The European Commission presented this Friday a proposal for electricity to represent double its current weight in the energy consumption of the European Union, currently stagnant around 23%, within a horizon of fourteen years. The plan involves easing the tax burden on this source compared to gas, generalizing smart meters, and accelerating the deployment of heat pumps, electric vehicles, and electricity-powered industrial solutions.
"We want prices to reflect reality: green is cheaper and smarter; dependence is expensive," emphasized the Vice President of the Community Executive for a Clean, Fair, and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, warning that each year of delay implies more costs, greater exposure to external crises, and new opportunities that slip away for the European economy.
With this initiative, the Community Executive seeks for electricity to gradually replace fossil fuels in factories, buildings, and transportation. To this end, it sets, among other objectives, that at least 50% of consumers have smart consumption measurement systems by 2030 and that electrical storage capacity reaches 200 gigawatts by that same date.
The proposal is based on the idea that increasing renewable and nuclear generation will not be enough if electricity does not gain weight in final consumption. Therefore, Brussels also wants to act on taxation, networks, and the cost of technologies such as heat pumps or electric cars, in order to make them more accessible.
"Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Europe has paid more than 50 billion euros additional for energy without receiving a single additional molecule," recalled the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jorgensen, who pointed out that this bill highlights the economic vulnerability generated by external dependence.
As he emphasized, the EU needs to replace "black, expensive, and polluting molecules" with "clean, cheap, and produced in Europe electrons," both to cut its fossil fuel imports and to strengthen competitiveness and advance in the fight against climate change.
Less taxes on electricity
One of the central pieces of the plan is that electricity should bear a lower tax burden than gas. Brussels considers that this tax difference is essential to correct the current imbalance between both sources and lower consumers' bills.
The Commission has also committed to presenting new proposals before the end of the year to gradually withdraw subsidies for fossil fuels, which it estimates at about 100 billion euros annually, understanding that public money should not continue to support energy dependence from abroad.
The community executive also proposes to make better use of existing network infrastructures through tariffs that encourage flexibility and motivate households and businesses to consume electricity at times when it is cheaper and the system is less strained.
With this approach, Brussels aims to avoid "unnecessary and costly" expansions of the networks and, at the same time, alleviate the costs borne by industries with energy-intensive consumption.
Electrifying industry
In the industrial sector, the Commission argues that it is already "technically possible" to replace fossil fuels with electricity in 60% of energy demand, thanks to solutions such as electric furnaces and boilers powered by this source.
To accelerate this process, the community executive will develop specific roadmaps by sectors and will try to facilitate companies' access to various low-carbon energy sources, in addition to allocating part of the revenues from the European emissions market to finance the transformation.
Heat pumps and electric vehicles
In homes, offices, and public buildings, Brussels wants to strongly promote the installation of heat pumps before 2030 and facilitate their financing to gradually replace gas boilers.
According to the calculations presented by Jorgensen, this replacement can cut the average heating bill of European homes by up to 60%, in addition to providing cooling capacity during the warmer months.
To achieve this, the Commission proposes to reduce the financial risk of investments and provide consumers with comparable budgets and information, so that they can more easily choose between the different available technologies.
The document also incorporates new support measures for electric vehicles and proposes to extend the social leasing programs that some member states are already applying, with the aim of facilitating access to cars and other electric mobility solutions for households with fewer resources.