The annual ACER report on EU electricity wholesale market integration:

• Evaluates progress in EU electricity market integration across all market time periods (forward, day-ahead, intraday).
• Highlights challenges in integrating balancing markets, developing forward markets, and the slow progress in implementing methodologies that define operations in day-ahead and intraday markets.
• Outlines ACER's recommendations and ongoing efforts to improve electricity market efficiency, infrastructure investment and usage, and enhance flexibility through demand response.

Check out ACER’s new interactive electricity dashboards

For the first time, this annual monitoring report is accompanied by three separate dashboards on key market indicators such as prices and churn rates (a liquidity metric), balancing data (e.g., volumes, prices and cross border exchanges of balancing services) and data on long-term transmission rights (including risk premia).

What are the key findings?

In March 2024, ACER reported frequent occurrences of negative electricity prices in the EU. In June 2024, the Agency warned of rising congestion management costs in the EU power grid, which reached €4 billion in 2023. ACER emphasised the importance of increased cross-zonal trading capacity.

Today’s report by ACER finds that:

• With the expansion of renewable energy, the role of fossil fuels in electricity systems is diminishing. The new generation mix is marked by a 10% rise in hours of mostly non-responsive generation (generation that does not adapt to short-term changes in demand) in 2023. ACER stresses the need to enhance power system flexibility for an efficient energy transition.
• However, delays in implementing market design changes hinder flexibility. 27% of the market design rules (methodologies, terms, and conditions) are delayed in terms of implementation.
• Balancing market integration remains limited in 2023. The Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of only four Member States have joined the balancing platforms which went live in 2022. ACER encourages more TSOs to join the balancing energy platforms, highlighting that increased participation can expand cross-zonal exchanges and reduce occurrences of high electricity balancing prices.
• Current electricity forward markets offer investors visibility on future electricity prices for only up to one year. ACER has identified shortcomings in regulatory measures aimed at addressing this challenge and proposed improvements.

What are ACER’s recommendations?

The report contains a suite of recommendations. In short, ACER:

• Recommends taking a proactive approach to further integrate power markets and strengthen connections.
• Recommends an efficiency-first approach for both power infrastructure investments and usage, ensuring that every installed megawatt is fully used.
• Stresses that improving long-term investment structures and ensuring better market integration will drive Europe's energy transition and economic growth.

What’s next?

ACER will:

• Publish a new report on power infrastructure investment in December 2024.
• Review the rules (terms, conditions and methodologies) that define market operations starting in 2025.
• Propose a network code on demand-side flexibility to the European Commission by March 2025.
• Continue to monitor power TSOs' involvement in balancing platforms.

These steps aim to enhance market efficiency and contribute to a resilient, flexible electricity infrastructure that can support Europe’s energy transition and long-term economic stability.

On 21 October 2024, ACER received a proposal from Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) to amend the single intraday coupling (SIDC) products methodology.

What is the methodology about?

The SIDC products methodology is defined by the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) Regulation. The methodology specifies the types of products that can be traded within the EU’s continuous single intraday market and in intraday auctions (IDAs). Here, trading begins the day before delivery and continues through the day of delivery, supporting real-time adjustments to supply and demand across borders.

Why amend the methodology?

In September 2024, ACER amended the single day-ahead coupling (SDAC) products methodology (where trades occur the day before delivery) to allow the introduction of 15-minute trading products (Decision 13/2024). The proposed changes for the SIDC products methodology aim to align with this update, allowing the introduction of 15-minute trading products in both day-ahead and intraday markets.

Harmonising the rules across both markets is necessary to comply with the EU Electricity Regulation and reduce entry barriers for market participants trading short-term products. These updates will enable participants to trade electricity in 15-minute intervals throughout the day, enhancing market flexibility.

What are the next steps?

ACER expects to decide on the amended methodology by April 2025.

Contact information

Interested parties may contact ACER on this matter at ACER-ELE-2024-012@acer.europa.eu by 11 December 2024 at the latest.

Relevant documents

All NEMO's proposal to amend the SIDC products methodology.

