Powering tomorrow: grids at the core of Europe’s energy future

Grids take centre stage

Elisabeth Cremona, Senior Energy Analyst at Ember, opened the flagship session, “Smart Grid of the Future: From Vision to Reality”, underlining that grids have moved from the technical fringes to the political spotlight. Her presentation focused on the security and resilience benefits of grids, particularly interconnections and described how network planning and grid preparedness have become a decisive factor in commercial investment decisions.

“Grids are no longer background infrastructure – they are now central to Europe’s economic growth, security and resilience,” Cremona said.

Three interlinked drivers are shaping the debate:

• Growth – Grid capacity is now determining where new industries, data centres and manufacturing hubs are going to be located. Trends in Europe’s data-centre market, valued at $47 billion in 2024 and expected to double by 2030, highlights how network availability has become a critical economic pull factor for the tech industry.
• Security – In the past five years, European interconnectors have prevented or mitigated at least three major blackouts, underscoring their role as a resilience mechanism. Cross-border flows between Ukraine and its European neighbours also demonstrates how grid cooperation supports regional security and energy independence during times of geopolitical tensions.
• Coordination – Many national projects are technically ready but stalled by regulatory and permitting barriers. The forthcoming European Grid Package (expected by the end of 2025) offers an opportunity to streamline planning, align incentives and secure financing.

Key insights from the Slovak and regional context

Across the two days, discussions covered electricity market reform, grid flexibility, gas security and European cooperation, highlighting a sector where technical progress and policy ambition are increasingly aligned.

Market innovation and flexibility

The session “Innovation and Trends in the Power Market” reflected the rapid transformation of electricity trading. Speakers shared initial experiences with quarter-hourly day-ahead trading in Slovakia and the Czech Republic – a development that improves price accuracy but requires faster data exchange and new forecasting tools.

The Energy Data Centre (EDC) was highlighted as a cornerstone of digitalisation, offering new functionalities for market transparency and supporting the aggregation of flexibility from distributed sources. Energy suppliers described how they are adapting to more dynamic pricing structures and evolving customer behaviour, demonstrating that flexibility is becoming a standard feature of regional electricity markets.

Elisabeth Cremona presenting on the benefits of the electric grid

Gas and heat in transition

Panels focused on gas and district heating examined the structural changes underway as Slovakia adapts to reduced Russian gas transit and diversifies supply routes under the RePowerEU framework. Speakers from Eustream, SPP and Veolia argued that although transported volumes are falling, continued maintenance works to ensure pipeline integrity and system reliability remain vital for national and regional energy security.

The debate centred on the financial sustainability of maintaining infrastructure with declining throughput, the pace of EU diversification policy and the balance between security, affordability and decarbonisation.

European cooperation and new platforms

The second day of the conference introduced the European Commission’s Energy Platform for joint purchasing, presented by Maciej Ciszewski (DG ENER). The initiative aims to increase transparency in collective energy procurement, strengthen the EU’s bargaining position and accelerate decarbonisation by coordinating demand across member states. Participants agreed that cross-border coordination and shared data frameworks will be essential to Europe’s next phase of energy integration.

Smart grid panelists at the ENERGOFORUM conference

Shared direction

Taken together, the sessions at ENERGOFÓRUM 2025 demonstrated how digitalisation, diversification and cooperation are shaping Central Europe’s energy systems. Market innovation enables finer control and more efficient trading, gas and heat operators are redefining resilience in a changing geopolitical context and European institutions are building new tools for coordinated procurement and planning.

The conference captured a region in transition – pragmatic, data-driven and increasingly aligned with Europe’s wider energy objectives, yet still managing the realities of its fossil-based legacy.

Organisations represented

Ember • Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava (SEPS) • Úrad pre reguláciu sieťových odvetví (ÚRSO) • Stredoslovenská distribučná (SSD) • Západoslovenská distribučná (ZSD) • Slovenská asociácia pre elektromobilitu (SEVA) • OKTE a.s. • Photomate s.r.o. • OFZ a.s. • Rezolv Energy • Veolia Energia Slovensko a.s. • SPP a.s. • Eustream a.s. • Ernst & Young s.r.o. • SFÉRA a.s. • ENERGOKLUB®