10 September 2024
WindEurope response to European Commission consultation on anticipatory investments
The Electricity Market Regulation mandates System Operators to adapt their network tariff methodologies to enable the monetisation of long-term – anticipatory – investments in their grids build-out, optimisation and flexibility. By Q1 2025, the European Commission will publish guidance to support Member States in identifying conditions under which they should be granting anticipatory investments in grid projects. Currently there is no common definition of “anticipatory grid investments” at EU level.
In this context, the European Commission invited stakeholders to reply to a survey. In our response, along with other recommendations we propose the following definition for anticipatory investments:
Anticipatory investments in electricity grid infrastructure are proactive, long-term investments made with a forward-looking approach beyond 10 years to ensure timely grid development that:
- can deliver grid capacity underpinning national/EU energy and climate targets including announced national/EU targets for renewable energy deployment and electrification
- realistically considers supply chain readiness and lead times
- accounts for the cost of inaction in terms of climate and energy targets achievement paid by consumers and network users
- accounts for costs and risks currently bore by network users such as generators and system operators
