

While the broader strategic priorities and concrete next actions in the energy sector are still to be defined, the DSO Entity envisages that its mandated task and activities will continue to grow.

Recent activities on the grids indicate that the momentum is here to stay, while the shift from the ‘sustainability’ dimension towards the ‘competitiveness’ and ‘security’ dimensions will be solidified in the forthcoming Clean Industrial Deal that will take over from the Green Deal.

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Apart from this flagship project, other new initiatives are expected to be relevant for DSOs and the DSO Entity, including the electrification action plan, the roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector, a clean energy investment strategy and a citizens energy package to increase citizens’ participation.

The three core activities of the DSO Entity are the development of technical rules such as network codes, close cooperation with ENTSO-E and knowledge sharing of good practices that take place primarily through the expert groups and task forces.

Special projects

Three special projects started in 2024 are due to continue in 2025 – the completion of the remaining tasks of the grid action plan, the integration of the gas and hydrogen DSOs into the DSO Entity and dissemination and follow-up works on the technical vision.

The main outstanding action point in the grid action plan is AP6 on the development of a common definition on grid hosting capacity with ENTSO-E and the development of guidance and recommendations to digitalise and streamline procedures for grid connection requests.

Also, some action points that were already delivered will be further explored in 2025, such as AP13 on the supply chains where a roadmap was agreed.

The integration of the gas and hydrogen DSOs into the DSO Entity is involving an overhaul of the structure and governance with revision of the statutes and various rules and requires close coordination with existing DSO Entity members, as well as with the four European gas associations (viz Eurogas, GD4S, Geode, Cedec) to ensure a mutually acceptable and welcomed outcome.

The aim is to have the documents ready for the European Commission and ACER by the end of Q1, for their review and the preparatory work on board elections and the entry of new members in Q2 and 3 and for these to take place in Q4 towards operational launch in Q1 2026.

With this there will be a single organisation for DSOs, but separate ones for electricity, gas and hydrogen TSOs.

The dissemination of the technical vision, part of the knowledge sharing strategy, is aimed to ensure that it is widely understood and its recommendations are included in the elaborations of European stakeholders.

In 2025 an additional knowledge sharing strategy is proposed with a focus on the implementation of the Green Deal and upcoming new initiatives as part of the future Clean Industrial Deal.

“In 2025, DSO Entity, together with its more than 830 diverse and engaged members and in close cooperation with ENTSO-E, will continue to work towards the delivery of a decarbonised European energy system,” the organisation states in the document.

“By joining forces, we hope to accomplish our part in this transition by empowering customers, facilitating the integration of renewables and, most importantly, providing a reliable electricity distribution to European households, businesses and industries.”

Originally published on Enlit.World.