EASE reply to Public Consultation to ACER on the introduction of voluntary templates for power purchase agreement contracts in the EU energy market.
December 2024 / Policy Papers - Responses to Public Consultations
The European Union's Flexibility Needs Assessment Methodology
Significant challenges lie ahead to make the electricity system more flexible to integrate variable renewables and achieve a cost-efficient path to meet the European Union’s decarbonisation objectives. The deployment of energy storage technologies will grow significantly and play an indispensable role in this transformation. A deeper understanding of evolving flexibility needs and the role of storage in addressing them is essential.
The Electricity Market Design Reform (EMDR) tasked the DSO Entity and ENTSO-E with developing a methodology to analyse flexibility needs. A draft proposal of this methodology is currently under consultation before its submission to ACER for possible amendments and approval. Once finalised, TSOs and DSOs will apply the methodology to analyse flexibility needs, producing results that will inform national reports prepared by National Regulatory Authorities or other designated entities. Based on these reports, Member States will set indicative targets for non-fossil flexibility, including specific sub-targets for energy storage. Developing a robust methodology is crucial to ensure policymakers receive accurate and actionable insights.
EASE’s response provides detailed comments on specific Articles of the draft methodology, while broader remarks are addressed in the last question addressing general feedback.
EASE responds to the European Commission’s Public Consultation on the European Grids Package, calling for clearer guidance and obligations on flexibility assessments in planning processes. This includes common methodologies, improved DSO-TSO coordination, and enhanced grid connection procedures. Storage should be considered a standard resource for grid services and reflected accordingly in system planning, cost-benefit analyses, and network development scenarios.
The European Commission has recently launched a stakeholder consultation on its upcoming guidance regarding grid connections in situations where capacity constraints exist. In response, EASE urged reforms to tackle stalled “ghost” projects blocking viable energy storage. Key recommendations include a “first-ready, first-served” model, transparent grid data, and more flexible rules to accelerate the clean energy transition.
On 27 May 2025, over 200 participants attended the webinar on the "EASE Guidelines on Safety Best Practices for Battery Energy Storage Systems". The Guidelines are designed to support the safe deployment of outdoor, utility-scale lithium-ion (Li-ion) BESS across Europe.
Energy storage is a key enabler of the European Union’s decarbonisation and energy security objectives, yet current grid fee structures often act as barriers to its deployment. This position paper outlines critical challenges related to network tariffs and charges that create market distortions and discourage much-needed investments in flexibility.
