Meer documentenQuestions and answers on the Electrification Action Plan and proposal on network charges
Why is the Commission proposing an Electrification Action Plan for Europe?
Europe still relies too much on fossil fuels. Since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, Europe has spent more than an additional € 50 billion in fossil fuel imports, and the resulting inflation has led to an increase in interest rates. This dependency makes the European economy vulnerable to geopolitical turbulence and volatile global markets, weakens energy security and reduces resilience to external shocks. Moving more quickly towards electrification is essential to make Europe more energy independent, protect people and businesses from fossil fuel price spikes, and build a stronger Energy Union.
With this plan, the Commission aims to make Europe the world's first “electro-continent”, increasingly powered by clean, homegrown and affordable energy. To support this ambition, an indicative electrification target of 46% by 2040 will be assessed by the Commission as part of the post-2030 Energy Union package. This would increase the share of electricity in final energy use above the current 23%, which has not changed for ten years.
This Action Plan is also about making Europe's economy stronger. Faster electrification can reduce energy costs, boost European clean technology manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, create skilled jobs and support industrial leadership. By speeding up electrification, Europe can save up to €260 billion per year by 2040 on its fossil fuel import bill. At the same time, it can shield households and industry from the effects of international crises on their energy bills. It would also contribute to lower electricity generation costs by about 20%, leading to more affordable electricity tariffs and attracting households and SMEs to switch to electric appliances. Along the value chain, a joint commitment to an electric transition will accelerate achieving the Union´s decarbonisation objective by substantially cutting emissions by more than 2,000 Mt CO₂ in 2040 compared to today (20% of current emissions).
The Action Plan focuses on removing the main barriers that still slow down electrification. In particular, it aims at making electricity prices more affordable by narrowing the price gap between electricity and gas, since in most Member States electricity is taxed more heavily than gas; lowering the upfront cost of switching to electric solutions in industry, transport and buildings; and making greater use of flexibility, including storage and demand response, to reduce overall energy system costs. The Commission is also taking actions to target upfront costs for consumers, for example by supporting Member States in setting up social leasing schemes for efficient cooling and heating products.
How can the Electrification Action Plan and the legal proposal on network charges help lower energy bills in Europe?
These measures are meant to bring down energy bills by making electricity more affordable than fossil fuels, improving the operation and management of the electricity system and helping citizens and businesses move more quickly to cleaner and more efficient electric solutions.
At the moment, electricity is often much more expensive than gas for both households and businesses. This can discourage people from switching to cleaner options. To address this, the plan encourages Member States to take actions to bring electricity cost no more than two and a half times the price of gas for households, and no more than twice the price for industry by 2030.
Network charges represent roughly a quarter of household electricity bills. Making them more system-friendly can reduce overall costs for all consumers. The legal proposal will benefit consumers in several ways. First, it should help lower electricity bills by designing more flexible transmission and distribution network charges so that electricity grids are used more efficiently and at lower cost. The proposal is also intended to make energy costs more predictable and to support a lasting reduction in bills. It will notably allow Member States to reduce taxes and grid charges for specific categories of users such as energy-intensive industries or energy communities. It will also provide for a lower taxation of electricity compared to natural gas.
The proposal delivers on the commitment that President von der Leyen did ahead of the European Council in March to put forward proposals to reduce the network charges and the tax components of the price of energy.
At the same time, it would encourage smarter electricity consumption and new business models by promoting smart meters, smarter grids and better data exchange. This would allow consumers to adapt their electricity use more easily to the needs of the system, for example by charging electric vehicles when electricity is cheaper.
Another important benefit is the better integration of clean homegrown energy. By supporting smart and digital solutions, the proposal will boost demand response and storage, which help the electricity system use existing infrastructure better and reduce unnecessary grid costs. A more flexible system can make better use of renewable energy, avoiding inefficiencies. This benefits consumers indirectly through a more cost-optimal electricity system.
How will the Action Plan support industrial electrification?
Although EU industry has made major improvements in energy efficiency, it still accounts for almost a quarter of the EU's energy demand. At the same time, the move from fossil fuels to electricity remains relatively slow. With the right conditions in place, electrification can help industry modernise, boost productivity, improve energy efficiency and strengthen global competitiveness. In technical terms, electrification is already possible for 60% of industrial energy demand that currently depends on fuels.
The Plan will also support the electrification of industry by tackling the main barriers holding electrification back. The first fundamental element to tackle is the electricity-gas price ratio, which discourages the shift to cleaner options like electric industrial processes. The Action plan aims to encourage Member States to take actions to rebalance this gap between electricity and gas. Member States with the lowest electricity to gas price ratio record triple the heat pump sales compared to those where the ration exceeds three.
The cost of electrification solutions is higher than comparable fossil-fuel based alternatives. Lowering upfront costs of these solutions is imperative. The Commission will focus on industrial sectors with the greatest potential for electrification using technologies that are already commercially available. The Action Plan supports a coordinated approach to electrification by bringing together all actors across the value chain. It will work with these sectors and with EU countries to develop sector-specific electrification roadmaps, helping to scale up and integrate electrification technologies into industrial processes through innovative business models and better access to financing. We will look into how to facilitate also the rollout of power purchase agreements (PPAs) to so bring the benefits of wholesale energy prices to the industry.
