Eurelectric strongly supports the initiative announced by the European Commission torelease a European Plan for Grids To achieve a successful energy transition,regulatory obstacles to the grid's expansion and digitalisationmust be removed.Scarcity of grid capacity is already leading to delays in renewable projectconnections in several EU Member States and slowing down the decarbonisation ofkey sectors (e.g., heating, transport). Power grids risk becoming a possiblebottleneck for integrating RES, flexible loads, and additional base load, rather than anenabler. This underscores the imperative to prioritise distribution grids on the EU'spolitical agenda to ensure security of supply.The power sector sees the following objectives and concrete actions (see the full listin annex)as essential elements for a comprehensive and effective European ActionPlan on Grids: Reset the mandate for national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to develop a forward-ooking regulatory framework for anticipatory grid planning and investment.Regulation and regulators should shift from an outdated incremental approach to aforward-looking one to keep pace with the EU's dynamic energy systemCurrently, most regulatory frameworks in Europe are more focused onpreventing excessive investment than ensuring the grid meets society'sevolving needs.Further regulatory clarification is needed to preventsystem operators (SOsfrom facing financial penalties due to underutilised grid capacity built in ananticipatory way, which may be wrongly perceived as inefficient.lnvestment in distribution grids should be increased to at least e36 billion peryear until 2030 and up to C65 billion per year until 2050 on average. Thesecover: