Power Sector Vision to accelerate clean energy transition

On the occasion of the Power Sector Vision event, eurelectric President and CEO of the Italian energy group Enel Francesco Starace presented Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, with the Vision Declaration for the electricity industry in Europe signed by national associations and CEOs of major European power companies.

The new long-term industry vision was first unveiled in December, 2017 and commits the sector to accelerate the clean energy transition and to achieve carbon-neutral electricity mix in the EU well before mid-century.

With this vision, the power sector reaffirms its commitment to lead the transition towards a fully sustainable European energy future, while delivering value to customers and to society as a whole,” said Francesco Starace.

“Our industry sees a great opportunity in the progressive electrification and decarbonisation of Europe’s energy consumption. To achieve such ambitious goals, we will need the support of policy makers to create a stable environment for long-term investments,” he added.

“At the onset of the Energy Union, our objective was to ensure energy security in all Member States. Subsequently, our efforts centred on delivering clean energy. We are now striving for our economies to be powered in this clean, sustainable way. The electricity sector is not only affected by these ongoing ‘tectonic’ changes, but it is also their driver and enabler. I therefore welcome your clear vision, which includes a carbon-neutral future well before 2050 and boosted electrification of transport. For the Paris Agreement to succeed, we all need to step up a gear,” Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Energy Union, welcomed the Vision Declaration and stated.

The eurelectric vision statement commits the industry to enable and sustain a vibrant, competitive European economy – reliably powered by clean, carbon-neutral energy – and a smart, energy efficient and truly sustainable society for all citizens of Europe.

The industry commits to leading a cost-effective energy transition by:

• INVESTING in clean power generation and transition-enabling solutions, to reduce emissions and actively pursue efforts to become carbon-neutral well before mid-century, taking into account different starting points and commercial availability of key transition technologies;
• TRANSFORMING the energy system to make it more responsive, resilient and efficient. This includes increased use of renewable energy, digitalisation, demand side response and reinforcement of grids so they can function as platforms and enablers for customers, cities and communities;
• ACCELERATING the energy transition in other economic sectors by offering competitive electricity as a transformation tool for transport, residential uses as heating and cooking and industry;
• EMBEDDING sustainability in all parts of our value chain and take measures to support the transformation of existing assets towards a zero-carbon society;
• INNOVATING to discover the cutting-edge business models and develop the breakthrough technologies that are indispensable to allow our industry to lead this transition.

Kristian Ruby, eurelectric’s Secretary General, expressed satisfaction that the entire sector stands united against the increasing urgency of climate change, air pollution and depletion of natural resources.

Today, the sector repositions itself to accelerate the energy transition and embed sustainability in all parts of the value chain. We strongly urge policymakers to do their utmost to ensure a fair transition, both socially and geographically, and provide the necessary support and funding to address any socio-economic impacts,” Kristian Ruby mentioned.

Along with the new vision, eurelectric also unveiled a new visual identity to complete the transposition and reflect the deep evolution of the industry, which has the ambition to put customers at the centre and lead the energy transition.