Workshop: ACER’s new cost efficiency comparison of EU gas TSOs

ACER publishes today its Opinion on the draft electricity ten-year network development plan (TYNDP) 2024 and the Infrastructure Gaps Identification report 2024, submitted by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).

What is the TYNDP and why is it important?

Cross-border electricity infrastructure is key to interconnecting Europe’s electricity markets, making it easier to share electricity across countries. This is important to integrate more renewables onto the grid and achieve ambitious decarbonisation goals.

Every two years, European grid operators submit their draft EU-wide ten-year network development plan (TYNDP) to ACER for its opinion. Given the scale of infrastructure needs and that related costs are expected to make up a growing share of electricity bills, having a robust and fit-for-purpose TYNDP is key to efficient grid development.

The TYNDP is expected to play a central role by identifying cross-border energy infrastructure needs and ensuring that projects bringing the most benefit for the EU are put forward.

On 9 April 2025, ENTSO-E submitted its 2024 draft TYNDP to ACER, along with the electricity Infrastructure Gaps Identification report. Developed within the framework of the TYNDP 2024, the latter provides a pan-European view of future power system needs up to 2050, focusing on cross-border infrastructure and storage capacities. It highlights where current or planned electricity projects might be insufficient to meet those future needs.

In its Opinion 04-2025, ACER provides recommendations to be addressed by ENTSO-E to finalise its 2024 TYNDP and prepare future editions. ACER’s recommendations aim to support investment decisions and facilitate the efficient development of the European electricity grid, in line with broader EU policy goals.

What are ACER’s main findings and recommendations on the 2024 draft TYNDP?

• ACER welcomes the progress made so far and acknowledges ENTSO-E’s continued effort to introduce improvements in each new edition of the TYNDP. 

• ACER finds that the 2024 draft TYNDP generally contributes to the objectives of non-discrimination and effective competition but does not sufficiently contribute to the efficient functioning of the electricity market or ensure an adequate level of cross-border interconnection open to third-party access. 

• While recognising the complexity of the TYNDP process within its two-year timeframe, ACER notes that several of its previous recommendations remain unaddressed, including the need to improve timeliness and transparency. Other aspects, like enhancing the granularity of the information provided, also need to be addressed.  

What does ACER recommend to ENTSO-E for future electricity TYNDPs and Infrastructure Gaps Identification reports? 

• Ensure timely submission of the TYNDP and of the Infrastructure Gaps Identification report to ACER by addressing the root causes of the recurring delays.

• Conduct substantial consultations on assumptions and methodologies used, well before the drafting begins.

• Strengthen the medium-term analyses (over a 10- or 15-year horizon) to identify future infrastructure gaps and assess projects’ costs and benefits more effectively.

• Improve transparency and consistency of the information on existing grids and projects.

• Base the modelling of the electricity network on an appropriate starting grid (for the gaps analysis) and reference grids (for the cost-benefit assessment).

• Provide more granular information on infrastructure needs and gaps, including an analysis of capacity constraints within Member States’ networks.

• Improve transparency of the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) results and continue work towards full implementation of the 4th CBA Guideline.

• Ensure full compliance with ACER’s Scenario Framework Guidelines and its Opinion on ENTSOs’ draft TYNDP 2024 Scenario Report.

What are the next steps?

ENTSO-E is asked to implement ACER’s recommendations both to finalise the 2024 TYNDP and to further improve its upcoming editions.

As Europe moves away from Russian fossil fuels, liquified natural gas (LNG) is becoming an increasingly important flexible supply source. But with future gas demand uncertain, the EU faces a trade-off: securing higher LNG volumes to ensure stabler pricing, while maintaining the flexibility to avoid over-contracting in a changing market.

