Today, ACER publishes its fifth report on cross-border cost allocation (CBCA) decisions for electricity and gas infrastructure projects.

Covering 50 decisions made between 2014 and 2024, the report provides insights into how these decisions, issued by national regulators, determine the cost distribution of major cross-border projects and support project development.

How cross-border cost allocation works

Cross-border cost allocation is a mechanism designed to fairly distribute the investment costs of projects of common interest (PCIs) and projects of mutual interest (PMIs) among the countries involved. It aims to support project implementation, especially in cases where some countries would otherwise bear significantly higher costs than the benefits the project provides.

Project promoters submit investment requests to national regulatory authorities, who review them and issue CBCA decisions to determine how project costs should be shared among involved countries. This cost-sharing arrangement is required for projects to receive financial support through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a major funding programme that supports the development of strategic infrastructure across Europe. 

ACER monitors all submitted investment requests and decisions taken by national regulators and regularly reports on emerging trends.  

What trends did ACER monitoring find? 

ACER’s report shows:

• Fewer decisions overall: The number of CBCA decisions fell by around 65% in the second half of the monitoring period (2019-2024). This reflects a drop in the number of PCIs included in the EU project lists, partly due to completion of major energy infrastructure projects, but also the phase-out of natural gas and Brexit, which made several projects ineligible for inclusion in the PCI lists.
• Costs stay national in most cases: Member States usually agree to cover their own costs, as each one benefits sufficiently from the project.
• Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is the key driver: Access to grants, not the need to share costs, is the main reason project promoters submit investment requests. 
• No CBCA decisions yet for hydrogen: The sector is still in an early stage of development, but with hydrogen projects becoming eligible for inclusion in the PCI and PMI lists since 2023, CBCA decisions are expected in the coming years.

ACER’s 2025 retail energy country sheets offer a concise overview of the national electricity and gas markets across EU Member States and Norway. For the first time, the country sheets cover both sectors, presenting: 

• market and competition metrics for electricity and gas; 
• consumer trends (including contract types, contract switching rates and bill breakdown); 
• progress towards enabling more flexible consumers (through smart meter roll-out, prosumer participation, deployment of electric vehicles and heat pumps, and biomethane production); and
• a high-level assessment highlighting each market’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). 

ACER has also updated its retail pricing dashboard, which shows monthly changes in household energy prices across EU Member States and Norway from January 2019 to June 2025.

What are the main findings in retail markets?

Electricity market

• Smart meters, a key enabler for demand-side flexibility, are largely in place across the EU, but roll-out levels vary among EU Member States and Norway. In half of EU Member States, deployment has reached 80%, while in 7, deployment remains below 20% (or no data was provided). 
• Although 2024 saw an increased number of hours with low wholesale electricity prices (below €5/MWh), fixed price and/or regulated contracts still dominate in 15 Member States at the household level. This widespread uptake limits consumers’ exposure to real-time price signals, preventing cost savings and hindering more innovative and flexible contracts. The limited adoption of dynamic-price contracts suggests that demand-side flexibility potential remains untapped.
• In 21 Member States, prosumers account for between 1% and 10% of households. The highest shares are observed in Belgium (22%) and the Netherlands (30%). 

Gas market

• 82% of residential energy consumption is used for space and water heating, underlining the importance of energy efficiency and building renovation strategies to support decarbonisation.
• A decline in gas demand has been recorded in 21 Member States since 2022, while biomethane production remains relatively low.

Market structure

• Both electricity and gas retail markets show moderate to high concentration across the EU, meaning a small number of suppliers hold a large share of the national market. 
• 20 Member States either recorded low switching rates (below 10%) or did not provide data, indicating limited competition or low consumer engagement.

The country sheets complement ACER’s retail Monitoring Report (coming in November).

Retail prices: Latest trends from ACER’s dashboard 

ACER’s retail pricing dashboard highlights the main trends in household electricity and gas prices. 

• Electricity prices across Europe stabilised by June 2025, ending the decline observed since early spring. Spain and Portugal recorded the sharpest monthly rises (+7% and +6%, respectively), followed by more moderate increases in Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. In contrast, prices declined in Norway (-7%), Estonia (-3%), and in Belgium, Latvia, Sweden and Lithuania (-2%). Most other countries recorded no change. On an annual basis, EU household electricity prices rose by approximately 3%.

• Retail gas prices also remained largely stable, with minor monthly changes: Belgium and Portugal registered small increases (+1%), while Italy recorded the largest decrease (-4%), followed by France and Latvia (-2%), and the Netherlands, Estonia and Austria (-1%). While retail gas prices remained unchanged month-on-month in most Member States, retail offers were approximately 7% higher than those available during the same period last year. 

