16 CCM
16 CCM
Documentation on the approval processes of this methodology
Capacities for cross-zonal electricity trade and congestion management
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Electricity
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2024 Market Monitoring Report
ACER 2024 report finds that:
- The EU power grid is increasingly congested. The cost of managing this congestion in 2023 was EUR 4 billion.
- Grid congestion limits Member States’ progress in maximising capacities for cross-border trade, thus impeding further market integration.
ACER highlights the urgency for Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to meet their obligation of making 70% of transmission capacity available for cross-border electricity trading by the end of 2025. Furthermore, the recent report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre forecasts that power grid congestion will significantly worsen in the coming years, even in an optimistic grid development scenario.
Electricity transmission capacity connects Europe’s markets and benefits consumers
EU electricity market integration is about trading electricity with neighbouring countries. Maximising transmission capacity is essential for cross-border trade of electricity, as it enables supply and demand to match across the EU. Maximising grid capacity refers not just to the ‘physical’ grid (high voltage lines) but also to the transmission capacity that TSOs make available on those lines for trading (‘commercial capacity’) with neighbours. It is essential for TSOs to deliver maximal transmission capacity for electricity trade to achieve the ambitious political objectives set for renewable generation and ensuring that their benefits reach the end consumer.
Why is maximising current and future transmission capacity so important?
TSOs are required under EU law to make 70% of transmission capacity available for electricity trading with neighbours by the end of 2025. Maximising interconnection capacity and meeting the minimum 70% requirement:
- is a pre-requisite for the energy transition;
- enhances security of electricity supply by optimising the use of the existing grid;
- mitigates prices and price volatility;
- provides the market with much-needed flexibility; and
- ensures a level playing field between domestic and cross-border trades.
What are the key findings of the ACER report?
Already in April 2024, ACER alerted the European Parliament and Commission that there is much at stake in not meeting the minimum 70% requirement by the end of 2025 and that there are still significant challenges ahead to do so. ACER pointed to the delays in implementing coordinated TSO processes (such as those to efficiently address grid congestion), delays in reinforcing the grid itself, and delays in the bidding zone review.
This report by ACER finds that:
- The EU power grid is increasingly congested (remedial actions like redispatching rose by 14.5% in 2023). The cost of managing this congestion in 2023 was EUR 4 billion.
- Some TSOs in highly meshed areas of the EU power grid made available, on average, between 30% and 50% of the physical capacity of certain network elements in 2023, thus far from reaching 70%.
- There are still significant benefits from improving how cross-zonal capacity is calculated in the EU, as demonstrated by the introduction of flow-based market coupling in the Core region.
How to meet the 70% minimum requirement by the end of 2025?
Meeting the 70% requirement needs a unified approach – each Member State’s actions (or inactions) impact others and ultimately EU consumers. Delays in doing so move the EU away from the electricity market integration goal. The path ahead remains clear: implement coordinated congestion management processes, invest in the grid and improve the bidding zone configurations.
ACER calls for the swift implementation by Member States and TSOs of the 3 tools foreseen by EU rules to meet the 70% minimum requirement:
- TSOs to swiftly implement coordinated processes to first calculate capacity and then manage congestion. Currently, grid congestion is assessed mostly at the national level. TSOs should optimise and coordinate grid congestion management. Moving toward a more regional approach will ensure that the Member States causing loop flows will bear their cost, allowing for more capacity to be made available.
- TSOs to undertake targeted grid developments, focusing on the most congested areas of the grid.
- Improve the bidding zones configuration: if consistently unable to meet the 70% requirement, better align the bidding zone borders with where structural grid congestion occurs.
Highlights
Report
This annual ACER monitoring report on transmission capacities for cross-zonal trade of electricity and congestion management in the EU:
- assesses the availability of cross-zonal transmission capacities per region across different market time frames;
- tracks progress and bottlenecks in Member States meeting the minimum 70% requirement by end of 2025;
- finds that the cost of managing power grid congestion is significant in recent years; and
- outlines the necessary steps for Member States and TSOs to maximise the availability of cross-border capacities and efficiently address grid congestion.
Infographic
Interested in report's key findings?
Webinar
On 10 July 2024, ACER and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will hold a webinar to present the key findings of:
- ACER report on transmission capacities for cross-zonal trade of electricity and congestion management in the EU.
- JRC’s assessment on the evolution of congestion management in the current EU electricity market design.
Additional information
- Access the underlying datasets
Yes
10 Fallback
10 Fallback
Documentation on the approval processes of the fallback methodologies
ACER is consulting on revising the Annex of the REMIT Implementing Regulation
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Intro News
ACER is seeking feedback on revising the Annex of the REMIT Implementing Regulation on data reporting requirements.
ACER is consulting on revising the Annex of the REMIT Implementing Regulation
What is it about?
On 7 May 2024, the revised REMIT Regulation (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency) came into force. As part of the process, the European Commission will revise the REMIT Implementing Regulation (which aims to ensure uniform implementation of the legislation across all EU Member States) to define new data reporting requirements by 8 May 2025.
