The European Commission has last week launched a public consultation on digitalizing the energy sector as part of the preparation of a Commission Action Plan on the Digitalization of the energy system, due for publication in the first semester of 2022. The EC already received over 40 comments from companies and business associations. Here are some of the proposals from Eurelectric, the federation for the European electricity industry, representing the power sector in over 32 European countries, with more than 3,500 companies in power generation, distribution and supply.
Eurelectric urges the Commission to focus its Action Plan on electricity, given the growing importance of electrification needed to reach the 2030 and 2050 climate and energy objectives. Prioritizing direct electrification is crucial to enable the decarbonization of emerging and established industries, as well as the development of smarter, cleaner, and more integrated energy systems. In addition, digitalization – by redrawing boundaries and redefining relationships between consumers and utilities – enables the technological development and commercialization of crucial flexibility, demand-side, storage solutions and services.
To foster the digitalization and the sector integration of energy carriers, the Action Plan must foster active participation of end-users across energy systems, highlights Eurelectric. The federation mentions 11 actions deemed essential to support the electricity industry on its path towards digitalization. Among the first, Eurelectric mentions developing a European data-sharing infrastructure (aligned with the interoperability requirements and procedures of Art.23/24 of the Electricity Directive) empowering network operators to ensure consistent and neutral data management practices.
Eurelectric insists on promoting the deployment of advanced metering infrastructure providing accurate consumption and generation data, but also on “avoiding compulsory data sharing schemes that may lead to unfair competition”. As recommended in the EU Strategy for data, “to develop competitive markets for digital energy services, the sharing of privately-held data should be done on a voluntary basis”, considers Eurelectric.
The federation also promotes facilitating the development and deployment of interoperability measures and European cloud offerings enhancing the scaling up and uptake of digital climate-neutral piloted solutions. In this regard, the SWIPO codes of conduct must be sustained to increase trust in European cloud offerings believes Eurelectric.