14.5.2014

ACER welcomes the successful coupling of the day-ahead markets of Portugal and Spain with the North-West European region

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The organised electricity markets (power exchanges) in Portugal and Spain joined yesterday the day-ahead market coupling of the North-West Europe region, which took place last February. With this development, power exchanges covering 17 European countries are fully interlinked. The current market coupling between Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden will enhance further the development of the single EU energy market by favouring price convergence, which fosters competition and therefore leads to a better choice of services and products for consumers.   “The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) welcomes the go-live of the full day-ahead market coupling within and between the North-West and South-West Europe regions, which represents a new landmark towards the European single market” said ACER Director, Alberto Pototschnig today. The Chairman of the ACER Board of Regulators, Lord Mogg also expressed his satisfaction as “this very important milestone occurred as planned, just a few months after the launch of the day-ahead market coupling in North-West Europe.” This achievement rewards the intensive work performed by transmission system operators, power exchanges, national regulatory authorities and the Agency within the voluntary early implementation framework called the regional initiatives process.   The electricity markets of Italy and Slovenia are expected to join the coupled markets by the end of 2014. Also by the end of this year, within the Central-East Europe region, an initiative in Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia aims at implementing the so called Price Coupling of Regions5 which will constitute an important first step towards the future coupling between the Central-East and North-West Europe regions. Find out more within ACER press release.