E.ON: €1B/Year Grid Investment Can Cut Bills by 25% — NRG-IA

Energy bills are entering a new analytical dimension: the grid. Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON Romania and President of the ACUE Federation, argues that additional investments of €1 billion annually in electricity and gas networks could reduce household energy bills by 25% by 2035 and slash wholesale power prices by over 40% . The statement was made on the sidelines of the FOREN 2026 regional forum, based on data from a study by Valorem. The stakes go far beyond distribution as a regulated tariff. Grids have become the critical infrastructure determining whether cheap energy actually reaches consumers. If the grid cannot absorb renewable generation, quickly connect storage, hook up new consumption sites, and avoid congestion, the cost shifts to the market: higher wholesale prices, imbalances, delayed investments, and final bills that are harder to bring down. The grid shapes the price, it doesn't just transport energy In the model cited by Raffel, the additional investments would reduce final household bills by 25% by 2035, with roughly two-thirds of this reduction achievable by 2030. The logic is straightforward: a more robust grid can integrate more renewable energy, reduce transmission and distribution bottlenecks, and enable faster connections for producers, consumers, and storage capacity. This highlights the gap between energy generated and energy utilized. Romania can install solar, wind, batteries, and new industrial demand, but the economic benefit diminishes if the grid cannot absorb and redistribute power in real time. In a system with increasingly variable generation, the value of energy depends on location, timing, grid evacuation capacity, and flexibility. Raffel conveyed the same message at the Eurelectric Power Summit 2026: swiftly eliminating grid bottlenecks could reduce wholesale power prices by approximately 40% over the next decade, with more than half of this impact achievable within the next four to five years. Romania pays more when adjusted for purchasing power Bill data must also be interpreted through the lens of purchasing power. Raffel noted that while Romania does not have the highest absolute electricity price in Europe, it has the highest price relative to consumer purchasing power, affecting both households and industry. This factor shifts the public debate. A price that seems comparable in EUR/MWh can become far more burdensome in an economy with lower incomes. For households, energy bills consume a larger share of the budget. For industry, expensive energy erodes competitiveness, particularly in energy-intensive sectors. In this context, grid investments are no longer just a technical issue for distributors; they have become a matter of economic competitiveness. If grid bottlenecks keep energy expensive, the impact ripples through industrial costs, deferred investments, and weaker fiscal revenues. Why €1 billion per year The Valorem study points to a need for additional investments in electricity and gas networks of approximately €1.1 billion annually , over and above current investment levels. The analysis, cited by industry publications, shows that energy infrastructure has a powerful economic multiplier effect through direct investments, related industrial activity, and the removal of bottlenecks that drag down the economy. This sum should not be treated as a simple cost passed directly onto bills. Grid investments can yield two simultaneous effects: in the short term, they may require financing and regulated recovery, but in the medium term, they can lower system costs, congestion, and wholesale prices. The key lies in balancing the investment cost against the benefits of a more efficient system. In an energy system increasingly characterized by midday solar peaks, evening demand, prosumers, storage, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and new industrial capacity, the grid becomes the primary platform for the transition. Without the grid, investments in generation remain partially stranded. Lower bills, but not automatically The 25% bill reduction is a conditional projection, not a guaranteed outcome. It depends on the regulatory framework, the pace of investment, access to capital, ANRE (regulatory authority) approvals, financing costs, grid digitalization, and operators' capacity to execute projects without major delays. It also depends on how cheap energy actually translates into the final price. If renewables generate heavily during low-demand hours, but the grid, storage, and market fail to shift that energy to peak hours, consumers will not see the full benefit on their bills. The final price comprises active energy, network tariffs, taxes, balancing, system services, and other components. Therefore, grid investments must be analyzed in tandem with storage, demand-side flexibility, and market rules. A stronger grid can ease price pressures, but the impact will only materialize if the system utilizes available energy more efficiently. Regulation becomes the critical point…