Changes to European electricity networks could create new revenue opportunities for equipment that supports grid stability, as operators address the technical limits of systems increasingly reliant on inverter-connected resources. The potential market extends beyond electricity sales and conventional balancing energy: equipment providing voltage support, synthetic inertia and reactive power may gain commercial value as technical rules and procurement arrangements develop. At an energy conference in Athens on October 22, Miguel Ochoa, Europe Grid Director at SIGENERGY, said regulatory uncertainty was slowing deployment of technologies designed to support system stability.
Ochoa identified voltage regulation as a major challenge and pointed to grid-forming technology as a potential solution. The European Union is preparing a revision of its Requirements for Generators network code, or RfG 2.0, to update technical standards for modern generation and storage systems. For developers, engineering contractors and infrastructure investors in Southeast Europe, the changes could affect equipment procurement, grid-connection compliance and the development of new contractual revenue streams.
Grid stability requires services beyond electricity supply
Conventional electricity-market revenues are largely linked to delivered energy, available capacity and frequency-balancing services. Networks also need technical capabilities that cannot be measured simply by the volume of electricity sold. Voltage stability depends partly on connected equipment’s ability to absorb or inject reactive power, while frequency stability requires a rapid response when generation and consumption fall out of balance.
Inertia and other fast-response characteristics help limit the rate of frequency change after a disturbance. Historically, synchronous generators at large power plants provided many of these functions naturally or through established controls. As systems become more reliant on inverter-connected technologies, engineered control systems and appropriately designed equipment must increasingly supply the required services.
Grid-forming inverters can contribute to this transition. Unlike conventional grid-following inverters, which typically synchronise with an existing grid-voltage waveform, grid-forming equipment can control its own voltage waveform and respond rapidly to changing electrical conditions. Depending on the design and available energy resources, it may support system strength, fast active-power response and local voltage stability.
Not every grid-forming device can provide every stability service, and the capabilities of different products are not interchangeable. Even so, the technology creates opportunities for equipment manufacturers, engineering companies and electricity-asset owners. The services that can be delivered depend on each device’s technical design and available energy resources.
EU generator requirements are under revision
The European Commission published a draft revision of the Requirements for Generators code on July 8, 2026, opening a consultation that closed on August 25. The proposed framework addresses the growing role of converter-connected generation, electricity storage and emerging technologies, including grid-forming capability. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) had published detailed technical guidance on grid-forming requirements in November 2025.
The proposed code would strengthen the framework for specifying how eligible installations must perform during disturbances and interact with electricity networks. The revised requirements have not yet entered into force. At the Athens conference, Ochoa said the revised European regulation could be issued in English in February 2027, with other language versions following by May; this is a reported expectation, not a confirmed implementation date.
The timetable is relevant to developers making equipment decisions now for assets expected to operate for decades. If future technical requirements differ from the capabilities in current procurement contracts, projects could face additional engineering costs or equipment modifications. Installations designed with sufficiently advanced capabilities could, conversely, be better positioned to meet future grid requirements.
The financial effects will depend on national implementation, how existing installations are treated and whether additional technical capabilities qualify for remuneration. These factors determine how regulatory requirements translate into project costs or potential income. The final revised requirements are still pending.
Germany has begun paying for inertia services
Germany’s transmission-system operators began market-based procurement of instantaneous reserve on January 22, 2026. The service is intended to support local grid stability by responding rapidly to active-power imbalances. The framework allows qualified resources, including suitable synchronous equipment and grid-forming converters, to supply defined inertia-related services.
Remuneration uses a fixed-price mechanism that accounts for product type, location and service availability. The procurement framework distinguishes between positive and negative response products, as well as different availability requirements. Germany’s system shows how technical stability functions can be organised as standardised commercial services.
The example also demonstrates the importance of an installation’s location and technical performance. An asset that can support local stability will not necessarily provide equal value at every transmission-network connection point. Revenue depends on where the service is needed, which technical standards apply and how the system operator procures it.
Germany’s approach does not mean that comparable markets already operate throughout Southeast Europe. It does, however, provide a practical example for regulators and transmission operators considering their own procurement structures. The market framework links payment to defined service characteristics and location.
System operators across Southeast Europe face new requirements
The issues are particularly relevant for Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, where transmission and distribution operators must accommodate changing generation and consumption technologies. Technical standards and service procurement also matter in Serbia and Montenegro, where transmission requirements and regulatory alignment will affect the bankability of future investments. In Greece, the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) will need to assess how increasingly inverter-based resources affect system stability and grid operation.
Romania’s Transelectrica faces similar questions about the technical characteristics and control capabilities of connected installations. In Croatia, the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS) and distribution-system operators will need to consider how advanced grid-support functions can be incorporated into operational and connection requirements. These questions concern both the technical performance expected of assets and the services system operators may procure.
Serbia’s legal framework already recognises non-frequency ancillary services and provides for procurement through transparent, non-discriminatory and market-based procedures, subject to regulatory conditions and possible exceptions. This provides a potential regulatory basis for more clearly defined technical services. Legal recognition, however, is distinct from having an established procurement market that offers predictable revenue.
Developing commercial services requires system operators to identify specific needs, define technical products, and establish qualification and payment arrangements. The availability of such arrangements will determine whether recognised services can generate revenue. Requirements and procurement structures may differ by country.
Engineering evidence and contracts shape commercial value
The transition also changes the work required of equipment suppliers, independent engineers and project supervisors. Grid-forming performance cannot be established solely by a manufacturer’s marketing specifications; investors and system operators need evidence of how an installation performs under defined electrical conditions. That evidence may involve power-system studies, dynamic simulation models, protection coordination, inverter-control settings, site acceptance tests and measurements during commissioning.
For existing installations, determining whether advanced functions can be enabled may require a detailed review of hardware capability, software, contractual warranties and grid-code obligations. A distinction must also be made between mandatory technical compliance and optional commercial services. A system operator may require specified reactive-power capability as a condition of connection, but that requirement does not automatically give the installation a right to additional revenue.
Commercial value arises when a qualifying service is separately remunerated under applicable rules or contracts. For lenders and investors, that distinction helps prevent uncontracted stability-service revenue from being included prematurely in financial models. Independent technical assessment may also be needed when new services are introduced.
Technical capability may affect project assessment
As grid-forming requirements develop, investors may need to distinguish equipment that meets minimum connection obligations from installations able to provide additional contracted stability services. That distinction could influence procurement strategies, acquisition due diligence and long-term operational planning. A project with documented grid-forming capability, validated dynamic models and suitable controls may be easier to adapt to changing technical standards.
Whether such a project commands a valuation premium will depend on demonstrable avoided costs, greater operational certainty or additional contracted revenue. Developers must also consider whether providing a stability service imposes operating restrictions or reduces the ability to earn revenue elsewhere. Contracts will therefore need to address availability, technical performance, service priority, liability and interactions between different operational obligations.
Introducing advanced services could increase demand for specialist engineering, testing, independent certification and long-term technical supervision. These activities are commercially distinct from the construction of conventional electricity-generation capacity. The pace of market development will vary by country, depending on how quickly transmission operators identify system needs and establish procurement arrangements.