The Electricity Transmission Line Planning Process at European Level: Legal Framework and Need for Reforms

This chapter presents the legal framework for the electricity transmission line planning process at European level and highlights where there is need for reform. The legal competence for ‘energy policy’ (Article 194 TFEU) was only introduced in 2009. It is not an original EU competence detached from national planning competences, but rather the Union ‘shall contribute to the establishment and development of trans-European networks’. Consequently, although the two European legal instruments ‘Projects of Common Interest (PCI)’ and the ‘Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP)’ fulfil the tasks of achieving transparency and coordination within the European planning groups, they do not empower the EU to enforce its energy policy interests against the interests of the member state concerned. Whilst the methodological approach for the TYNDP is well-organised in that scenario planning and monitoring are used, there is still need for improvement in the integration of the public into the planning process, the overarching coordination, and the legal enforcement tools.