The regulators’ perspective for a secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity system in 2030 and beyond

Tsvetelina Penkova, EEF President, emphasized the importance of balancing security, sustainability, and affordability in Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality. She called for regulatory certainty to ensure stable and predictable energy systems that address consumer and industry concerns about high prices. Regulatory frameworks must promote transparency and competition while integrating all resources to guarantee low costs and reliability.

Jana Haasová, Vice-President, CEER outlined the organization’s role in creating a unified, competitive, and sustainable energy market. CEER serves as a collaborative platform for Europe’s national regulatory authorities and ensures independence from political and commercial influence, which is critical for building public trust. Haasová elaborated on CEER’s commitment to consumer protection, framed by the ASPIRE principles: Affordability, Simplicity, Protection, Inclusiveness, Reliability, and Empowerment. CEER’s work includes fostering market integration, monitoring consumer engagement, and adapting to the increasing complexity of Europe’s energy systems.

Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, Executive Director of E-Control, explored the technical and infrastructural challenges of decarbonizing energy markets. With renewable energy sources like solar and hydropower becoming dominant, the volatility of energy production has increased. He illustrated this issue with examples from Austria, where excessive energy production on sunny days necessitates innovative storage solutions such as pumped hydro and seasonal storage systems. Urbantschitsch highlighted the critical role of digitalization in managing energy supply and demand, with tools like smart meters enabling real-time price signals for consumers. He also called for a Pan-European approach to infrastructure planning and energy integration, urging collaboration between national regulators, transmission system operators, and governments to enhance flexibility and efficiency.

Oliver Koch, Deputy Head of Unit, DG ENER discussed how regulators’ roles have expanded from market access to include renewable integration and decarbonization. He stressed the importance of maintaining regulatory independence while focusing on implementing existing laws rather than creating excessive new ones. Mr. Koch highlighted the EU’s market coupling system, which integrates 27 national energy markets, as a key achievement for improving affordability, efficiency, and decarbonization, particularly during the 2022 energy crisis. However, he noted challenges like underutilized infrastructure and limited interconnectivity. Finally, he also emphasized digitalization, with tools like smart meters enabling demand-side flexibility and helping consumers optimize energy use based on price signals.

Paul Rübig, Administrator, ACER emphasized the critical need for comprehensive mapping of energy production capacities over the next 3 to 10 years to effectively address the dramatically increasing demand for electricity. He notes that this growth is driven by advancements like high-performance computing, heat pumps, and electric vehicles, predicting that electricity needs may increase three to fivefold by 2050. Mr. Rübig also underscored the importance of cross-border financing for the energy transition, suggesting that the Connecting Europe Facility could play a pivotal role if equipped with the right incentives. Additionally, he calls for streamlined regulatory processes to accelerate the development of energy storage facilities and hydropower plants, highlighting the interconnectedness of energy, water, and food systems in addressing poverty and ensuring sustainable development in Europe.

During the Q&A session, several key issues were raised, including the importance of preserving marginal pricing in the electricity market, the potential need for new legislation on demand-side flexibility and the call for a more integrated approach to energy solutions.