ACER’s 2025 Monitoring Report highlights:

• LNG’s share of the EU’s total gas supply rose from 23% in 2020 to around 40% in 2024.
• The EU remained the world’s largest LNG importer, with 112 bcm imported despite a 17% drop from 2023.
• The US supplied nearly 50% of EU LNG imports, while Russian LNG to EU increased by 22%, despite sanctions. 
• Over 550 EU spot LNG trades with delivery were reported to ACER, totalling 45.5 bcm – 55% of which were priced below 35 EUR/MWh.
• The EU purchased 30 bcm of LNG on the spot market, more than any other major importer.
• The EU faces up to 90 bcm of demand uncertainty between Fit for 55 and REPowerEU scenarios, which could lead to 30 bcm in additional LNG demand by 2030 (compared to 2024 levels) and prolonged reliance on the spot market.

ACER recommendations

To manage future gas demand uncertainty and price risks, key actions are needed from policymakers, network operators and market players:

• Accelerate decarbonisation efforts to reduce structural gas demand through faster deployment of renewables and improved energy efficiency.
• Secure additional LNG through flexible contracts to help reduce short-term exposure to price volatility.
• Improve coordination and effective data-sharing between Member States and the European Commission to enable better monitoring of decarbonisation progress and guide LNG procurement.

What are the next steps? 

Register for the ACER webinar on the evolving role of LNG in Europe (28 May 2025).

Read more. 

ACER’s REMIT Quarterly provides updates on the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and related activities, helping stakeholders stay informed on developments that enhance transparency and integrity in the EU energy markets. 

What is in the latest REMIT Quarterly?

The 40th edition covers the first quarter of 2025 and marks a decade of progress in centralised EU-wide data collection, which is essential to ensure transparent and fair wholesale energy markets.

This edition includes:

• Updated Q&As on REMIT, which help market participants better understand new obligations under the revised Regulation.
• Overview of 405 potential breach cases under review, along with recent enforcement actions in Spain and France addressing market manipulation.
• Latest improvements in market surveillance, including updated data-sharing statistics, new Energy Identification Codes (EICs) and broader reporting coverage (now including 15,560 standard contracts and 74 organised marketplaces).
• Comparison of Q1 2025 trading activities with Q1 2024, highlighting key market trends and transparency gains.
• Ongoing monitoring of Inside Information Platforms (IIPs), focusing on compliance, data accessibility and improving the effectiveness of public disclosures.

What else is new? 

• ACER’s new REMIT Data Reference Centre. Check out the infographic on the first REMIT data released for Q1 2025. Want to know how you can apply the data? See practical examples of how analysts and policymakers can explore market shifts using the ACER REMIT Data Reference Centre. 
• ACER’s brand new Inside Information Access Point. This is a single gateway for inside information that is currently published across 23 platforms.
• Interested to find out more about these new tools? Join our webinar (11 June 2025).

Today, ACER publishes the outcome of its monitoring activity on projects of common interest (PCIs) and projects of mutual interest (PMIs). 

ACER assessed the status and progress of projects included in the first Union list of PCIs and PMIs (2024). These projects cover electricity, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, electrolysers and gas infrastructure categories. 

For the first time, the findings of ACER monitoring are presented through an interactive dashboard, which offers a detailed outline of the projects’ progress, regulatory treatment and financing status. The dashboard is complemented by individual project overviews.

What are projects of common interest and of mutual interest?

The concepts of projects of common interest (PCIs) and projects of mutual interest (PMIs) are defined under the Trans-European Networks for Energy Regulation (TEN-E Regulation). These are key energy projects designed to increase network and market integration, as well as to support the decarbonisation of infrastructure grids between EU Member States (PCIs) or with non-EU countries (PMIs).

The European Commission is responsible for selecting and publishing both PCIs and PMIs lists every two years (the Union list). ACER is tasked with monitoring their progress based on data submitted by project promoters and national competent authorities. This year’s monitoring covered 130 projects. 

What did ACER monitoring find?

• One third of electricity projects have been delayed or rescheduled, mainly due to early-stage implementation issues or delays in construction works. More than half of the projects are in more advanced stages, with 30% under construction, 23% in the permitting phase and 2% already commissioned. Overall, 72% of electricity projects are expected to be commissioned by 2030. 
• Out of 34 hydrogen projects reviewed, 33 are progressing on time, with over 90% expected to be commissioned by 2030. However, most projects are still in early development, with only 18% in the permitting phase and the rest at less-advanced stages.
• Out of all projects reviewed, 23 received EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grants for works and 15 for studies.
• Permit granting, construction and environmental impact assessment are the most time-consuming phases when connecting infrastructure projects to the grid, taking on average 4.3 years, 3.8 years and 2.6 years respectively.

