Commission urges action on energy networks

21 September 2012


European Union countries need to speed up investment in their electricity and gas networks in order to prevent bottlenecks and help the region attain its energy infrastructure goals, according to a leaked European Commission report.

The draft report – seen by EU information website Euractiv.com – highlights ‘black spots’ on the EU energy infrastructure map and indicates a lack of progress in priority areas in spite of the availability of EU funding.

EU leaders agreed in 2011 that the 27-nation bloc’s energy infrastructure should be modernized and expanded in order to improve security of supply and insisted that no member state should be isolated from the European gas and electricity networks after 2015.

The report says that the Baltic countries need to improve electricity interconnections with European neighbours because of security of supply concerns, and that southern European countries need to expand cross-border capacity because of bottlenecks.

In the gas sector, countries such as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia remain on a gas ‘island’ because of a lack of interconnections, while countries in central and eastern Europe remain dependent on Russia for supplies, says the report.

The Commission’s report is based on information supplied by member states. It urges Estonia to continue development of electricity interconnections with Finland, and Latvia to strengthen its national grid. Bulgaria and Hungary are also urged to increase cross-border electricity capacity in order to boost international trade.

It also highlights the need for Germany to expand its north-south axis in order to meet electricity demand in the south of the country in the wake of nuclear plant shutdowns.




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