25.5.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 184/95
1.12.
There is a risk that new data-driven services and innovative technology solutions will not be implemented fast enough if there are not enough skilled workers and trained professionals to help deploy them.
The necessary labour market and education policy measures require sufficient financial resources as well as the development of an action plan to ensure a coordinated approach.
The EESC believes that close cooperation with the social partners is essential in this regard.
1.13.
Cybersecurity is an essential requirement to ensure the reliability of the increasingly digitalised energy system.
The developments of the last few decades, and in particular recent events, show the danger of cyberattacks and acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure.
However, problems can arise not only as a result of cyberattacks or sabotage actions, but also from hardware and software failures, so the Commission must pay special attention to hardware and software design during digitalisation to ensure robustness.
A failure or impairment of critical infrastructure can cause devastating supply shortages and endanger public safety.
More decentralised generation and use of energy in conjunction with the internet increases the ‘attack surface’ and cyber-related risks.
The digitalised energy system (both in terms of hardware and software) must be reliable, ensuring continuous availability.
1.14.
The EESC believes that a combined strategy for energy transition and digitalisation in rural areas has not received the expected level of attention and support.
It calls for the rapid implementation of the Commission’s long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas and the mobilisation of stakeholders under the EU Rural Pact.
2.
Background 2.1.
The Commission published a Communication with the aim of driving forward the digitalisation of the energy system.
The EU Action Plan on Digitalising the energy system aims to achieve the objectives set out in the Strategic Foresight Report on the green and digital transitions, with digital technologies contributing to the creation of a climate-neutral and resource-efficient society, while ensuring that everybody can benefit from this transition.
2.2.
In its EU Action Plan, the Commission proposes a set of actions in five areas: promoting connectivity, interoperability and seamless exchanges of energy data through the creation of a common data space, promoting and coordinating investment in the smart grid, providing better services based on digital innovation to engage consumers in the energy transition, ensuring cybersecurity in the energy system, and ensuring that the growing energy needs of the ICT sector are in line with the European Green Deal.
The Commission believes that digitalisation can improve the affordability, sustainability and resilience of the EU energy system.
2.3.
Smart solutions are designed to give consumers more control over their energy consumption and bills, thereby improving management of energy use, even though many end consumers might understand this potential without requiring a smart solution.
Innovative energy services should reduce energy consumption and energy should be used when it is cheap.
Smart meters provide important information to reduce energy consumption costs, e.g. smart charging of electric vehicles, smart heat pumps together with photovoltaic panels.
Smart meters help customers to control the data in their bills and enable them to eliminate incorrect bills and back-billing, which are currently among the biggest consumer concerns.
The action plan provides for support for digital tools, which serve the interest of consumers and in some cases are developed in collaboration with them, improved digital skills, funding for smart digital solutions through programmes that can help meet the objective of digitalising the energy system, support for national regulators in defining and monitoring common smart grid indicators, the creation of a common European energy data space and the close involvement of all relevant stakeholders, in particular grid operators and energy suppliers.
2.4.
According to the Commission, ICT technologies offer great greening potential.
Digital solutions should help to balance energy supply, storage and demand and make the energy system more flexible, facilitating the integration of decentralised renewable energy sources.
Flexibility markets need to be developed in order to make investments in flexibility options attractive, regardless of whether these investments are made by generators, consumers or prosumers taking advantage of digital tools.
2.5.
At the same time, the action plan emphasises the need to curb the rising energy consumption in the ICT sector.
The action plan also provides for the creation of a digital twin of the European electricity grid, support for energy communities through digital tools, the development of energy-related labels for computers, data centres and blockchains, and the development of an EU code of conduct for the sustainability of telecommunications networks.