All NEMO's proposal to amend the SIDC products methodology (in track changes).

Explanatory note.

On 16 August 2024, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of the Netherlands asked ACER to decide on how to address the insufficient risk hedging opportunities at the bidding zone border between the Netherlands and Norway.

Why is a decision needed?

The assessments performed by the Dutch and Norwegian NRAs found insufficient hedging opportunities in their respective bidding zones. Sufficient long-term hedging opportunities are important to allow market participants to be protected against price volatility risks and to mitigate uncertainty on future returns on investments.

To improve this, NRAs can:

• Request their Transmission System Operators to issue long-term transmission rights.
• Ensure the availability of other long-term cross-zonal hedging products that can support the wholesale electricity market functioning.

Since the NRAs could not reach an agreement, the decision was referred to ACER and the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

What are the next steps?

To inform its decision-making process, ACER will run a public consultation from today until 22 November and will take a decision on the referral from the Dutch NRA by 17 February 2025.

The EFTA Surveillance Authority will issue a decision for Norway, following the procedure outlined in the EEA Agreement.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) concludes that there is no need for developing new voluntary Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) templates in the EU energy market.

What are the PPAs?

PPAs are contractual arrangements between electricity producers (often renewable energy generators) and buyers. By providing renewable electricity at mutually agreed rates, these contracts foster stability for both parties and promote renewable energy sources (RES).

What is the ACER assessment about?

The (2024) Electricity Market Design (EMD) Regulation promotes PPAs as long-term instruments for ensuring price stability. As part of the EMD reforms, ACER was tasked with assessing whether additional voluntary PPA contract templates are needed to foster the transparency, efficiency and integration of the European internal energy market.

In conducting its assessment, ACER engaged with more than a 100 diverse stakeholders including through an expert group and a public consultation over summer 2024.

What are ACER’s conclusions?

ACER’s engagement with stakeholders showed that:

• Existing templates, developed by industry associations and national bodies, are largely sufficient for current market needs.

• These templates help market participants (especially newer or smaller players) reduce legal costs and streamline the initial phases of the contracting process.

• Addressing critical market barriers, such as project development bottlenecks, would have a more meaningful impact on fostering the PPA market.

ACER concludes that there is no need to introduce new voluntary PPA contract templates. Instead, ACER will provide recommendations on how to improve existing ones and advise on how to remove barriers to market integration.

What are the next steps?

ACER will continue to monitor the PPA market as part of its reporting obligations and to support market participants by addressing structural barriers in its recommendations.

Updates will be regularly shared with stakeholders on the ACER’s website and via the newsletter.

The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has imposed a €1,081,502 fine on Neuro Energía y Gestión for manipulating the Spanish electricity market between 23 August 2022 and 15 March 2023.

This penalty comes under the REMIT Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011, which prohibits market manipulation and seeks to protect the integrity and transparency of the EU’s wholesale energy markets.

In its decision, CNMC found that Neuro Energía y Gestión had breached Article 5 of REMIT, specifically Article 2.2.a.i by:

• Issuing and withdrawing non-genuine orders to be in an advantageous position to execute cross-border sales with France.
• Manipulating the market by providing false or misleading signals as to the supply, demand, and price of wholesale energy products.

The investigation revealed that Neuro Energía y Gestión, in 125 trading sessions, issued and withdrew non-genuine orders using the digital certificates of 34 other market agents. The goal was to control the offer processing queue on the continuous intraday electricity cross-border sales contracts with France.

ACER welcomes this decision by CNMC, which seeks to promote the transparency and integrity of the Spanish electricity market.

Access the Decision and CNMC’s press release (both in Spanish).

See the latest table of REMIT breach sanction decisions adopted by national regulatory authorities.

Check the ACER REMIT Guidance (6th edition) for more information on the types of trading practices which could constitute market manipulation under REMIT.

Interested in further information on enforcement decisions under REMIT? Check out ACER’s REMIT Quarterly reports.

ACER publishes today its Opinion on the compliance of the draft joint Scenarios Report for the Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2024 with ACER’s Framework Guidelines.

