European Commission: Action plan on the digitalisation of the energy sector – roadmap launched

The European Commission has launched a roadmap on 23 July, in preparation for an action plan on the digitalisation of the energy sector due next year. The roadmap is open to all for feedback until the deadline on 10 September 2021.

The initiative stems from the 2020 communication “An EU strategy for Energy System Integration” which presents the vision of a modern integrated system: one that is more electrified, more efficient, more flexible and that uses infrastructure more wisely. The communication set out key actions to drive the energy transition, including a system-wide digitalisation of energy action plan that could accelerate the implementation of digital solutions and energy system integration across multiple energy carriers, infrastructures and consumption sectors.

Digitalisation of the energy sector can contribute to the creation of growth and jobs, boost European competitiveness and innovation, open new global markets for products and services, and drive innovative solutions by encouraging the development of trustworthy technologies. It also brings along new challenges, for instance related to cybersecurity, data access governance, data protection and privacy, and the growing energy consumption of the IT sector.

The action plan which will emerge from the process will contribute to two priority areas of the Commission: the European Green Deal and a Europe fit for the digital age. It will complement the measures contained in the Delivering the European Green Deal package ensuring that digitalisation of the energy system is fully part of the green transition, in line with the vision adopted by the Commission for the digital transformation by 2030 as per the “Digital Decade” Communicationadopted on 9 March.