ACER workshop on the further development of the EU electricity forward market
What is it about?
ACER’s policy paper on the further development of the EU electricity forward market:
- Identifies problems of this market segment, among which market fragmentation and lack of integration are the main ones; and
- Recommends solutions (e.g. regional virtual trading hubs to pool liquidity). Such regional hubs need to be complemented by accessible transmission rights to cover the remaining risks of the market participants.
This policy paper serves as ACER’s key recommendations on how to change the Forward Capacity Allocation Regulation.
Background
In the electricity forward market, market participants can trade electricity up to multiple years ahead of its delivery allowing them to protect or hedge themselves against future price fluctuations. Currently, with the exception of the Nordic region, each zone has its own market, bridged by transmission rights issued by the transmission system operators (TSOs). This leads to a fragmented and unequal distribution of the liquidity amongst the different national markets. Unlike the day-ahead and intraday markets, the EU forward market does not work as a single integrated EU market.
While this problem has been partially addressed in the short term markets through the allocation of cross zonal capacities, ACER identified scope to vastly improve long term forward markets.
