The European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has published a new report on the development of energy infrastructure in the European Union. It assesses whether electricity, gas and hydrogen networks are keeping pace with evolving energy needs, as well as the implications for investment requirements, project delays and costs for consumers (“Energy infrastructure development in Europe”, ACER 2026 Monitoring Report, 06/11/2026).
According to the agency, annual spending on electricity transmission infrastructure has almost tripled, rising from EUR10.4bn in 2019 to EUR30.5bn in 2025, and investment in electricity grids is expected to continue increasing towards 2030. ACER also highlighted the risk that infrastructure delays and network congestion could lead to higher costs for consumers.
Cross-border infrastructure projects are frequently subject to delays. On average, 22% of electricity Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs) experience delays each year, primarily due to lengthy permitting procedures. These issues also have significant financial implications.
- In 2025, remedial measures implemented by transmission system operators (TSOs) to ease network congestion cost European consumers EUR5.4bn, representing an increase of more than 25% compared with 2024.
- Meanwhile, electricity network costs for EU households increased by 40% between 2019 and 2025, reaching EUR84/MWh. These costs now represent approximately 28% of an average household electricity bill.
In the gas sector, investment levels have remained broadly stable, while demand continues to stand 16% below the 2017-2021 baseline. Average gas transmission tariffs rose by 40% between the 2020/2021 and 2024/2025 gas years.
Hydrogen networks, meanwhile, remain at an early stage of development. EU electrolyser capacity, which enables hydrogen production using electricity, reached 0.49 GW, significantly below the 30-58 GW target set for 2030 under national strategies and EU scenarios.
To tackle these infrastructure challenges, ACER put forward several recommendations:
- Make better use of existing networks by encouraging demand-side flexibility, improving congestion management, fully implementing the 70% cross-border capacity rule and introducing tariffs that better reflect actual costs.
- Speed up infrastructure planning and deployment through integrated energy network planning and simpler, more predictable permitting processes.
- Promote a fairer distribution of network costs by spreading network expenses more equitably over time and improving how the costs and benefits of cross-border projects are allocated.
“Developing the right infrastructure, efficiently and on time, will determine whether Europe can meet its decarbonisation goals and keep energy affordable for households and industry”, said the European agency.