ACER’s REMIT Quarterly provides updates on the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and related activities, offering insights into this year’s revision of the REMIT Regulation to keep stakeholders informed on changes that enhance transparency and integrity in the European energy market.

What is in the latest REMIT Quarterly?

The latest edition covers the third quarter of 2024 and includes:

• Key takeaways from two joint roundtable meetings (17 and 18 September 2024) with Registered Reporting Mechanisms (RRMs), Inside Information Platforms (IIPs), and Associations of Energy Market Participants (AEMPs) on delegated acts for RRMs and IIPs.
• The announcement of the next roundtable meeting with AEMPs, Organised Market Places (OMPs), RRMs, and IIPs on data reporting, which will be held on 26 and 28 November 2024. This meeting will focus on the upcoming revision of the REMIT Implementing Regulation and data reporting guidance, including the new Annex to the Transaction Reporting User Manual (TRUM).
• The latest:
  • List of OMPs and of Standard Contracts.
  • List of accepted Energy Identification Codes (EICs) which identifies delivery points, zones for electricity or gas supply, and derivative contracts.
  • Overview of REMIT breach cases in 2024, with 371 cases under review at the end of the third quarter.
• Overview of trading on OMPs, showing a notable increase compared to the same period last year.
• Statistics for RRMs’ contingency reports.
• Other REMIT updates.

The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has imposed a €1,081,502 fine on Neuro Energía y Gestión for manipulating the Spanish electricity market between 23 August 2022 and 15 March 2023.

This penalty comes under the REMIT Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011, which prohibits market manipulation and seeks to protect the integrity and transparency of the EU’s wholesale energy markets.

In its decision, CNMC found that Neuro Energía y Gestión had breached Article 5 of REMIT, specifically Article 2.2.a.i by:

• Issuing and withdrawing non-genuine orders to be in an advantageous position to execute cross-border sales with France.
• Manipulating the market by providing false or misleading signals as to the supply, demand, and price of wholesale energy products.

The investigation revealed that Neuro Energía y Gestión, in 125 trading sessions, issued and withdrew non-genuine orders using the digital certificates of 34 other market agents. The goal was to control the offer processing queue on the continuous intraday electricity cross-border sales contracts with France.

ACER welcomes this decision by CNMC, which seeks to promote the transparency and integrity of the Spanish electricity market.

Access the Decision and CNMC’s press release (both in Spanish).

See the latest table of REMIT breach sanction decisions adopted by national regulatory authorities.

Check the ACER REMIT Guidance (6th edition) for more information on the types of trading practices which could constitute market manipulation under REMIT.

Interested in further information on enforcement decisions under REMIT? Check out ACER’s REMIT Quarterly reports.

Following the introduction of Intraday Auctions (IDAs) within the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) earlier this year, together with the latest update of the electronic formats for data reporting, ACER publishes today the updated:

• Transaction Reporting User Manual (TRUM) and its Annexes; and
• FAQs on REMIT transaction reporting.

What are Intraday Auctions?

Intraday Auctions (IDAs) were introduced within the SIDC framework in June 2024 to facilitate intraday electricity trading across Europe. IDAs are implicit auctions held three times a day that price and allocate intraday transmission capacity simultaneously across different bidding zones. This mechanism improves market efficiency by providing clear price signals and balancing electricity trading positions.

What’s new in ACER guidance documents?

• TRUM and its Annexes: the amendments mainly focus on providing guidance on reporting the delivery point for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) supply contracts that specify delivery within the EU without identifying a specific LNG terminal. This update was needed to align ACER transaction reporting guidance documents with the List of Accepted Energy Identification Codes (EICs).
• FAQs on REMIT transaction reporting: the 17th edition of the FAQs was developed in consultation with the relevant Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) to provide guidance on the reporting of transactions related to the recently introduced SIDC IDAs.

What are the next steps?

Reporting parties are expected to comply with the updated transaction reporting guidance on SIDC IDAs within 3 months of its publication on the ACER website (i.e., by the end of December 2024).

Both updated documents are available in the REMIT Knowledge Base.

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) aims to prevent and protect consumers and businesses against market abuse in the European electricity and gas markets. The rules were amended in May 2024 to ensure they keep pace with evolving market dynamics.

In April and in July 2024, ACER published two open letters and addressed questions from stakeholders to help them comply with the new obligations under the revised REMIT. This open letter aims to offer further clarification on:

• how EU representatives for third-country market participants (e.g. not based in the EU) should be designated;
• the new obligations for PPAETs.

Why is the open letter relevant?

This open letter outlines what is expected from non-EU market participants (Annex I) and PPAETs (Annex II) to ensure compliance with the revised REMIT (Articles 9 and 15) and meet the new obligations.

Non-EU market participants:

• By 8 November 2024, non-EU market participants must notify their representative's contact details (name, email, postal address, phone number, and a written mandate of the designated representative) to ACER and the relevant NRA (e.g. the NRA of the Member State where the designated representative is established).
• Market participants can notify obligations via CEREMP. In Italy, Romania, and Slovenia, notifications must be made directly to the NRA, which will also serve as notification to ACER.