To aid this revision and inform the Commission’s decision process, ACER is launching a public consultation from today until 16 September 2024.
Why is ACER consulting?
Since the introduction of the first REMIT Regulation in 2011, the EU wholesale energy market has undergone significant changes and also witnessed an energy crisis. To enhance protection against market manipulation and to ensure effective market surveillance, amending REMIT has been crucial. The revised REMIT (2024) brought significant changes to data reporting obligations.
Following this revision, ACER has received numerous queries from stakeholders seeking clarification on specific aspects of the REMIT Implementing Regulation, particularly concerning its Annex, which outlines the types of information to be reported to ACER.
To address this topic, ACER is launching a public consultation to gather stakeholders’ input on its proposal on data collection. This proposal is based on:
- New definitions and obligations from the revised REMIT;
- Over ten years of data collection insights; and
- Discussions with National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and stakeholders.
The feedback received will help shape ACER’s proposal to the European Commission.
What is the Annex about?
The REMIT Implementing Regulation Annex outlines the types of information that data reporting parties need to provide to ACER to ensure transparency and market integrity in the EU's wholesale energy markets. It is divided into four tables, each specifying the data reporting obligations for:
- Standard contracts for electricity and gas supply (Table 1);
- Non-standard contracts for electricity and gas supply (Table 2);
- Contracts related to electricity transportation (Table 3);
- Contracts related to gas transportation (Table 4).
Have your say!
You have until 16 September 2024 to submit your views.
Based on the feedback received, ACER aims to publish a report evaluating the consultation responses by (update as of 10 October 2024) November 2024.
ACER assesses the gas transmission tariff methodology proposed for Austria
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Intro News
ACER releases its report on the Austrian gas transmission tariffs proposed for 2025 by E-Control, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of Austria.
ACER assesses the gas transmission tariff methodology proposed for Austria
What is the report about?
Today, ACER releases its report on the Austrian gas transmission tariffs proposed for 2025 by E-Control, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of Austria.
The proposed methodology takes into account the changes in network patterns resulting from the 2022 energy crisis. To address these challenges, E-Control proposes:
- Adopting a capacity weighted distance methodology as the reference price methodology.
- A split of revenue between entries and exits of 27/75.
- Introducing a cap on domestic exit points to mitigate potential tariff increases, alongside offering 50% discounts at storage exit points.
What does ACER recommend?
ACER analysed the information provided by E-Control and assessed the compliance of the proposed methodology against the requirements of the Network Code on Harmonised Transmission Tariff Structures (NC TAR). Based on this analysis, ACER provides the following recommendations to the NRA:
- Evaluate the network topology and use patterns. For instance, the NRA should take into account the distance gas flows need to cover to supply different network points into the methodology.
- Explore the methodologies that best align with the network’s characteristics and usage, including selecting appropriate cost drivers and other instruments such as flow scenarios.
- Compare the results of the Capacity Cost Allocation (CAA) assessment to identify the most suitable methodologies for the Austrian transmission network. The NRA should investigate whether high CAA outcomes indicate potential cross-subsidisation between intra-system and cross-system network usage.
What are the next steps?
E-Control adopted the motivated decision on the reference price methodology on 31 May 2024, after receiving preliminary input from ACER.
Following the publication of this report, E-Control shall consider ACER’s recommendations in its next tariff consultation, scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.
Access all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents.
ACER unveils outcomes from its roundtable meeting on the revised REMIT Regulation’s new reporting obligations
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Intro News
On 29 May 2024, ACER held a roundtable meeting to discuss the implications of new data reporting obligations introduced by the revised REMIT Regulation.
ACER unveils outcomes from its roundtable meeting on the revised REMIT Regulation’s new reporting obligations
What is it about?
On 29 May 2024, ACER held a roundtable meeting to discuss the implications of new data reporting obligations introduced by the revised REMIT Regulation (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency). The event brought together different stakeholders: Associations of Energy Market Participants (AEMPs), Organised Market Places (OMPs), and Registered Reporting Mechanisms (RRMs).
What were the main discussion points?
The discussions mainly focused on the orderbook reporting obligations specified in Article 8(1a)a of the revised REMIT, which entered into force on 7 May 2024. Participants debated how to ensure compliance with the new provisions and raised several questions regarding their implications. Among others, the following aspects were clarified:
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Each OMP is required to report orderbook data to ACER on behalf of all market participants trading on their platform.
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Individual market participants should ensure that the relevant OMPs are adequately prepared to start reporting transactions on their behalf, including orders to trade, which are entered, concluded or executed on the OMP platform.
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Market participants must continue to report data for those trading activities taking place outside of OMPs.
Access the Q&As and slides presented at the meeting.
What are the next steps?
ACER will run a public consultation from 28 June 2024 to 16 September 2024 to collect stakeholders’ feedback on its proposals for data reporting under the new REMIT Implementing Regulation.
The inputs received will contribute to shaping ACER’s proposal to the European Commission, which will adopt the revised REMIT Implementing Regulation by 8 May 2025.