The European Economic and Social Committee has called for clearer electricity bills, a more “systemic” approach to running power networks and updated rules for connecting users to the grid to help keep long-term costs down.
In an opinion titled "Future-proofing electricity bills in the EU," adopted at its October plenary session, the advisory body said on Thurday that it wanted consumers to see greater transparency around the costs of electricity transmission and distribution.
“Protection must go hand in hand with clarity,” stated Christophe Béguinet, who drafted the opinion.
“We call for full transparency regarding the costs associated with electricity transmission and distribution. Consumers need to know exactly what they are paying for and why. Network costs are not a form of taxation, they are a fee,” he added.
The committee said household and commercial bills were rising due to higher wholesale gas prices, geopolitical tensions — including conflicts in the Middle East — and growing electricity demand from data centres, artificial intelligence infrastructure and electric vehicles.
Grid charges make up a significant share of electricity bills and should be analysed to keep them as low as possible without compromising grid safety.
Changes to grid pricing and connection rules
The committee also recommended an “overarching approach” to the electricity system based on reliable, consolidated data available in near real time, saying this would support overall efficiency and the final price paid by consumers.
It called for closer co-operation between transmission system operators, which run high-voltage networks, and distribution system operators, which deliver electricity locally.
On pricing, the EESC said grid access charges should reflect operators’ costs as accurately as possible, and floated the idea of hourly, seasonal or dynamic tariffs based on local pricing.
The committee also proposed changing how grid connection requests are handled to reduce bottlenecks, including moving away from a “first come, first served” approach towards models such as “first ready, first served.”
The recommendations follow the European Commission’s Electrification Action Plan and a related legislative proposal unveiled in July 2026, which included a target to increase electrification in the EU from 23% of energy use to 46% by 2040.
