The European Commission is pushing for a fundamental overhaul of how Europe plans and builds its power grids. Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned MEPs that the problem is far from trivial: the current system risks wasting vast amounts of renewable electricity. He discussed and fielded questions on the European Grids Package before the ITRE committee on Wednesday.
Appearing before the Parliament’s industry, research and energy (ITRE) committee, Mr Jørgensen argued that the EU’s rapid expansion of renewable energy — from offshore wind in the North Sea to solar power in southern Europe — is essentially outpacing its ability to move electricity to where it is needed, driving price disparities and straining the system.
“By 2040, up to 310 terawatt hours of renewable energy could go to waste,” he said, describing the figure as “nearly half of electricity consumption in 2023”, adding: “Imagine that. Half of all the energy that we use in one year could be wasted if we don’t do something.”
What the package does
Proposed by the Commission in December, the European Grids Package is intended to address mounting bottlenecks in Europe’s electricity infrastructure as renewable generation accelerates. The initiative aims to overhaul how transmission and distribution networks are planned and built across the EU, with a stronger coordinating role for Brussels in cross-border infrastructure, faster permitting procedures, and greater integration of security considerations into grid design and operation.
By 2040, up to 310 terawatt hours of renewable energy could go to waste. – Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen
At its core, the package seeks to ensure that renewable electricity can flow more freely across borders, reducing regional price differences, supporting industrial competitiveness and advancing the EU’s energy union.
A shift in planning logic
Mr Jørgensen framed the proposal as a response to the limits of existing bottom-up planning, in which grid investments are largely driven by national decisions and voluntary coordination. He said the Commission would develop a central EU-wide scenario to identify what infrastructure is needed, where and when, arguing that fragmented approaches were no longer fit for purpose.
According to Commission estimates, better coordination of infrastructure planning across countries and sectors could save more than €560bn by 2050, largely by avoiding inefficient or delayed investments.
You might be interested
As a priority, the package identifies eight strategic “energy highways” stretching across the EU — from the Baltic Sea to Cyprus and from south-eastern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula — targeting regions where weak interconnections are holding back the flow of cheaper electricity.
Investment scale — and where the money comes from
The Commissioner acknowledged the scale of the investment challenge, estimating that around €1.2tn would be needed between now and 2041 to modernise and expand Europe’s grids. But he rejected suggestions that the cost would fall primarily on taxpayers.
“We need to invest €1.2 trillion from now to 2041 — €1.2 trillion,” Jørgensen said. “The numbers are massive, but this is not money that needs to come from the EU budget or national budgets.”
Instead, he argued that most funding would come from private investors, with public money used selectively to de-risk projects, particularly for cross-border infrastructure and new technologies. “When we use public money to de-risk investments, one euro can become five, ten or even fifteen euros of investment,” he said.
Security context
The discussion took place against a broader security backdrop, with wars such as Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine underscoring how exposed energy infrastructure can be to disruption and attack. Jørgensen said Europe’s cross-border grid connections have become “strategic targets” and argued that security considerations must be integrated into the design, approval and monitoring of major infrastructure projects.
The numbers are massive, but this is not money that needs to come from the EU budget or national budgets. – Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen
Early political pushback
MEPs broadly welcomed the focus on grids but quickly pressed the Commission on costs, governance and national autonomy.
Romanian centre-right MEP Daniel Popescu (EPP) highlighted stark electricity price differences in south-eastern Europe, arguing that insufficient interconnections — rather than a lack of generation — were driving high prices. He questioned who would ultimately bear the cost of the investment, warning that critics of the plan estimate the bill at around €500bn and fear the costs could be passed on to consumers through network charges.
Mr Jørgensen ruled out coercion, citing treaty limits on EU powers over national energy mixes, but argued that centralised planning, cost-sharing mechanisms and EU funding tools such as the Connecting Europe Facility for energy could create incentives to deliver key projects.
S&D MEPs echoed concerns about price disparities and delays, pressing the Commission on how EU-level coordination would align with national and regional plans without undermining Member State authority — a balance the Commissioner insisted the package was designed to strike.
What comes next
The exchange highlighted both the scale of the challenge facing Europe’s electricity system and the political sensitivities surrounding deeper EU involvement in energy infrastructure. Further scrutiny of the proposal is expected as Parliament develops its position in the coming months, with costs, governance and regional impacts likely to dominate the debate.
