Brussels, 26 March 2026 – CEDEC, DSO Entity, E.DSO, Eurelectric and GEODE, welcome the publication of the European Grids Package on 10 December 2026. By focusing on planning, permitting, and grid connections, the Package builds on the 2023 Grid Action Plan and rightly places energy grid infrastructure at the centre of the EU’s political agenda.
While the Associations acknowledge positive steps — including faster permitting procedures, the revision of the TEN-E framework, and a more holistic approach to grid connections with anticipatory investments — they express concern that the Package insufficiently addresses the needs of electricity distribution networks. This is particularly evident in regard to dedicated financing tools and a more bottom-up approach on network planning.
These Associations also recall the essential role of DSOs to delivering the energy transition on the ground, providing tangible benefits to citizens, businesses, and industry alike: the real backbone of the energy system; a guarantor of secure energy distribution; managing increasingly diverse grid connection needs; and a cornerstone of social and economic development.
In this joint paper, there are also some key recommendations to improve the legislative proposals included in the EU Grids Package (Permitting Directive and TEN-E Regulation). For the Permitting Directive, these recommendations are essentially directed to the definition of grid connection procedure, to the alignment of grid connection deadlines, to the introduction of additional safeguards to the tacit approval mechanism and to extending the application of Overriding Public Interest to refurbishment, modernisation, repowering, etc. On the TEN-E Regulation, the recommendations are to avoid introducing an overly centralised, top-down approach to scenario development, to make lower voltage levels eligible for the Smart Electricity Grids category, and to enable this category to qualify to Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs).
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