The EU plans to roll out a strategy on Friday (17 July) designed to speed up electrification across the economy. The goal is to cut reliance on fossil fuels and lessen dependence on overseas energy imports.

Electricity accounts for 23 percent of final energy consumption, only a small rise since 1990. The share is edging higher as wind and solar increasingly displace gas and coal generation.

Outside power production, however, transport, heating and industry show little change in their fossil fuel dependence.

China offers a clear contrast, having lifted electricity to more than 30 percent of its energy mix from roughly five percent in 1990.

Recent supply concerns appear to have sharpened focus in Brussels. The Electrification Action Plan, reviewed in draft form last week, stands as the bloc's most far-reaching effort yet to advance electrification.

Brussels intends to set a specific electrification target later this year, alongside measures to narrow the price gap between electricity and gas, plus a decarbonisation bank to aid industries switching from gas boilers to renewable and battery systems.

Yet the question remains why progress has been limited so far.

Electric options for cars, vans and most trucks already compete on price. Heat pumps likewise offer a ready substitute for gas heating in homes.

Less recognised is that 78 percent of industrial heat, often labelled hard to abate, can be electrified with equipment available today.

That figure comes from recent Schneider Electric analysis of digitisation, automation and electrification support for industry.

Barriers to faster uptake lie less in technology than in grid capacity, lengthy permitting, limited public funding and resistance to change among engineers accustomed to combustion processes.

To explore these constraints and their implications for the coming EU plan, EUobserver spoke with Devan Pillay, president of heavy industries at Schneider Electric, who guides firms on replacing gas heat with electric solutions.

Given uncertain fossil fuel supplies and mature technology, what explains the slow pace of industrial electrification?