Telecoms critical to modernise Europe’s energy system

Recent blackouts in Europe, notably that of the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025 and subsequently in July in Czechia, coupled with the accelerating demand through electrification and digitalisation, point to the urgency of modernisation.

Not only is this a technical necessity but also a huge economic opportunity, according to the white paper, which quantifies up to €1.5 trillion in socioeconomic benefits in the period up to 2030, and €245 billion annually from modernisation.

In short, a return rate of €8 for every €1 invested in smart grids, as well as 440,000 high-quality jobs created annually across Europe.

Collectively, these figures show that grid modernisation is one of Europe’s most economically productive and socially valuable investments, the white paper states.

“One can’t imagine a world without energy and we need to move from a reactive to a preventive approach,” said Pilar Rodríguez López, Head of Energy and Utilities in Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ericsson, launching the white paper at Enlit Europe 2025.

“This is a call to action for governments, utilities and technology providers,” she added, pointing to the role of telecoms networks as a key infrastructure for providing the real time visibility for managing the grids.

“Communication is part of the solution because it’s bringing resiliency to the network.”

The white paper, prepared with EUTC with contributions from Iberdrola, EDP and EDF, calls for coordinated leadership with a call to action:

1. Accelerate grid modernisation by prioritising digitalisation, automation and telecommunications as foundational infrastructure.
2. Establish access to harmonised, non-commercial spectrum for energy sector use cases, ensuring secure, mission-critical communications that support utility operations and critical infrastructure.
3. Define common design principles for resilience, security and interoperability across national and cross-border systems.
4. Align regulation, investment and innovation to unlock full economic and environmental value while ensuring affordability for consumers.
5. Promote collaboration between utilities and technology providers to drive scalable, future-ready grid solutions.

Specific modernisations for mission-critical utility communications use cases include private LTE and 5G networks as well as embedding cybersecurity and resilience at every level of design.

Visibility of connectivity

In the discussion, Sergio Ramos, EUTC Vice Chair and Director of Networking & Communications at EDP, said the Iberian blackout was a lesson that such events were real and not just theoretical.

“Connectivity plays an important role, as there is a need to communicate from the earliest stages,” he said.

Responding to the question of why telecoms hasn’t had a higher profile, Adrian Grilli, EUTC Technology Advisor, said it is because it remains largely invisible.

“I think it’s why there hasn’t been an emphasis on it in utilities but as we have seen in other industries such as banking, without communication the systems don’t work.”

Koustuv Ghoshal, Head of Utilities at Ericsson, said there are three stakeholders in the system – "the utilities, the regulators and technologists.”

“The big elephant in the room is getting the three parties to dance together.”