ENTSO-E is pleased that ACER has approved the European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA) for 2023. The ERAA is a pan-European monitoring assessment of power system resource adequacy of up to 10 years ahead, analysing possible events which can adversely affect the balance between electricity supply and demand. With its full pan-European scope, the ERAA provides a complementary view to national and regional TSO resource adequacy assessments.

An approved ERAA 2023 will complement the national resource adequacy assessments and assist EU Member States in developing market measures to address adequacy concerns identified in the ERAA results, including the possibility of introducing capacity mechanisms. It will also guide EU Member States in addressing future security of electricity supply risks.

The ERAA is a key tool for policy makers and all market actors to understand the dynamics of the future European power system and the risks and needs in meeting 24/7 secure supply to all consumers, while delivering net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. It is on track to become the mid-term monitoring tool for resource adequacy throughout the energy transition,”

said Gerald Kaendler, Chair of the System Development Committee.

Importantly, ERAA 2023 reveals that high volumes of thermal capacity are at risk of becoming economically unviable in the next five years. In this context, the right incentives and/or targeted interventions will be necessary to avoid resource shortages. Furthermore, ENTSO-E acknowledges that a reliance on high market prices alone may not guarantee the commissioning of generation capacity and flexibility resources.

Adequacy risks are observed in many European countries and tend to increase when moving from the short to the mid-term, with a shift from the peripheral areas of Europe in 2025 to the central and northern parts of the continent by 2033. ENTSO-E believes that the situation needs to be closely monitored, and uncertainties need to be hedged where possible.

ENTSO-E’s ERAA modelling is unprecedented in terms of its scope (European-wide, stochastic modelling, with over thousands of resource assets) and the number of scenarios assessed. It is an industry-leading product with no global equivalent. It presents two sets of results for two scenarios, which should be considered together to provide the reader with a complete view of the investment drivers and the impact on resource adequacy risks.

ENTSO-E is currently developing ERAA 2024, which will be published for consultation in the last quarter of 2024. It is expected that in the next iterations of the study, the ERAA methodology will evolve as a result of the ongoing revision of the Regulation on electricity market design. ENTSO-E is preparing to support the formal ERAA methodology amendment process together with ACER, the European Commission and all stakeholders.

About ENTSO-E

ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, is the association for the cooperation of the European transmission system operators (TSOs). The 40 member TSOs, representing 36 countries, are responsible for the secure and coordinated operation of Europe’s electricity system, the largest interconnected electrical grid in the world. In addition to its core, historical role in technical cooperation, ENTSO-E is also the common voice of TSOs.

Press contact: media@entsoe.eu