Austria: EU authorizes Electricity Reserve

Austria receives approval from the European Commission to create a network reserve for its electricity market.|Austria receives approval from the European Commission to create a network reserve for its electricity market.

Share:

Austria receives authorization from the European Commission to ensure the security of its electricity supply.
The country can now create a grid reserve for its electricity market.

Austria will be able to create a network reserve

The European Commission has delivered its verdict on Austria’s application for state aid.
Austria will now be able to create a grid reserve for the electricity market.
Austria’s 2020 application is part of its system for managing congestion on the electricity grid.
Austria wishes to have sufficient electricity capacity to eliminate bottlenecks in the transmission network.
The European Commission’s agreement will enable Austria to make its electricity network more fluid.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for competition policy, says:

“The Austrian network reserve authorized today will enable Austria to guarantee security of electricity supply.”

A complex decision by the European Commission

The European Commission had to decide whether Austria’s project complied with the competition rules in force.
It found that the state aid for the project was proportionate and limited to the minimum necessary.
It noted that distortions of competition were minimal, as the tenders would be open to a large number of bidders.
The Commission also found that the Austrian project was necessary to preserve the country’s electricity grid.
Indeed, Austria’s electricity network is facing numerous structural congestion problems.
The European Commission therefore concluded that the project was in line with EU rules.

Towards a competitive bidding process

Network reserves will be sold through a competitive bidding process.
It will be organized by the transmission system operator.
This reserve will not be able to participate in the market for the duration of its network reserve contract. Austrian Power Grid (APG), the Austrian transmission system operator, has announced its intention to maintain electricity activities in Austria.
To this end, it will pay power plant operators who wish to cease operations to continue.
Indeed, they will be useful in maintaining the balance of the power grid.
Foreign power plants, mainly in Italy and Germany, will also have to be used to maintain grid balance.
If requested by the transmission system operator, they will have to increase or decrease their output.

Final energy consumption in the European industrial sector dropped by 5% in 2023, reaching a level not seen in three decades, with renewables taking a growing role in certain key segments.
Réseau de transport d’électricité is planning a long-term modernisation of its infrastructure. A national public debate will begin on September 4 to address implementation methods, challenges and conditions.
The Spanish Parliament has rejected a package of reforms aimed at preventing another major power outage, plunging the national energy sector into uncertainty and revealing the fragility of the government's majority.
The U.S. government has supported Argentina’s request for a temporary suspension of an order to hand over its stake in YPF, a 16.1 billion USD judgment aimed at satisfying creditors.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency extends compliance deadlines for coal-fired power plant operators regarding groundwater monitoring and the closure of waste ponds.
Eskom aims to accelerate its energy transition through a new dedicated unit, despite a USD22.03bn debt and tariff uncertainties slowing investment.
Several major U.S. corporations announce investments totaling nearly USD 90 billion to strengthen energy infrastructure in Pennsylvania, aimed at powering data centers vital to the rapid growth of the artificial intelligence sector.
Nearly USD92bn will be invested by major American and international groups in new data centres and energy infrastructure, responding to the surge in electricity demand linked to the rise of artificial intelligence.
Nouakchott has endured lengthy power interruptions for several weeks, highlighting the financial and technical limits of the Mauritanian Electricity Company as Mauritania aims to widen access and green its mix by 2030.
Between 2015 and 2024, four multilateral climate funds committed nearly eight bn USD to clean energy, attracting private capital through concessional terms while Africa and Asia absorbed more than half of the volume.
The Global Energy Policies Hub shows that strategic reserves, gas obligations, cybersecurity and critical-mineral policies are expanding rapidly, lifting oil coverage to 98 % of world imports.
According to a report by Ember, the Chinese government’s appliance trade-in campaign could double residential air-conditioner efficiency gains in 2025 and trim up to USD943mn from household electricity spending this year.
Washington is examining sectoral taxes on polysilicon and drones, two supply chains dominated by China, after triggering Section 232 to measure industrial dependency risks.
The 2025-2034 development plan presented by Terna includes strengthening Sicily’s grid, new interconnections, and major projects to support the region’s growing renewable energy capacity.
Terna and NPC Ukrenergo have concluded a three-year partnership in Rome aimed at strengthening the integration of the Ukrainian grid into the pan-European system, with an in-depth exchange of technological and regulatory expertise.
GE Vernova has secured a major contract to modernise the Kühmoos substation in Germany, enhancing grid reliability and integration capacity for power flows between Germany, France and Switzerland.
The National Energy System Operator forecasts electricity demand to rise to 785 TWh by 2050, underlining the need to modernise grids and integrate more clean energy to support the UK’s energy transition.
Terna has signed a guarantee agreement with SACE and the European Investment Bank to finance the Adriatic Link project, totalling approximately €1bn ($1.08bn) and validated as a major transaction under Italian regulations.
India unveils a series of reforms on oil and gas contracts, introducing a fiscal stability clause to enhance the sector’s attractiveness for foreign companies and boost its growth ambitions in upstream energy.
The European Commission is launching a special fund of EUR2.3bn ($2.5bn) to boost Ukraine’s reconstruction and attract private capital to the energy and infrastructure sectors.