€11 billion spent EU-wide on fragmented electricity security-of-supply support in 2024

ACER’s 2025 monitoring report on security of EU electricity supply looks at whether Europe had adequate electricity supply in 2024, including risk preparedness, cross-sectoral electricity-gas interactions and the total cost of national support measures such as capacity mechanisms and flexibility schemes that help keep the lights on.

What trends did ACER find in 2024? 

• The EU’s interconnected power system helps keep the lights on.
  • In 2024, power outage levels averaged under two hours per year across the EU, and none were due to inadequate electricity supply.
• Fragmented support measures come with an annual price tag of €11 billion.
  • Almost €11 billion was spent in 2024 across the EU on a fragmented set of nearly 40 security-of-supply measures.
  • Capacity mechanisms are justified if the annual European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA), or alternatively a national assessment, identifies a risk of inadequate supply. Any capacity mechanism must be cleared by the European Commission under State aid rules. These mechanisms rely on a broad range of technologies from dispatchable gas-powered generation to batteries and demand response.
  • Member States can also introduce flexibility measures, again if cleared under EU State aid rules.
• Capacity mechanisms have yet to become cleaner, gas will still play a role.
  • Only 29% of capacity support was directed to low-emission technologies in 2024, while natural gas will lead in long-term contracts until 2035.
  • Although EU gas demand is expected to fall by 15% by 2035, gas-fired power plants are projected to cover 30% of peak demand.
• Capacity mechanisms have yet to become more efficient, coordination can help.
  • Capacity auction prices vary more than tenfold across the EU.
  • In 2024, capacity mechanisms cost €6.5 billion (more than double the cost in 2020). Stronger cross-border coordination could reduce additional capacity needs, lowering overall system costs.
  • Limited coordination in Member States’ adoption of capacity and flexibility measures could risk duplication and inefficient investment.
• Regional and cross-sectoral coordination on risk preparedness remain weak.
  • Only 10% of national risk preparedness plans include joint measures to mitigate the impact of electricity crises and assist neighbouring countries.
  • Cross-sectoral dependencies (i.e. between gas and electricity) are often overlooked.

What are ACER’s recommendations? 

• Make capacity mechanisms cleaner by removing barriers to distributed energy, enable demand response and disclose how much capacity support goes to fossil-fuels.
• Make capacity mechanisms more efficient, coordinating capacity planning at EU level and reassessing the design of capacity auctions, particularly in markets with consistently high prices.
• Integrate flexibility measures into capacity mechanisms or better align them to reduce overlaps and inefficiencies.
• Strengthen regional cooperation on risk preparedness through exchange of best practices, shared templates and joint implementation monitoring.