Our organisations are all strong advocates for European policies that give citizens and businesses control over their energy future through efficient, competitive and digital solutions. Demand-side flexibility and system efficiency are remarkable resources that not only benefits and empowers consumers, but also reduces total system demands and costs, enables renewables integration and contributes to building Europe’s clean and smart energy leadership. The National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) foreseen by the Governance Regulation are an excellent opportunity to unleash its potential and address structural market failures in this area. Because they will shape national energy policies for the next decade, they can be the cornerstone of the New Deal for Energy Consumers promised by the Clean Energy Package for all Europeans. However, most draft plans submitted so far by Member States fall short of this objective. They usually lack a proper assessment of system flexibility challenges and of the necessary infrastructure investments for energy grids and, especially for the local distribution network levels. Neither do they provide estimation of current and expected development of demand-side resources to match those current and future needs. They further fail to identify entry barriers and often assume that the market for these solutions will develop on its own.Not delivering this demand-side potential would undermine Europe’s decarbonisation efforts and limit its competitiveness in developing this important industry sector. NECPs represent a straightforward and immediate first step to grasp growth opportunities associated to its development. By putting in place concrete policies, Member States have a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of a clean energy system based on end-consumer empowerment.
Smart Energy EU 13th Feb 2019 read more »
