The European Commission has confirmed that importers must continue meeting existing conditions for reporting actual electricity emissions until EU lawmakers adopt a final legislative amendment.
Proposed Changes Have Not Yet Taken Effect
The European Union is considering changes to the methodology for claiming actual emissions on imported electricity. However, the European Commission has stressed that the current conditionality requirements remain binding until the co-legislators adopt a final amendment.
The pending legislative file 2025/0419(COD) was introduced in December 2025 as part of a broader package addressing downstream products, anti-circumvention and measures intended to encourage the decarbonisation of electricity imports.
The Council of the European Union adopted its negotiating position in June, followed by the European Parliament’s first-reading position in September. An agreed final text still requires interinstitutional negotiations.
Existing Eligibility Conditions Remain Mandatory
In its Q&A published on 15 October, the Commission explicitly cautioned against anticipating the outcome of the legislative process. Until the legislation changes, importers seeking to report actual electricity emissions must continue to satisfy the existing cumulative conditions.
These include a power purchase agreement (PPA), a direct physical connection to the EU transmission system or evidence that no physical congestion occurred, compliance with the 550 gCO₂/kWh fossil-fuel emissions threshold, and matching electricity production with firmly nominated interconnector capacity over periods no longer than one hour.
Implications for Future Electricity Contracts
The distinction is important for traders developing electricity supply contracts for 2027 and 2028 around the possibility of more flexible eligibility rules. Contractual provisions should not assume that a proposed methodology is already in force. Changes to the final legislation could leave importers without the evidence needed to qualify for actual-emissions treatment.
The issue is particularly relevant to Southeast Europe, where cross-border electricity flows are affected by congestion, transit countries and explicit or implicit capacity allocation. Changes to the rules for demonstrating physical delivery could influence which renewable electricity projects can translate their emissions advantages into commercial value in the EU market.
Producers and Lenders Face Evidence and Revenue Risks
For electricity producers, the prudent approach is to maintain evidence that satisfies the rules currently in force and treat any future relaxation as a potential additional benefit. Relevant records include hourly production and nomination data, contractual links, grid-connection evidence and controls allocating electricity to individual importers.
Banks financing renewable assets intended to supply the EU market also need to monitor the legislative file as a potential source of revenue risk. Where a project’s financial model assumes a premium for CBAM-qualified electricity, that premium should be supported by the applicable law rather than relying solely on a proposal under negotiation.
The EU’s policy direction is towards better recognition of low-carbon electricity. Until the legislation is amended, however, eligibility for actual-emissions treatment continues to depend on the prescribed physical and contractual evidence, not simply on the environmental characteristics of the electricity.
