SECTOR GUIDE
CBAM and electricity
Electricity carries the most distinct rule set within CBAM: its own default-value logic, its own declaration rules and an exemption carve-out. This page collects the core rules, based on the Commission’s electricity-specific Q&A.
Last checked: 1 September 2026 · Source: Commission "Q&A on CBAM and Electricity" (25 March 2026)
Default value: by country of production
The embedded emissions of imported electricity are as a rule determined by a default value, applied according to the country where the electricity was produced. The critical detail: even where electricity reaches the EU traded through another third country, the applicable value is that of the country of production, not the intermediary. Using actual emissions is subject to the Regulation’s strict electricity-specific conditions — see the Commission’s electricity Q&A for the full set.
Transit: no declaration needed
Electricity merely passing through the EU — entering and exiting without release for free circulation — requires no CBAM declaration. The declaration obligation matches the quantities released for free circulation in the customs declaration: only quantities intended for the Union market or for consumption in the Union customs territory are declared.
Who declares?
The authorised CBAM declarant must be the same entity that lodges the customs declaration — the importer or the indirect customs representative. Country-of-origin information in the customs declaration and the CBAM declaration must match, and declared imports must be supportable with evidence.
No exemption
The 50-tonne mass threshold does not apply to electricity (or hydrogen): electricity imports trigger CBAM obligations regardless of quantity. Electricity is also outside the scope of estimation tools built on installation data — including our embedded emissions estimator: a separate section of the Methodology rules applies to it.
Related pages
Source
The rules on this page are taken from the European Commission’s "Q&A on CBAM and Electricity" (25 March 2026) and the CBAM Q&A. Organisations trading electricity should work from the document itself; this page is informational.
Commission — CBAM communication and FAQs (document archive) ↗