Recent geopolitical and environmental events have created a new urgency for a just energy transition and a socially inclusive modernization of the energy sector. This article critically evaluates the extent to which Article 194(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as the competence provision of EU energy law, is congruent with the energy justice framework emerging from social sciences. It establishes the substantive scope and justiciability of Article 194(1) TFEU, including the legal principles and so-called ‘guiding principles’ of the provision relating to the internal market, environmental protection, and energy solidarity. The article analyzes the potential and shortcomings of Article 194(1) TFEU in contributing to more equitable decision-making processes in EU energy law. It concludes by evaluating the provision as a regulatory instrument that facilitates the (re)balancing of competing interests of the energy sector. This research further concludes that social considerations of energy justice cannot be sufficiently addressed through Article 194(1) TFEU.

This article analyses the European Union's competences in the energy sector. It focuses on Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which affords EU Member States the right to determine the conditions for exploiting their energy resources, the choice between different energy sources and the general structure of their energy supply. This article traces the constitutional development of EU competences in the energy sector to demonstrate the relevance of Article 194(2) TFEU in the current constitutional, international and sector-specific contexts of EU energy law. It analyses the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which shows that the scope of Article 194(2) TFEU is considerably narrower in practice than its wording implies. The article concludes by evaluating the implications of this narrow interpretation on the future development of EU energy law and, in a broader context, on the reach of EU energy and climate policy.