The draft joint Scenarios Report for the TYNDP is issued by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) and electricity (ENTSO-E) every two years. ACER reviews the draft Scenarios Report to ensure compliance with its Framework Guidelines, as this contributes to build a solid foundation to the European energy network development.

What are the network development scenarios?

Network development scenarios are key for planning future energy infrastructure. They project the evolution of the European energy system over the coming decade and guide the development of infrastructure needed to achieve Europe’s decarbonisation goals.

​​​​​Under the TEN-E Regulation, ACER is responsible for creating Framework Guidelines for Scenario Development, while ENTSOG and ENTSO-E (the ‘ENTSOs’) are tasked with developing network scenarios based on these guidelines. In January 2023, ACER published its Framework Guidelines, aiming to establish a transparent, inclusive, and robust process.

What are ACER’s key findings?

While welcoming some improvements in the scenarios’ development process, ACER’s assessment identifies several areas of non-compliance with its Framework Guidelines:

• Diverging scenarios: rather than developing different scenario variants based on economic factors, the ENTSOs created diverging scenarios, leading to less reliable results.
• Delayed process: scenarios’ development was delayed, negatively impacting other processes, such as the infrastructure gaps assessment or the project-specific cost-benefit analysis.
• Slower stakeholder group formation: the process of establishing the Stakeholder Reference Group took longer than expected, which impacted the stakeholder engagement’s overall effectiveness.
• Transparency: despite enhanced transparency and stakeholder consultations, the draft 2024 Scenarios Report still did not fully meet the transparency standards set by the Framework Guidelines. For instance, a detailed reasoning on how the stakeholders’ observations were addressed or considered has not been provided.

What are the next steps?

ACER expects some of these issues to be addressed in the final 2024 Scenarios Report for the TYNDP and anticipates that ENTSOG and ENTSO-E will further tackle the remaining shortcomings in the 2026 scenarios.

In line with the TEN-E Regulation, the European Commission will review the draft joint Scenarios Report for TYNDP and, taking into account ACER’s Opinion, it will either approve it or ask the ENTSOs for amendments.

The EU’s drive towards carbon neutrality by 2050 requires swift changes. Today’s ACER-CEER 2024 Market Monitoring Report on energy retail and consumer protection emphasises that the clean energy transition will not occur without power system flexibility and the active participation of energy consumers.

Which key challenges did the report identify?

• Slow smart meter adoption
• Increased price volatility
• Fixed contracts dominate
• Member States price interventions hinder flexibility

What are the key recommendations of the energy regulators’ report?

Retail markets can play a pivotal role as providers of flexibility. Unlocking more flexible retail consumption is crucial for the energy transition's success. It also creates opportunities for consumers to benefit from lower energy prices.

The report calls on regulatory authorities and Member States to prioritise demand-side response frameworks, incentivise efficient grid use, and accelerate the rollout of smart meters. Dynamic pricing and flexible contracts are key to empowering consumers.

To unlock greater flexibility in retail energy markets, the report calls for:

• The regulatory framework to be updated to promote demand-side response while balancing household consumer protection.
• Incentives to optimise efficient grid usage.
• Faster smart meter rollout.
• Empowering consumers through more flexible contract options. Additionally, raising consumer awareness and providing incentives for flexible energy consumption are key to driving the energy transition.

ACER's monitoring shows a gradual decrease in EU household energy prices

Average EU energy prices stabilised in 2024 after a major decrease the previous year, although they remain higher than pre-crisis levels. Retail price variations depend on contract types. Member States with more fixed-rate contracts saw slower reductions, leading to higher consumer costs compared to those with dynamic contracts.

To help track these trends, ACER has released a dashboard that shows the monthly changes in electricity and gas prices, including components like energy, network charges, and taxes across Member States from January 2019 to August 2024.

Get involved!

ACER and CEER will hold a webinar to present the report’s main findings and recommendations (Monday, 7 October 2024 at 14:00 CET). Register (for free) here.

Read more.

Explore the infographic.