ACER Report: EU Electricity Supply Remained Secure in 2024, but Costs Rise

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 schemes, which are generally more cost-effective than capacity mechanisms.
* Cross-sectoral interactions are crucial.

* The report highlights the increasing importance of interactions between the electricity and gas sectors, particularly in the context of decarbonisation and the increasing role of renewable energy sources.
* More data and transparency are needed.

* ACER recommends improving data collection and transparency regarding national security-of-supply measures to facilitate better coordination and cost-effectiveness across the EU.
* The report also suggests that greater transparency on the costs and benefits of different measures would help policymakers make informed decisions.