The Plan will also focus on ensuring smarter electricity grids, including by improving the exchange and secure re-use of data related to the electricity grid, so that grid operators can make better use of existing infrastructure and operate the system more efficiently and securely, leading to lower total system costs. The Plan will also look into the planning aspects, with mapping tools, to support industry in relation to the Industrial Acceleration Areas (IAAs) in the framework of the Industrial Accelerator Act.
Accelerating research and innovation and supporting innovative technologies will also be key to bridge the time gap required to make new electrification solutions commercially available. This will require investments at scale but also tapping into the potential of existing tools such as the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan to support the technologies enabling electrification of certain industrial processes.
On the manufacturing side, the Commission is already working on the implementation of the Electrification Action Plan. It will adopt two sets of guidance under the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA). The first one is on the non-price criteria in renewable energy auctions to make electricity cheaper and increase the share of clean, affordable and homegrown energy by securing and diversifying an industrial base for clean energy technologies.
Later in 2026, the Commission will also launch a second industrial heat auction under the Innovation Fund, with a focus on heat pumps and industrial flexibility. In addition, the ETS review will create further incentives for industrial electrification.
How will it accelerate the electrification of the transport sector?
Transport remains one of the sectors most dependent on fossil fuels and a major energy user overall. Road transport by itself accounts for nearly one third of energy consumption in the EU, mainly due to its strong dependence on fossil fuels.
At the same time, the sector is changing rapidly towards cleaner and more efficient energy use. In April 2026, electric vehicles reached a record 22.3% of new sales. Some EU countries are encouraging this shift through incentives such as tax benefits for electric vehicles in corporate fleets and fiscal measures aimed at making EVs more affordable for low- and middle-income households. Social leasing is designed specifically for these groups, and the Action Plan includes hands-on support for EU countries on how to develop such schemes. The public sector is also advancing in the uptake of electric vehicles, including buses, supported in part by the Clean Vehicles Directive, which the Commission will review by the end of next year.
To expand electrification related to heavy duty vehicles (HDVs), the Electrification Action Plan focuses on the need to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure, by expanding the ‘clean transport corridors' initiative and by facilitating financial support for derisking investments. Finally, the technical electrification potential of the maritime transport is growing, with potentially high energy cost savings. For shipping companies to take advantage of this opportunity, the EU's ports need to step up their onshore power supply services, which is already mandated by the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) whereas the FuelEU Maritime Regulation ensures demand for onshore power supply (OPS).
What are the steps to boost electrification in the buildings sector?
Buildings consume about half of the EU's gas, and 67% of their heating still comes from fossil fuels, much of it wasted because of inefficient boilers and poor insulation. With energy prices remaining high and unpredictable, the case for faster electrification and energy-efficient renovation is stronger than ever.
Replacing gas and oil boilers with heat pumps, which can be used for heating and cooling, could reduce bills by up to 60% and improve health, especially during heat waves, since heat pumps can also cool buildings. The EU wants to double heat pump installations by 2030 compared with 2025, and may introduce a clean heat market mechanism to encourage sales. National online tools will also help consumers compare prices and get transparent quotes from brands and installers. Heat pumps can complement district heating systems, which can combine electric solutions with local clean heat sources such as geothermal, solar thermal and waste heat.
In cities, smart district heating systems will provide flexibility to the grid and help shave the seasonal electricity demand peaks for heating or cooling. Buying and using heat pumps can be relatively costly, particularly for the most vulnerable; the EU has set aside financing to support EU countries in adapting buildings efficiently to the heat in summer and to the cold in winter. These include, amongst others, Social Climate Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition can help scale up private financing for renovations. The Commission will introduce “Better Homes Partnerships” to attract and speed up innovative financing and business models for heat pumps in the context of energy-efficient renovations.
How will this action plan help strengthen Europe's electrification value chains?
Europe needs to move faster from test to scale when it comes to clean tech. It takes too long to make new electrification solutions commercially viable. This requires investments at scale. Because electrification affects many parts of the economy, Europe needs a holistic approach to make the most of it. This means securing access to raw materials, increasing manufacturing in the EU, and encouraging greater demand for clean technologies.
To help do this, the Commission will bring together the main actors - EU and national authorities, businesses, industry, and key energy players such as electricity suppliers, storage operators and clean technology manufacturers in a new Electrification Action Plan Alliance. Its goal will be to speed up the use of clean energy solutions across Europe.
Investment is required also in skills. Electrification has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of quality, local jobs in Europe. Clean electrification value chains such as renewables, heat pumps, insulation technologies. grids, and nuclear energy employ over four million people in the EU and accounted for 30% of EU GDP growth in 2025. A skilled workforce is at the base of the EU's capacity to design, manufacture, construct, connect and maintain the clean energy technologies and infrastructure EU needs for the energy transition. The EU already supports training through programmes such as Erasmus+, the battery and net-zero industry academies, and the EU Talent Pool, so that workers can gain the skills needed for clean energy jobs. Building on this, the Commission will adopt an initiative to support the portability of qualifications and skills across the EU to attract more electricians and clean technology installers. It will also support training through incentives for manufacturers to support training of electricians and installers under a new Clean Heat Market Mechanism. In addition, a new Construction Services Act will make it easier to obtain certifications for energy-efficient building and installation work. To help Europe stay competitive in clean technologies and respond to growing cybersecurity risks, the EU is increasingly focusing public funding on products made in Europe.
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