EU proposal to future-proof electricity bills and grid access

The European Commission has proposed a regulation to future-proof electricity bills by reducing system costs, improving grid efficiency, and supporting electrification and digitalisation.

• The proposal covers network charges, smart grids, energy data exchange, smart meters, taxation, and grid connection measures; it includes a minimum smart meter trajectory of 50% by end-2030 and 75% by end-2033, plus measures on grid data sharing and connection prioritisation.
• It is a Commission staff working document accompanying COM(2026) 600 final / SWD(2026) 600 final dated 17 July 2026; it is primarily an announcement/proposal and impact explanation, not a report of a completed deal.
• The text cites multiple quantified impacts, including EUR 600 billion in grid investments by 2030, EUR 1.2 trillion by 2040, and examples such as EUR 22.5 billion potential savings in the Netherlands and EUR 7 billion TSO savings in France over 15 years.
• It also states that tariffs could be adjusted for data centers and other energy-intensive users, and that data centers can provide grid flexibility through cooling, batteries, backup generators and workload shifting.