Energy affordability: looking back at one year of policy action

12 months after the publication of the EU's Action Plan for Affordable Energy, the issues linked to high and volatile energy prices have not disappeared, with a number of external factors having influenced wholesale energy prices in 2025, amongst which are the global supply patterns, weather anomalies affecting wind and hydro generation and cold spells in the winter season. However, a number of important steps have been taken to address them.

Progress has been made on most of the actions outlined in the Action Plan. In legislative terms, the Commission presented the European Grids Package in December to make sure energy infrastructure gets the necessary boost to support the clean transformation of the energy system. It has also initiated consultations on other forthcoming measures, such as the Energy Union Governance framework, defining the current architecture of targets for greenhouse gases, renewables and energy efficiency. Besides the legislative processes, a series of recommendations and guidelines informed different actors about the ways to promote further the uptake of renewable energy sources and promote energy efficiency. The Commission has also set up the Energy Union Task Force, which is a platform to discuss and coordinate actions with EU countries on key topics, such as energy taxation, grids, methane, etc. The Commission stands ready to support EU countries, notably on adjustments which are better designed at national or local level, rather than at EU level.

Published on 26 February 2025, the Action Plan aims to tackle short-, medium- and long-term aspects of energy costs. This refers in particular to the combined challenges of heavy reliance on costly fossil fuels, inefficiencies in the energy market and lack of full integration of the electricity system. It presents a range of actions to lower energy bills with very rapid impact, such as decreasing electricity taxes and levies, already showing results in some EU countries, making use of the new Clean Industrial State Aid Framework, or introducing measures to protect vulnerable consumers from energy poverty. Moreover, it aims at more structural measures to modernise Europe's energy system by investing in grids, industrial flexibility and interconnectors, improving enabling conditions such as permitting and governance, and boosting renewable energy production, storage and energy efficiency.

Related links

• Affordable energy
• Actions supporting affordable energy