12.1.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 15/53 Wednesday 19 May 2021
to a demand-driven energy system, enabling active consumers for demand-response via digital solutions fully in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (25); calls on the Commission and the Members States to explore ways of further incentivising the development of a European market for demand-side flexibility through, inter alia, common standards for end-use flexibility, an assessment of the potential benefits and impacts on energy system costs; welcomes flexible integrated energy systems that aim to optimise the district heating/cooling sector as well as the use of efficient and flexible high efficiency cogeneration contributing to the balancing of the electricity grid, cost-effective use of renewable energy sources and waste heat integration at local/regional level; calls for the swift implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/944 and its provisions on demand-side response;
34.
Stresses the role that electric mobility can play as a form of smart integration of the power and transport sectors by unlocking flexibility capacities; stresses that the electrification of the transport sector has the potential to increase the Union’s energy strategic autonomy by reducing the need for imported fossil fuels; underlines the storage and flexibility potential of the deployment of ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technologies and notes that it will require the interoperability of energy systems and electric vehicles;
35.
Recalls the importance of addressing cybersecurity risks in the energy sector to ensure the resilience of the energy systems; underlines that the increasing number of connected products, such as heating appliances, electric vehicles and smart meters, may increase the risk of cybersecurity attacks to the electricity system; urges the Commission to swiftly address cybersecurity risks by setting a high level of cybersecurity protections for connected products in the context of the electricity network code on cybersecurity;
36.
Stresses that a more renewable, decentralised and better integrated energy system requires better forecasting of energy demand and more real-time matching of the supply and storage from different energy carriers; highlights, in this regard, the crucial role of digitalisation for the processing of statistical and meteorological data; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop an internal market for digital energy technologies while protecting consumers’ privacy and personal data; encourages Member States to adopt the Smart Readiness Indicator developed as part of Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (26) in order to tap into the potential for demand-side flexibility at building level; stresses that this will require more common standards for data exchange; welcomes the intention of the Commission to adopt an action plan for the digitalisation of energy to foster the EU technological leadership and enable a more integrated energy system with intelligent solutions in specific sectors (such as smart grids, more efficient and safe transport and energy savings in buildings), with improved funding for the 2021-2027 period;
37.
Reiterates the crucial role of the Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulators in the energy system integration and the implementation of the EU energy legislation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to make sure that the agency is provided with sufficient means to carry out its missions;
Ensuring energy accessibility and affordability for all citizens and businesses
38.
Recalls that the primary objective of Union action in the field of energy is to ensure the proper functioning of the market with regard to the need to preserve and improve the environment; calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures to safeguard the well-functioning of energy markets, to ensure the full implementation of the acquis for the internal energy market, including the Clean Energy Package, to align consumer rights in the gas and district heating sectors with those of electricity consumers, and help them contribute to the decarbonisation of the economy; stresses the importance of guiding customers towards the most energy-efficient and cost-effective decarbonisation option, on the basis of prices that properly reflect all the costs of the energy carrier used; welcomes the initiative to revise Directive 2003/96/EC and transform it into an instrument aligning taxation policies to the energy and climate targets for 2030 and 2050; calls on
(25) (26)
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (OJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p. 13).