PPAETs:

• PPAETs are responsible for identifying and notifying ACER and the relevant NRAs about any potential breaches of insider trading (Articles 3), publication of insider information (Article 4), or market manipulation (Article 5) of REMIT. They must maintain effective arrangements, systems and procedures to detect these breaches, while ensuring compliance with the revised REMIT’s requirements.
• The obligations for persons professionally arranging transactions under Article 15(1) became applicable on 7 May 2024. However, obligations for persons professionally executing transactions under Article 15(2) will apply from 8 November 2024 onwards.

ACER invites market participants to read this letter alongside previous ones for a complete understanding.

What are the next steps?

By the end of 2024, ACER plans to revise the existing ACER Guidance on the application of REMIT to reflect the changes introduced by the revised REMIT.

For additional questions, ACER encourages market participants and PPAETs to use the REMIT query form.

Learn more about REMIT.

The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has imposed a €1 million fine on Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía, S.L.U. for manipulating the Spanish gas market.

This penalty comes under the REMIT Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011, which prohibits market manipulation and seeks to protect the integrity and transparency of the EU’s wholesale energy markets.

In its decision, CNMC found that Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía had breached Article 5 of REMIT, specifically Article 2.2.a.ii, in artificially setting the price by marking the reference ‘precio último diario’ (last daily price) for the Mibgas Spanish product D+1 across 32 trading sessions from 1 September to 31 December 2022.

The investigation revealed that Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía placed purchase orders without the intention of executing them, with bids entered between 0 and 7 seconds before the trading session’s closing. This behaviour minimised the risk of the Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía bids being matched by other market participants.

As a result of Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía’s actions, in the 32 trading sessions reported the closing bid-ask spread was reduced, impacting the calculation method of the last daily price that resulted artificially inflated.

ACER welcomes this decision by CNMC, which seeks to promote the transparency and integrity of the Spanish natural gas market.

Access the Decision and CNMC’s press release (both in Spanish).

See the latest table of REMIT breach sanction decisions adopted by national regulatory authorities.

Check the ACER REMIT Guidance (6th edition) for more information on the types of trading practices which could constitute market manipulation under REMIT.

Interested in further information on enforcement decisions under REMIT? Check out ACER’s REMIT Quarterly reports.

REMIT (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency) provides an EU framework for the transparency and integrity of energy markets and aims to deter market participants from manipulating the market. It plays an important role in protecting the interests of companies and consumers and ensuring trust in energy markets. The Regulation was revised this year to ensure it keeps pace with evolving market dynamics.

What is in the latest REMIT Quarterly?

The REMIT Quarterly is ACER’s main channel of communication with stakeholders on REMIT-related matters, providing updates on ACER’s REMIT activities.

The 37th edition covers the second quarter of 2024 and features:

• Key takeaways from the ACER and European Commission joint workshop on REMIT II implementation, held on 11 June 2024.
• Further details on ACER’s public consultation on new data reporting requirements of the REMIT Implementing Regulation’s Annex, running until 6 September 2024. Have your say here.
• The announcement of a joint roundtable meeting on proposals for REMIT II delegated acts for Registered Reporting Mechanisms (RRMs) and Inside Information Platforms (IIPs), scheduled for 17 and 18 September 2024.
• Updated overview of the sanction decisions under REMIT for 2024, with 345 cases under review at the end of the second quarter.
• Statistics for RRMs’ contingency reports.
• Overview of trading on organised market places in the second quarter of 2024.
• Other REMIT updates.

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) aims to prevent and protect consumers and businesses against market abuse in the European electricity and gas markets. The rules were revised in May 2024 to ensure they keep pace with evolving market dynamics.

In April 2024, ACER addressed several questions from stakeholders to help them comply with their reporting obligations under the revised REMIT, before it entered into force.

As a follow up, ACER now clarifies (in an open letter) the obligations for market participants to notify national regulatory authorities and ACER on their usage of algorithmic trading and direct electronic access.

What is algorithmic trading?

Algorithmic trading involves using computer algorithms to automate trades at high speeds, while direct electronic access allows persons to trade directly on organised market places using another entity’s trading code or infrastructure.

Why is the open letter relevant?

Today’s open letter provides examples of activities that fall under the new notification obligations for algorithmic trading, helping market participants comply with the revised REMIT (Article 5a).

These notifications will reinforce regulatory oversight, ensure market transparency, and help manage risks associated with advanced trading methods.

ACER invites market participants to review both open letters and ensure they meet the new obligations.

What are the next steps?

In September 2024, ACER intends to publish an open letter to clarify the obligations detailed in Article 9 (1), which require  that non-EU market participants must designate their representative in the EU, as well as the obligations for persons professionally arranging or executing transactions (Article 15).

By the end of 2024, ACER aims to revise the existing ACER Guidance on the application of REMIT to incorporate the changes introduced by the revised REMIT.

Learn more about REMIT.

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.

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:

• Each OMP is required to report orderbook data to ACER on behalf of all market participants trading on their platform.

• 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.

• 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.

Access the Minutes of the roundtable.