The cost-efficient sharing of resources between Member States could save European consumers 8 billion euros annually by 2030 by reducing the need for investment in new resources to keep the lights on, according to the European Commission’s estimates. However, these benefits will largely remain unexploited if Member States continue with the current, uncoordinated practice of assessing resource adequacy at the national level, which often understates or ignores entirely the benefits of delivering the same level of reliability with regional resources.

In its Clean Energy for All Europeans Package, the Commission proposed a Europe-wide resource adequacy assessment for establishing realistic levels of supply security in Member States. The European Parliament endorsed the proposal, but the European Council effectively rejected it in favour of the status quo. From the positions of the two institutions it is clear that a compromise will be required.

The authors of this policy brief recommend the establishment of regional resource assessments as the ideal method and elegant solution for most effectively assessing security of supply and realising the significant benefits of a more coordinated approach. Regional assessments would help to enhance the quality and consistency of the assessments, including the assumptions for the contribution of interconnectors to security of supply.

The Regional Operational Centres would be ideally placed to drive a stronger regional focus, given their nature as cooperative undertakings of national transmission system operators and the scope of their activities. They would operate in close cooperation with the national transmission system operators and regulators of the region. This approach would ensure that both the national perspective and European market dimension are appropriately taken into consideration and that the concept of shared responsibility for security becomes a reality.