As the days grow hotter, air conditioning is playing a larger role in how people cope with the heat. In EU households, energy consumption for cooling has steadily increased, reaching 80.4 thousand terajoules (TJ) in 2024. In 2018, EU households used 40.5 thousand TJ for space cooling, meaning that by 2024, total final energy consumption […]
The European Commission has taken a significant step to address the impact of digital technologies on the energy sector. As part of the European Technological Sovereignty Package, the Commission has published a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in energy. The initiative comes as our energy systems grow more dependent on digitalisation, just as rising […]
In 2024, the EU’s industry sector used 8 835 petajoules (PJ) of energy, an 8.1% decrease compared with 2014. The final energy consumption has been steadily declining since 1990. Most of the energy consumed by industry came from electricity (2 945 PJ; 33.3%) and natural gas (2 817 PJ; 31.9%). Renewables and biofuels came third (999 PJ; 11.3%), […]
Rising energy costs are no longer just a budget concern but are increasingly shaping how people live, according to findings from the latest EY global energy consumer research. Based on a global survey of more than 17,200 residential energy consumers across 20 markets, the research shows that affordability pressures, volatility and complexity are undermining consumer […]
Recent disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz have prompted fresh and understandable energy security concerns among citizens and business across the EU and beyond. Energy security is about ensuring sufficient supplies to meet our needs, even during the most challenging of times. It’s about protecting people’s wellbeing and is a basic building block […]
Romania’s situation means that now, in this beginning of a possible energy crisis, things are somewhat calmer here than in some Western markets. The spot price of electricity in Romania is currently 127 euros/MWh, lower than in many markets in central and western Europe: In Germany, the daily price is 147 euros/MWh, in Austria the […]
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 2023, the EU economy’s net domestic energy use was 56.1 million terajoules (-4.1% compared with 2022). Businesses and governments consumed 72.3% for their production activities, and the remaining 27.7% was consumed directly by households. When considering energy use by economic activity, manufacturing was responsible for the largest share of net domestic energy use (14.3 […]
The level of taxation applied to energy and fuels reduces the competitiveness of Romanian industry and generates additional pressures on the prices of consumer goods, argues the president of the Smart Energy Association (AEI), Dumitru Chisăliţă, in an analysis of the impact of energy costs on the economy. “Europe is not poor in people, technology […]
Romania needs an energy doctrine in which security and continuity of supply dominate the market logic, and energy autonomy is doubled by internal technological capacities, so that the state can function at peak consumption and in crisis situations, in an increasingly competitive geopolitical context, according to an analysis carried out by the Smart Energy Association […]
The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures to transpose EU Directives into their national laws. These Member States have failed to fully transpose three EU directives related to energy and financial services. The deadline to transpose these Directives has expired recently and […]
The Commission and the High Representative have today presented an international strategy for securing Europe’s place in global markets. The new EU global climate and energy vision presents the EU’s offer to the world: using diplomacy to protect our core interests, promoting standards for a fair transition by assisting our partners to develop theirs, and […]
The Commission has published its assessment of the final updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) of Estonia and Slovakia (SWD/2025/282). The assessment finds that, while Estonia and Slovakia have raised their ambition compared to the draft plans, efforts are needed to implement the plans and close any remaining gaps on renewable energy, energy efficiency, […]
The world is transitioning faster than ever towards clean energy. Last year alone, global spending hit a record $2tn, with $2 invested in clean energy for every $1 in fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. In the power sector, investment in clean technologies outstripped fossil fuels by 10 to 1. This shift is […]
