At the seminar “Flexibility in the Electricity Market” on May 20, 2026, in Vienna, one thing became clear: with the Electricity Industry Act (ElWG), flexible grid connections are now, for the first time, clearly anchored in Austrian legislation.
In her presentation on Flexible Connection Agreements (FCA), our colleague Elena Reisert outlined the new opportunities this creates for market participants and network operators – and what will matter most in practice.
New Opportunities for Grid Connections
From an investor’s perspective, FCAs primarily open up additional options for accessing the grid:
- Grid connections can be enabled or brought forward even in the presence of existing bottlenecks
- At the same time, the maximum available capacity can be limited, either statically or dynamically
- These limitations may also become a permanent element of the operating model
This makes it clear: the key factor is no longer whether a grid connection is possible, but how it is designed.
Regulatory Framework: Much Clarified – Some Open Questions Remain
The current market consultation on the SNE-GV provides initial indications of the future design, but leaves key questions unanswered:
- Fee reductions are tied to actual grid-side savings
- A flat-rate bonus for FCAs is currently not envisaged
At the same time, it is expected that network operators will make optimal use of existing capacities and design curtailments in a way that is transparent and quantifiable for connection users.
A Key Question for Projects
For project developers and investors, a central question is therefore coming into focus:
- How can operational restrictions under FCAs be reliably incorporated into project valuation?
Support in Implementation
E-Bridge supports both network operators and project developers in the design and economic assessment of FCA models – from regulatory classification to practical implementation within projects.
