Energy Update: EU Proposes Reforms To Electricity Network Tariffs, Smart Metering And Grid Access

The European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation as regards future-proofing electricity bills through reducing system costs and fostering electrification and digitalisation.

The proposal provides that special tariff regimes are allowed for specific categories of user (energy-intensive industries, data centres, energy communities), provided regulators can demonstrate the relative impact of consumption profiles on overall network costs, and cost-reflectivity is respected. (The Commission’s earlier guidelines are relevant). The proposal indicates that optimal location, time-of-use and consumption profiles of data centres can support efficient connection and integration into the electricity system. This should be incentivised in network tariffs, particularly when data centres render services to the energy system (flexibility, storage, clean energy production).