What are the main trends in wholesale gas markets? Prices remained elevated year-on-year but showed little monthly change, despite volatility driven by global trade and security shocks. More information is available in ACER’s monitoring report on key developments in gas wholesale markets report, published today.

Following a consultation process launched in March 2025, ACER has concluded that implementing peak-shaving products in the EU electricity market under normal conditions would bring more challenges than advantages.  

What are peak-shaving products?

Peak-shaving products are market-based tools that enable market participants to reduce their electricity consumption (during peak demand periods) in exchange for compensation.

Under the 2024 Electricity Market Design (EMD) Regulation, the Council of the EU can declare a regional or EU-wide crisis if wholesale electricity prices become excessively high. In such cases, Member States can direct system operators to use peak-shaving products to reduce power demand, helping stabilise the grid and lower prices.

Why an ACER assessment?

The EMD Regulation mandates ACER to assess the potential impact of developing peak-shaving products on Europe’s electricity market under normal (e.g. non-crisis) conditions. ACER’s assessment evaluates whether these products can be introduced without disrupting the normal functioning of electricity markets or redirecting demand response services towards peak-shaving products.

To strengthen its assessment, ACER engaged with more than 40 stakeholders, including through an Expert Group and a public consultation (spring 2025). 

What are ACER’s conclusions?

ACER’s assessment shows that the drawbacks of introducing peak-shaving products in the EU electricity market under normal conditions outweigh the potential benefits. Therefore, ACER does not recommend amending the existing legal framework to allow their use outside of electricity price crisis situations. Key concerns identified include:

• reduced overall socio-economic benefits;
• distorted cross-border competition; and
• weakened investment incentives for market-based demand response and flexibility.

In its assessment, ACER also provides recommendations to support Members States in implementing peak-shaving products during electricity price crises. These recommendations aim to enhance the products’ effectiveness and minimise any unintended consequences.

What’s next?

Based on ACER’s assessment, the European Commission will decide whether to propose amendments to the Electricity Regulation to allow peak-shaving products outside of electricity price crisis situations.

ACER is establishing a new European Stakeholder Group on demand response in the electricity sector. We invite associations that could offer a pan-European perspective on electricity markets to join. 

What’s the background?

On 7 March 2025, ACER submitted its proposal for a new EU-wide network code on demand response to the European Commission, in line with its framework guideline.

ACER’s proposal sets out common rules to ensure that demand response resources (such as consumers, storage providers and distributed generation) can fully participate in wholesale electricity markets, providing flexibility to the grid.

To support the implementation of these rules, ACER committed to coordinating stakeholder engagement on demand response topics by establishing a new dedicated European Stakeholder Group.

What will the demand response group do? 

The Demand Response European Stakeholder Group (DRESG) will act as an EU-level platform where ACER, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and the EU Distribution System Operators Entity (EU DSO Entity) engage with stakeholders on key matters of demand response. The group will focus on:

• discussing proposals for terms and conditions or methodologies required by the new network code;
• addressing broader issues related to demand response; and
• supporting the practical implementation of the network code.

Through this new stakeholder group, participating associations will:

• Monitor the implementation progress of the code, including how newly established processes function at local, regional and EU level.
• Share views and feedback on the code’s implementation, ensuring stakeholder input is taken into account.
• Support more informed decision-making on the methodologies and rules to be developed under the code.

By doing so, the group will support the flexibility required by the EU electricity system (increasingly powered by renewable energy), strengthening energy security and advancing the EU’s transition to clean energy.

Who can join?

Associations that could offer pan-European views on demand response in electricity markets are encouraged to apply. Bring your insights to the table and ensure that your voice shapes the future of demand response!

Deadline to apply is 15 August 2025, with the first meeting planned for October 2025. See how to apply.

See the Terms of reference for the demand response stakeholder group.

On 9 May 2025, the Swedish and Lithuanian national regulatory authorities (Energy Markets Inspectorate and National Energy Regulatory Council, respectively) requested from ACER a six-month extension to jointly decide on electricity cross-zonal risk hedging opportunities.

What are cross-zonal risk hedging opportunities? 

Cross-zonal risk hedging opportunities are strategies used by electricity market participants to mitigate price volatility risks across different bidding zones. They are important to ensure the proper functioning of the EU’s wholesale electricity markets and protecting market participants from price uncertainty.

Why an ACER Decision?

In accordance with the Forward Capacity Allocation network code, the Swedish and Lithuanian national regulators tasked transmission system operators to propose alternative measures to improve cross-zonal hedging opportunities in the Lithuanian bidding zone. 

The Swedish and Lithuanian transmission system operators submitted a joint proposal to their national regulators, but it contained some ambiguities. 

Therefore, both regulators requested ACER additional time to assess the system operators’ proposal. According to the ACER Regulation, ACER is mandated to grant this extension.

