Category: European Union Electricity Market Glossary

Published: 01 January 2021

Last Updated: 12 April 2024

 

Regulation on Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E Regulation) is the Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013.

8 April 2024  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1041 of 28 November 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (the 6th ‘PCI list’) published in the EU Official Journal   12 March 2024 The European Parliament adopted an objection to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) of 28.11.2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (C(2023) 7930 final) 28 November 2023 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) of 28.11.2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (C(2023) 7930 final)   4 October 2023 ACER advises future improvements in the selection process of hydrogen PCIs/PMIs Preliminary list of electricity PCIs/PMIs (2023): ACER calls for greater transparency in the selection process and improvement of the methodologies used 23 June 2023 ACER unveils trio of publications on progress and regulatory treatment of European energy projects ACER Consolidated report on the progress of electricity and gas Projects of Common Interest found that the total cost of PCIs in 2023 is EUR 81.2 billion, which reflects a 10% increase compared to 2022.   23 February 2023 Public consultation on the update of ACER cross-border cost allocation (CBCA) Recommendation (PC_2023_EG_03) 25 January 2023 Framework Guidelines for the joint TYNDP scenarios to be developed by ENTSO for Electricity and ENTSO for Gas “TYNDP Scenarios Guidelines”

  

It was preceded by the Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009, which laid down harmonised European rules for the timely development and interoperability of trans-European energy networks (covering the EU and the European Economic Area). The provisions of the first TEN-E Regulation were based on the 2011 impact assessment, published by the European Commission on 19 October 2011, related to Decision No 1364/2006/EC establishing the first guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. The first TEN-E Regulation established a new approach to cross-border energy infrastructure planning.

The first TEN-E Regulation included a number of provisions, including:

• provisions on a process for the selection of projects of common interest (PCIs);
• provisions on (priority status in) permit-granting procedures and public participation;
• provisions on monitoring of project implementation;
• provisions on cross-border allocation of project costs and regulatory incentives; and
• provisions on eligibility for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Links   Projects of Common Interest, European Commission's website

It brought together stakeholders in regional groups to identify and help implement PCIs that contribute to the development of energy infrastructure priority corridors and thematic areas. In addition to an effective and cost-efficient approach to infrastructure planning, the regulation improved the permitting procedures. It required Member States to ensure a streamlined permit granting process for PCIs within a timeframe of 42 months for a permitting decision. They are to receive the highest national priority status and be included in national network development plans. The regulation also provided for regulatory assistance, rules and guidance for the cross-border allocation of costs and risk-related incentives, and provides access to financing opportunities from the CEF. 

As described in the Final report of January 2021 (Support to the evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 on guidelines for trans- European energy infrastructure) the Regulation sets out a new method for the planning of trans-European infrastructure. It defines broad infrastructure priority corridors and priority thematic areas (the priority thematic areas are development of smart grids, electricity highways and a cross-border carbon dioxide network) as well as building on strengths of regional cooperation to identify and implement the necessary projects. 

The said Report refers to 2011 impact assessment, which outlined the key problems remaining at the time relating to energy infrastructure investments. The length and ineffectiveness of permit-granting procedures for energy projects, the inefficient administrative procedures and the asymmetries between benefits and costs were identified as burdens for the policy objectives. 

The TEN-E Regulation sets out guidelines for streamlining the permitting processes for major energy infrastructure projects that contribute to European energy networks, referred to as projects of common interest (PCIs). These infrastructure projects are selected by the decision-making body (DMB) that consists of the decision-making powers in the 12 regional groups. The decision-making powers in the groups are restricted to Member States and the Commission. A regional group is composed of representatives from the Member States, the transmission systems operators (TSOs), the Commission, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the European Network of Transmission Systems Operators (ENTSO).

The TEN-E Regulation also lays down criteria for the identification of PCIs (9) and criteria for projects falling within specific energy infrastructure categories in order to improve the selection of projects to meet regional needs as well as to increase cooperation and transparency towards the public and wider stakeholder community. 

Moreover, the TEN-E Regulation establishes that PCIs are necessary to take forward EU energy networks policy and should be given the most rapid consideration that is legally possible in the permitting process. 

Furthermore PCIs can benefit from accelerated permitting, improved regulatory conditions and cost allocation, eligibility for financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and increased transparency. 

As estimated by the European Commission as of December 2020, since its adoption in 2013, the first TEN-E Regulation enabled the implementation of over 40 key energy infrastructure projects and further 75 projects were expected to be implemented by 2022. The financing support provided by CEF of EUR 4.7 billion in total enabled the implementation of 95 PCIs. 

Under the first TEN-E Regulation, since 2014, CEF provided financing to 149 actions of which 114 (EUR 519 million) for studies and 35 (EUR 4.2 billion) for works. Of the total budget of EUR 4.7 billion, EUR 1.5 billion were allocated to gas projects and EUR 2.8 billion to electricity projects. Around one fifth of all PCIs received CEF financial assistance for studies and/or works.

The 4th ‘PCI list’ published on 31 October 2019 contained 149 PCIs - PCIs were categorised by sector; the majority of list entries are electricity PCIs (100 projects), followed by gas PCIs (32), oil PCIs (6), smart grids PCIs (6) and carbon dioxide (CO2) PCIs.

 

European Commission Communication on the European Green Deal (COM(2019) 640) of December 2019 The transition to climate neutrality also requires smart infrastructure. Increased cross-border and regional cooperation will help achieve the benefits of the clean energy transition at affordable prices. The regulatory framework for energy infrastructure, including the TEN-E Regulation, will need to be reviewed to ensure consistency with the climate neutrality objective. This framework should foster the deployment of innovative technologies and infrastructure, such as smart grids, hydrogen networks or carbon capture, storage and utilisation, energy storage, also enabling sector integration. Some existing infrastructure and assets will require upgrading to remain fit for purpose and climate resilient.

 

TEN-E Regulation of 2022

 

Since the implementation of the first TEN-E Regulation, the policy context has shifted, as the emphasis on climate objectives has increased. European Green Deal of December 2019 (European Commission Communication COM(2019) 640) explicitly indicated the need for a review of the TEN-E Regulation to ensure consistency with climate neutrality objectives. The relevant procedure started in May 2020 when the European Commission published an inception impact assessment of a revision of the TEN-E Regulation to align the policy framework with the new policy context and in January 2021 Final Report “Support to the evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure”. The new TEN-E Regulation has been adopted on 30 May 2022 (Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013).

The 6th ‘PCI list’

 

On 8 April 2024 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1041 of 28 November 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest (the 6th ‘PCI list’) has been published in the EU Official Journal.

The Regulation is highly concentrated on hydrogen infrastructure, electrolysers, interconnectors, pipelines, storages, etc.

 

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