This ACER Monitoring Report on key developments in EU energy markets highlights major trends in 2024, focusing on the interaction between gas and electricity. It sets out ACER’s recommendations on how Europe can unlock a clean, secure and competitive energy future. The report highlights progress towards Europe’s transition to clean energy, persistent challenges such as high and volatile energy prices for European consumers and businesses and how to address them.
- 2024 recorded the lowest energy prices since 2021, but with noticeable regional and seasonal differences.
- Energy market prices remained volatile (but less extreme than during the crisis), driven by gas supply risks and renewables’ variability.
- Renewables grew significantly, accounting for 35% of power generation.
- Europe’s clean energy transition faces persistent challenges. By late 2024, adverse weather conditions and a deteriorating gas supply outlook exposed persistent market vulnerabilities.
- Gas as a flexibility provider: Fossil fuels, particularly gas and coal, remain essential to mitigate peak electricity demand as coal generation capacity declines and alternative solutions lag.