What are the next steps?

In the following months, the outcomes of ACER’s monitoring will be examined by the regional groups (composed by experts from Member States, transmission and distribution system operators, as well as energy regulators and the European Commission) as part of the selection process for the 2025 Union list. 

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) is the EU framework that aims to prevent wholesale energy market abuse and support fair competition. When the regulation was revised in 2024, ACER was tasked with:

• establishing a REMIT Data Reference Centre to house information on EU wholesale energy market data; and with
• creating a single Inside Information Access Point. 

ACER’s new REMIT Data Reference Centre provides access to key data reported under REMIT in one place. This marks a significant step toward increasing transparency in EU wholesale energy markets and offering insights to market participants, analysts and researchers. 

The first release includes nine datasets, accessible via ACER’s CHEST application. Users can explore the data interactively online, apply custom filters, and export selected results for further analysis.

This is first time REMIT data is being made available in a downloadable, aggregated, and harmonised format. Unlike previously published data (such as those featured in ACER’s REMIT Quarterly and Monitoring Reports), these are complete datasets, offering users a more comprehensive and usable view of market activities. 

Today’s launch of the ACER REMIT Data Reference Centre is a first step. ACER plans to expand the application with additional datasets and new features in future updates, further reinforcing ACER’s role as a reference centre for wholesale energy market transparency.

These 9 datasets provide insights into trading from January to March 2025. The next update (covering data from April to June 2025) is expected by mid-September. 

The datasets are grouped into the following categories:

Electricity markets datasets:
   1.    Intraday trading
   2.    Day-ahead trading
   3.    Long-term trading
   4.    Bilateral trading including Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
Natural gas markets datasets:
   5.    Within-day and Day-ahead trading
   6.    Long-term trading
   7.    Bilateral trading
LNG markets dataset:
   8.    LNG trading
Market participants dataset:
   9.    Market participant categorisation

All datasets are available for download in CSV format and are described in detail in the accompanying Catalogue.

Curious how you can apply the data? See practical examples of how analysts and policymakers can explore market shifts using the ACER REMIT Data Reference Centre. 

Check out the infographic on the first REMIT data released for Q1 2025.

Under REMIT, ‘inside information’ refers to non-public information related to energy market participants or their assets (e.g. outages) that, if made public, would be likely to significantly affect the prices of wholesale energy products. Market players are obliged to disclose such information in a timely way, via Inside Information Platforms (IIPs), to ensure fair and transparent market conditions. IIPs are online platforms, approved by ACER, where market participants disclose inside information. 

ACER’s new Inside Information Access Point serves as a single gateway for inside information that is currently published across 23 approved IIPs, making it easier for market players to check and compare inside information. Better access to planned maintenance and unplanned disruptions of energy assets enhances public understanding of EU energy market dynamics and may support more coordinated asset management by operators and policymakers.

The ACER Inside Information Access Point can also help facilitate the fulfilment of the new REMIT obligations for persons professionally arranging or executing transactions (such as energy exchanges, brokers and capacity allocation platforms). These entities must notify ACER and the relevant national regulatory authorities (NRAs) of any potential breaches caused by a market participant’s failure to disclose inside information. 

What kind of inside information is available?

The ACER Inside Information Access Point collects and displays a range of inside information, including:

• Planned and unplanned downtimes of energy assets likely to significantly affect the prices of wholesale energy products.
• Service interruptions across production, transmission, and consumption infrastructure.
• Outages and maintenance events of both gas and electricity assets.

Users can filter and export inside information data collected by ACER on a given day. ACER plans to continue developing its Access Point, adding new functionalities and improvements to further support market transparency and oversight.

The Access Point is not intended for real-time trading decisions, as its dataset is refreshed daily rather than continuously. Market participants should continue to consult individual Inside Information Platforms for real-time publications of REMIT inside information.