ACER publishes its report on unit investment cost (UIC) indicators for energy infrastructure, updating the reference values last published in 2023.
What are UIC indicators?
Transparent cost estimation is essential for planning energy networks. Under the TEN-E Regulation, ACER is required to develop and publish a set of UIC indicators and corresponding reference values every three years, providing a common framework for assessing the investment costs of comparable energy infrastructure projects.
What did ACER observe?
- Infrastructure costs have increased above inflation across most categories (e.g. electricity lines, cables and substations). As the indicators are based on historical data from commissioned projects, they do not fully reflect current price levels and may underestimate actual costs.
- Cost drivers point to increased exposure to price volatility and dependence on supply chains, particularly for materials from third countries, as well as other manufacturing-related costs.
- Data representativeness remains limited for several infrastructure categories, with inputs unevenly distributed across countries, which can affect the robustness of the indicators.
Despite some limitations, the indicators provide valuable insights into infrastructure costs and support more transparent and informed planning decisions. As the assessment is based on historical data from commissioned projects, further work is needed to better capture these cost developments in future updates.
