Today, ACER publishes the first open-access EU-wide dataset on cost of new entry values (EU CONE Dataset).

The dataset provides economic parameters for new electricity resources (including estimated capital and operational costs for different power generation technologies and demand-side flexibility) to support long-term system modelling.

To make the data easier to explore, ACER has also published an interactive dashboard.

Why does it matter?

Until now, only fragmented data was available at EU level. This made cross-country comparisons difficult and increased the risk that adequacy assessments and investment signals would rely on inconsistent cost assumptions. 

By providing more complete and consistent input data, the new dataset helps improve the accuracy and robustness of adequacy modelling. This supports:

• assessing future investment needs (e.g. whether new generation or flexibility resources are likely to be built and whether existing power plants are expected to remain economically viable);

• understanding how investment and retirement decisions shape the future resource mix in Member States, helping identify potential adequacy gaps; and

• estimating the optimal level of system reliability, by balancing the cost of new capacity against the risk and impact of unmet demand.

How was the dataset developed?

The EU CONE Dataset builds on a preliminary version developed by consultants. Following a public consultation (February 2026), ACER refined its data, integrating feedback from stakeholders (including system operators, generators, manufacturing and technology companies) and national regulators (see the evaluation of responses).

Respondents provided constructive feedback and proposed evidence-based refinements to several parameters, including:

• capital expenditure (CAPEX);

• fixed operating and maintenance (FOM) costs;

• weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for different technologies; and

• the categorisation of demand-side response.

Views on gas technologies were broadly aligned with the consultancy study, while input on batteries and demand-side response was more diverse.

What’s next? 

The EU CONE Dataset can be used to support power system modelling, including future editions of the European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA), national adequacy assessments (NRAAs) and other related studies.

It may also help Member States calculate reference reliability standards and meet the criteria for fast-track approval of capacity mechanisms under the new State aid framework.

On 21 July 2026, ACER received a proposal from all nominated electricity market operators (NEMOs) to amend the methodology for the price coupling, continuous trading matching and intraday auction algorithms.

What is the methodology about?

Established under the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) Regulation, the methodology provides a common framework for the algorithms used to simultaneously match electricity market orders and allocate cross-zonal capacities in Europe’s day-ahead and intraday markets. It defines common requirements, timelines and implementation deadlines.

The current methodology was approved by ACER in July 2018 and amended in January 2020 and September 2024.

Why amend the methodology? 

NEMOs propose amendments to the methodology to enable more efficient cross-border electricity exchanges, deliver greater welfare and maintain the secure operation of the power system by:

• enabling the introduction of three intraday auctions using flow-based capacity calculation by updating the timings and delivery of intraday auction results;

• setting a concrete implementation deadline for flow-based allocation in intraday auctions; and

• amending the relevant deadline for publishing the single day-ahead coupling results.

What are the next steps? 

ACER expects to decide on the methodology by 21 January 2027. 

Interested stakeholders are invited to share their views on the topic by 31 August 2026 via ACER-ELE-2026-006@acer.europa.eu.

ACER’s new retail energy markets dashboard offers an interactive, country-by-country view of electricity and gas markets across the EU and Norway. It replaces ACER’s country sheets, bringing together comparable data to explore how retail markets are evolving and how consumers’ behaviour changes alongside the energy transition.

What trends did ACER monitoring find?

With over 270 million electricity and more than 90 million gas customers across the EU and Norway, retail energy markets play an important role in supporting Europe’s energy transition. At the same time, the latest data shows ongoing challenges and significant untapped potential for more active consumer participation.

• Energy bills remain above pre-crisis levels. Retail prices rose sharply after the 2021-2022 energy crisis and remained elevated, with gas prices still nearly 70% higher than before the crisis. On average, EU households spent around €840 on electricity and €1,170 on gas in 2025.
• Household electricity and gas consumption is rising modestly, highlighting the importance of enabling consumers to actively manage their energy use.
• Fixed contracts remain the most common contract type. Around 52% of household electricity customers are on single fixed-price, fixed-term contracts, while only 7% are on dynamic-price contracts, pointing to significant unexploited capacity for demand-side flexibility.
• Smart meter rollout progresses unevenly. 66% of household customers monitored across the EU and Norway have a smart meter. While deployment exceeds 80% in most EU Member States, it remains below 20% in several countries, limiting consumers’ ability to adjust their consumption in real time.

What are the next steps?

The retail energy markets dashboard will be updated annually as new data becomes available, allowing to monitor progress across all indicators.

On 17 July 2026, the national regulatory authorities of the Core capacity calculation region (Core NRAs) asked ACER for a three-month extension to decide on the proposal to amend the Core intraday capacity calculation methodology. The proposal was submitted by the transmission system operators of the Core region (Core TSOs).

The Core region is the EU’s largest electricity capacity calculation region, covering 13 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

ACER intends to ensure a timely decision on the matter.

What is the Core intraday capacity calculation methodology? 

The methodology determines how much cross-zonal transmission capacity is available for intraday electricity trading in the Core region. 

First approved in 2019, the methodology would now be amended for the sixth time to reflect the continued development of capacity calculation and support EU electricity market integration through more efficient and secure allocation of cross-zonal capacity.

Update as of 30 September 2026: On 6 September 2026, the NRAs referred the matter to ACER, which intends to ensure a timely decision on the matter.