Source - European Grids Package COM2025-1005

European Grids Package — COM/2025/1005, presented by the European Commission on 10 December 2025. The package follows the EU Action Plan for Grids (COM/2023/757, November 2023) and responds to the Draghi report’s call for accelerated grid deployment.

Raw sources

• Raw/Clippings/European grids.md — EC DG ENER overview page (fully read)
• Raw/Clippings/EUR-Lex - 52025PC1006 - EN.md — COM(2025) 1006, proposal to revise TEN-E Regulation (partially read)
• Raw/Clippings/EUR-Lex - 52025PC1007 - EN.md — COM(2025) 1007, proposal to accelerate permitting (partially read)

Guidance documents (summarized from EC overview page; too large to read in full):

• Raw/Clippings/EUR-Lex - 52025XC06703 - EN.md — C/2025/8473 guidance on grid connections (introduction read)
• Raw/Clippings/EUR-Lex - 52025XC06701 - EN.md — C/2025/8479 guidance on 2-way CfDs (not read; covered by overview)

Package structure

The package consists of four instruments:

COM(2025) 1006 — Revised TEN-E Regulation

Repeals and replaces Regulation (EU) 2022/869. Amends: Regulation (EU) 2019/942 (ACER), Regulation (EU) 2019/943 (Electricity Market Regulation), Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 (Gas/Hydrogen).

Scale and investment need

• €1.2 trillion in T+D investment needed by 2040
• 41 of 88 GW of identified cross-border capacity needs will go unaddressed by 2030 under current trajectory
• Additional 108 GW cross-border capacity needed by 2040 (per 2024 TYNDP)
• EUR 6 bn/year in cross-border investment → EUR 14 bn/year reduction in system costs → EUR 8 bn/year net saving
• 27 million tonnes CO₂/year avoided by 2040 (by enabling better RES integration)

Key changes from current TEN-E

1. EU-level scenario development: Commission takes over central scenario development for the TYNDP (Ten-Year Network Development Plan) from ENTSO-E. Four-year cycle (replacing two-year cycle). Sweden/system operators objected: 41% disagreed with “top-down European approach” in stakeholder consultation.

2. Gap-filling mechanism: Commission empowered to launch calls for proposals to address identified infrastructure gaps — ensuring that all needs in the TYNDP translate into actual PCI/PMI project proposals.

3. Non-wire solutions in PCI scope: Non-wire alternatives (flexibility, storage) explicitly included in PCI eligibility categories. New definition of “non-wire solutions” introduced.

4. Broadened PCI scope: Internal reinforcements (not just cross-border) and digitalisation/monitoring equipment now eligible for PCI status.

5. Cross-border cost allocation (CBCA) reform: Enabling framework for voluntary bundling of multiple cross-border projects to facilitate cost-sharing among more member states. More transparent CBCA framework.

6. Congestion income use: Strengthened provisions enabling use of congestion income (flaskhalsinkomster) for financing cross-border electricity infrastructure — the restriction that Sweden objects to. Sweden seeks freedom to direct congestion revenues toward dispatchable fossil-free production instead.

7. Permitting improvements (within TEN-E framework): Overriding public interest presumption for PCIs; tacit approval for non-environmental decisions; digitalised permit procedures.

8. Security and resilience: Physical and cyber-risk assessments for PCIs (building on NIS2 and CER Directive). Transparency on ultimate beneficial owners of candidate PCIs/PMIs. Security criteria for exclusion of non-trusted actors.

9. Simplification: Mature PCIs may maintain status without reapplying each two-year cycle (provided conditions are met).

COM(2025) 1007 — Permitting acceleration directive

Amends three existing directives:

• RED III (Directive 2018/2001): permitting provisions (Arts. 2, 15c, 15d, 16–17)
• EMD (Directive 2019/944): authorisation procedures (Art. 8) with dedicated permitting acceleration; compensatory measures for biodiversity derogations (Art. 8a)
• Gas Directive (Directive 2024/1788): consistency alignment on authorisation procedures

Key new obligations

• Single digital portal: Member states must establish a national digital portal integrating all permitting steps for renewables, storage, and grid projects. Portal provides access to environmental/geological data.
• Overriding public interest: Electricity PCIs benefit from automatic overriding public interest presumption (removing case-by-case assessment).
• Tacit approval: Applies to most national authority decisions (except environmental decisions) — silence equals consent.
• Facilitator: Member states must designate and fund an independent facilitator to promote dialogue between project developers and the public.
• No large exclusion zones: Member states cannot designate large territories where renewables are a priori excluded for environmental reasons.
• Benefit-sharing: Member states must ensure a share of renewable project benefits reaches local citizens and communities.

Energy Highways

The package introduces 8 Energy Highways — priority cross-border infrastructure bottlenecks receiving targeted Commission support (financing leverage, streamlined permitting):

Nordic relevance: Harmony Link connects the Baltic states and reinforces energy independence — relevant to Nordic security of supply. Bornholm Energy Island transforms the Baltic Sea into an interconnector hub — directly adjacent to Swedish offshore wind zones. Sweden itself is not an Energy Highway beneficiary.

