On March 10^th 2026,  the Commission presented the Clean Energy Investment Strategy, as part of an Energy package to boost investment in homegrown clean energy solutions, increase resilience and reduce energy prices. The Clean Energy Investment Strategy is aimed at mobilising private capital to finance grid infrastructure. The package includes measures to also improve energy efficiency financing. 

The Clean Energy Strategy starts with a correct diagnosis: increasing fund availability for clean energy capacity, grids and other infrastructure, as well as demand electrification is crucial for ensuring competitiveness, security, affordability and sustainability of the energy Union. Grid infrastructure requires significant investment, and yet current mechanisms are falling short. Public money alone will not be able to bridge the divide. Utilising public finance to mobilise private capital at scale, through derisking and targeted financial instruments a will be crucial.  

The tools proposed represent a step forward to deploying the grid Europe needs. The Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund, conceived to anchor capital to crowd in private equity, directly addresses the equity gap that stops grid projects from reaching financial closure. The Operator Securitisation Facility is a potentially significant tool for the same purpose — though its exploratory status in the strategy means its impact will depend heavily on the commitment with which it is developed. The scaling up of intermediated lending for small distribution operators tackles the fragmentation problem that leaves smaller companies unable to access capital markets. Finally, the fivefold increase of the CEF Energy budget to approximately €30 billion is a significant public financing commitment for cross-border grid infrastructure in a generation. 

Better efficiency and flexibility in the electricity system do not only contain demand, but also can reduce grid investment needs redispatch costs, currently treated as an operational cost, could be redeployed as a targeted investment signal, directing grid reinforcement where it is most needed. While energy efficiency and non-fossil flexibility are mentioned in the Strategy (and specific support proposed for energy efficiency in the accompanying package), it is unclear how they are to be concretely incorporated into the grid financing tools proposed.  

The energy efficiency first principle demands that alternatives to new physical infrastructure are properly assessed and, where cost-effective, prioritised before expansion is approved. A strategy that finances grid expansion must consider options for reducing the need for that expansion. Without this principle embedded horizontally across the actions in this strategy, there is a risk of locking Europe into unnecessary capital expenditure for decades. We also note the lack of concrete actions to promote demand electrification, which is a vital component of decarbonising the energy system and must be considered when identifying and planning energy infrastructure investments. We urge the Electrification Action Plan to be delivered without further delay, addressing these missing elements.