ACER intends to act promptly on this request, aiming to reach a decision by the end of September 2025.

ACER issues today its guide on benchmarking the costs and effectiveness of cybersecurity investments in the EU electricity sector.

This ACER guide is developed under the binding EU-wide network code on sector-specific rules for cybersecurity aspects of cross-border electricity flows. It aims to help national energy regulators conduct the benchmarking required by the network code.

Why is this benchmarking important?

Conducting benchmarking of cybersecurity investments will provide national regulatory authorities with an overview of:

• the costs of implementing cybersecurity controls, as well as their effectiveness and efficiency;
• prices of cybersecurity services, systems and products;
• the level of comparability of costs and functions of cybersecurity products and services. This analysis will also help identify possible opportunities to increase spending efficiency.

This will be the first EU-wide analysis on the topic.

What does ACER recommend?

ACER encourages national regulators to follow ten principles when conducting this benchmarking:

• Plan and execute benchmarking activities to ensure results can serve their intended purpose.
• Limit the scope and complexity of information to what is required by the benchmarking analysis.
• Use a consistent approach when conducting national analyses.
• Identify the stakeholders that will provide the data required by the benchmarking.
• Develop reference lists of items for the purpose of benchmarking. For example, considering assets that are relevant for Union-wide high and critical impact processes.
• Apply general accounting principles to assess the costs of benchmarked items.
• Include macroeconomic factors (e.g. inflation) in the analysis.
• Simplify how the effectiveness of investments is evaluated, considering this benchmarking assessment does not require the same level of detail as security assessments.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of cybersecurity investments following the benchmarking objectives of the network code.
• Explore different approaches for comparing the costs and functions of cybersecurity products and services.

What’s next?

From today’s publication, national regulatory authorities have one year to carry out the cybersecurity benchmarking analysis. 

Bidding zones are geographical areas where electricity is traded at uniform prices. Within a bidding zone, electricity bids and offers from market participants can be matched without the need to allocate cross-zonal capacity. Currently, most bidding zones in the EU are defined by national borders.

Under the EU Electricity Regulation, bidding zones must be configured in a way that maximises economic efficiency and cross-zonal trading opportunities, while ensuring security of supply. To achieve this, a review of the existing bidding zones was needed to identify structural grid congestions and evaluate the potential benefits of alternative configurations.

On 28 April 2025, European transmission system operators (TSOs) published their report on the electricity bidding zone review study. The report, which assesses 14 bidding zone configurations across Central and Northern Europe, is intended to support EU Member States in deciding whether to amend or maintain the current bidding zone configurations.

What is ACER’s role in the process?

ACER is responsible for setting the methodology and identifying alternative bidding zone configurations for TSOs to consider in their review.

Hence, in November 2020, ACER issued a decision establishing the bidding zone review methodology. In August 2022, ACER published a second decision on the alternative bidding zone configurations to be considered for Central Europe (Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands) and the Nordic region (Sweden). A third decision, covering the Baltic region, was issued in December 2023.

As part of its mandate under the ACER Regulation, ACER will also publish an Opinion (addressed to the Council) to assess whether electricity system operators followed the agreed methodology in their bidding zone review study and evaluate the impact of any deviations.

What are the next steps? 

ACER aims to publish its Opinion by the end of September 2025. Update: ACER published its Opinion on 18 September 2025.

Following the publication of the TSOs’ bidding zone report, Member States have six months to decide whether to amend the existing bidding zones. If individual Member States wish to amend their bidding zone configuration, but no unanimous agreement is reached among the relevant parties, the European Commission (after consulting ACER) will have six months to decide.

ACER is establishing a new European Stakeholder Committee (ESC) on cybersecurity in the electricity sector. We invite industry associations that could offer a pan-European perspective on cybersecurity aspects of cross-border electricity flows to join. 

What’s behind this?

The Network Code for Cybersecurity for Electricity came into force in June 2024. It sets out common rules to boost cyber resilience across Europe’s power systems. It calls for ACER to coordinate stakeholder engagement, in close collaboration with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and the EU Distribution System Operators Entity (EU DSO Entity).

What will the cybersecurity committee do?

Through this new ACER cybersecurity committee, industry associations will cooperate with each other and with the authorities referred to in the Cybersecurity Network Code to:

• identify problems and propose improvements to the implementation of the existing cybersecurity network code;
• recommend future revisions of the network code;
• identify whether any additional risk prevention rules may be needed for the electricity sector; and
• respond to technological developments in the sector.

By tackling these points, the cybersecurity committee will help maintain a high, common level of cyber resilience in Europe’s electricity grid and adapt policy to evolving digital risks.

Who can join?

Industry associations that could offer pan-European views on cybersecurity aspects of cross-border electricity flows are encouraged to take part. It is a chance to bring your insights to the table and ensure the voice of industry shapes the future of electricity cybersecurity in Europe.