C/2025/8473 — Guidance on efficient and timely grid connections

Non-legislative but significant: provides a toolbox for member states, NRAs, TSOs and DSOs to address connection queues. Published 19 December 2025 (OJ C/2025/6703).

Context: At least 16 member states face grid connection queues as of mid-2025. Construction time for new infrastructure (4–10 years) far exceeds connection project time (2–3 years), creating structural queues. Slovakia estimate: 50% of reserved capacity is unused by speculative applications.

Root causes identified

1. Inadequate grid planning — reactive rather than anticipatory; insufficient non-wire alternative consideration; permit delays of 4–10 years; equipment delivery delays (wait to 2032 for some items)
2. Lack of transparency and locational signals — no visibility on where and when connections are feasible; no incentives for locating in areas of available capacity
3. Grid connection procedure weaknesses — speculative applications blocking real projects; ‘first-come first-served’ explicitly critiqued (does not reflect readiness); only 11 of 27 member states have fully digitalised procedures

Key recommendations (non-binding)

• First-ready, first-served: Replace first-come-first-served with readiness-based queue priority — applicants must demonstrate project maturity before reserving grid capacity
• Transparent maturity criteria: Clear, published milestones that projects must meet to maintain their queue position
• Development milestones with penalties: Projects that fail to reach milestones lose their queue position; DSOs/TSOs must have a mandate to clean the queue
• Regular queue monitoring and cleaning: Systematic removal of non-progressing applications
• Locational signals: Differentiated connection charges or network tariffs to steer connections toward areas of available capacity
• Art. 6a flexible connection agreements: Explicitly recommended as a tool for areas where physical capacity is constrained — enables connections with conditional curtailment rather than full refusal
• Anticipatory planning: References C/2025/3291 (Anticipatory Investments Guidance) — grid development should be based on future forecasts, not only existing requests

Direct Sweden parallel: The Swedish Ei ställningstaganden Ei2025:02 (connection process) and the Svk Anvisningssystem proposal both operate in the same problem space as this guidance — connection queue management, maturity criteria, and locational steering. (Source - Ei Ställningstaganden Anslutningsprocessen (Ei2025-02 till 05), Source - Svk Anslutningsprocessen Rapport (2026))

C/2025/8479 — Guidance on 2-way contracts for difference

Guidance for member states on designing 2-way CfDs between power-generating installation operators and a public counterpart. Draws on the design criteria in Reg 2019/943 Art. 19d and RED III, both amended by the EMD Reform 2024.

Context: Art. 19d of Reg 2019/943 (as amended by Regulation 2024/1747) requires that from 2027, public interventions for new investment in electricity generation use 2-way CfDs. The guidance provides practical design criteria for EU countries.

Relevance: Sweden’s policy debate on whether to use CfDs (kontrakt for differens) for dispatchable fossil-free capacity (kärnkraft, vattenkraft, bio-CHP) intersects with this guidance. See Svenska kraftnät › Strategy 2030 (capacity mechanisms in förflyttningsområde “Framtidens elmarknad”) and Source - SOU 2025-47 Elmarknadsutredningen (2025) (strategic reserve preferred over market-wide capacity mechanism).

Swedish controversy — the nätpaketet conflict

COM(2025) 1006 is the instrument at the center of Sweden’s nätpaketet dispute:

Sweden’s two objections to PC1006:

1. Flaskhalsinkomster (congestion revenues): PC1006’s provisions enabling use of congestion income for cross-border financing are read by Sweden as restricting member states from using congestion revenues for other purposes (e.g., supporting dispatchable fossil-free generation). Sweden’s stated position (Energy Minister Ebba Busch): congestion revenues should remain available for national energy policy objectives.
2. EU-level system planning centralization: The Commission taking over central scenario development (replacing ENTSO-E’s bottom-up process) is seen as excessive centralization of infrastructure planning.

Consequence: In Regeringsbeslut I:6 (KN2026/01027, 7 May 2026), the Swedish government ordered Svk to exclude three planned HVDC projects (Konti-Skan Connect, Aurora Line 2, Fenno-Skan 3) from its revised investment plan — using national investment decisions as leverage in the nätpaketet negotiations. (Source - Svk Utlandskablar Uppdrag Reviderad Investeringsplan (2026))

Relation to other wiki content

• Electric Power Transmission — investment scale; Energy Highways; HVDC interconnectors
• Congestion Management — 2-way CfDs; congestion income use; cross-border cost allocation
• Distribution System Operator — grid connections guidance; Art. 6a flexible connections; queue management
• Distribution Network Development Plan — grid connections guidance; anticipatory planning requirement
• Svenska kraftnät — nätpaketet controversy; paused HVDC projects; Harmony Link and Bornholm relevance
• Flow-Based Capacity Calculation — EU-level TYNDP and national planning coordination
• Source - EU Grid Action Plan COM2023-757 — predecessor document (Nov 2023) that led to this package