Deadline to apply is 2 July 2025, with the first meeting planned for early autumn 2025. See how to apply.

See the Terms of reference for the cybersecurity committee for electricity.

ACER publishes today its Opinion on the draft electricity ten-year network development plan (TYNDP) 2024 and the Infrastructure Gaps Identification report 2024, submitted by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).

What is the TYNDP and why is it important?

Cross-border electricity infrastructure is key to interconnecting Europe’s electricity markets, making it easier to share electricity across countries. This is important to integrate more renewables onto the grid and achieve ambitious decarbonisation goals.

Every two years, European grid operators submit their draft EU-wide ten-year network development plan (TYNDP) to ACER for its opinion. Given the scale of infrastructure needs and that related costs are expected to make up a growing share of electricity bills, having a robust and fit-for-purpose TYNDP is key to efficient grid development.

The TYNDP is expected to play a central role by identifying cross-border energy infrastructure needs and ensuring that projects bringing the most benefit for the EU are put forward.

On 9 April 2025, ENTSO-E submitted its 2024 draft TYNDP to ACER, along with the electricity Infrastructure Gaps Identification report. Developed within the framework of the TYNDP 2024, the latter provides a pan-European view of future power system needs up to 2050, focusing on cross-border infrastructure and storage capacities. It highlights where current or planned electricity projects might be insufficient to meet those future needs.

In its Opinion 04-2025, ACER provides recommendations to be addressed by ENTSO-E to finalise its 2024 TYNDP and prepare future editions. ACER’s recommendations aim to support investment decisions and facilitate the efficient development of the European electricity grid, in line with broader EU policy goals.

What are ACER’s main findings and recommendations on the 2024 draft TYNDP?

• ACER welcomes the progress made so far and acknowledges ENTSO-E’s continued effort to introduce improvements in each new edition of the TYNDP. 

• ACER finds that the 2024 draft TYNDP generally contributes to the objectives of non-discrimination and effective competition but does not sufficiently contribute to the efficient functioning of the electricity market or ensure an adequate level of cross-border interconnection open to third-party access. 

• While recognising the complexity of the TYNDP process within its two-year timeframe, ACER notes that several of its previous recommendations remain unaddressed, including the need to improve timeliness and transparency. Other aspects, like enhancing the granularity of the information provided, also need to be addressed.  

What does ACER recommend to ENTSO-E for future electricity TYNDPs and Infrastructure Gaps Identification reports? 

• Ensure timely submission of the TYNDP and of the Infrastructure Gaps Identification report to ACER by addressing the root causes of the recurring delays.

• Conduct substantial consultations on assumptions and methodologies used, well before the drafting begins.

• Strengthen the medium-term analyses (over a 10- or 15-year horizon) to identify future infrastructure gaps and assess projects’ costs and benefits more effectively.

• Improve transparency and consistency of the information on existing grids and projects.

• Base the modelling of the electricity network on an appropriate starting grid (for the gaps analysis) and reference grids (for the cost-benefit assessment).

• Provide more granular information on infrastructure needs and gaps, including an analysis of capacity constraints within Member States’ networks.

• Improve transparency of the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) results and continue work towards full implementation of the 4th CBA Guideline.

• Ensure full compliance with ACER’s Scenario Framework Guidelines and its Opinion on ENTSOs’ draft TYNDP 2024 Scenario Report.

What are the next steps?

ENTSO-E is asked to implement ACER’s recommendations both to finalise the 2024 TYNDP and to further improve its upcoming editions.

Under the EU’s Regulation on forward capacity allocation (FCA), the Baltic national regulatory authorities were required to decide on the capacity calculation methodology for long-term timeframes by 22 March 2025. This followed a proposal from electricity transmission system operators, submitted on 22 January 2025.

On 20 March 2025, the Baltic regulators (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden) requested from ACER a three-month extension to decide on the matter.

In their request, the regulators explained more time is needed to: 

• assess the methodology’s compatibility with existing day-ahead and intraday capacity calculation methods;
• evaluate the technical constraints of the proposed allocation; and
• consider potential updates from Poland's electricity balancing market reform.

What is long-term capacity calculation?

Capacity calculation determines how much electricity can be safely and efficiently exchanged across borders in a given capacity calculation region. It ensures that available transmission capacity is calculated in a consistent and transparent way, supporting reliable cross-border electricity trading in both short- and long-term markets.

Long-term capacity calculation focuses on ensuring that there is enough capacity in the power grid to meet future demand over extended periods (months or even years). This supports the EU’s internal energy market by enabling forward electricity trading and allowing market participants to plan ahead and manage price risks.

What are the next steps? 

ACER plans to act promptly on this request, aiming to reach a decision in June 2025.