On 25 June 2022, the Dispute Settlement and Sanctions Committee (CoRDiS) of the French energy regulatory authority (CRE) published a sanction decision adopted on May 19, 2022 imposing a fine of €80,000 on Engie SA (Engie), for breaching the prohibition of insider trading under Article 3 of REMIT, the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency.

Under REMIT, using inside information by acquiring/disposing of wholesale energy products to which that information relates, or disclosing inside information to any other person (unless such disclosure is part of the normal exercise of their employment, profession or duties) is prohibited as insider trading.

In the present case, CoRDiS found that on 23 January 2017, in the context of unavailability of two of Engie’s gas fired power plants:

• a member of Engie’s Dispatch team communicated to a member of the Trading Team inside information on the extension of unavailability of the Combigolfe power plant, before disclosure of the inside information to the market (breach of Article 3(1)(b) of REMIT);
• the Trading team used the inside information to enter into five transactions on two hourly products on EPEX SPOT’s French intraday market (breach of Article 3(1)(a) of REMIT).

CoRDiS noted the weakness of Engie’s internal procedures at the time of the event, based exclusively on oral exchanges between the officials of Engie’s Dispatch and Trading teams and aiming at preventing the dissemination of inside information, which could not prevent the occurrence of the infringement.

Access CoRDiS’ decision (in French).

The sanction decision can be subject to an appeal to the French Conseil d’Etat.

ACER Guidance

ACER provides guidance to national regulatory authorities (NRAs) on the application of the REMIT regulation.

In 2021, ACER updated its Guidance on REMIT (6th Edition) to anticipate upcoming decisions from NRAs on insider trading. The updated Guidance included a specific chapter on the prohibition of insider trading (Chapter 5).

ACER welcomes this decision against insider trading under REMIT. It is the third REMIT decision by the French regulator in two months, the other ones imposed on EDF and EDFT.

On 03 May 2022, the French energy regulatory authority (CRE) published two sanction decisions adopted by its Dispute Settlement and Sanctions Committee (CoRDiS) imposing fines of:

• EUR 500,000 on Electricité de France SA (EDF), for breaching the obligation to disclose inside information under Article 4 of the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) and the prohibition of insider trading under Article 3,

• EUR 50,000 on EDF Trading Limited (EDFT), for manipulating the French wholesale electricity market in breach of Article 5 of REMIT.

CoRDiS found that in October 2016, in a context of high electricity prices and stressed markets (due to the unavailability of several EDF nuclear reactors), EDF failed to publicly disclose inside information in an effective and timely manner. The information related to the request from the French Nuclear Safety Agency for additional controls over five nuclear reactors, which would lead to their temporary unavailability.

Furthermore, EDF used this inside information to acquire two related wholesale energy products via its trading subsidiary EDFT, thus breaching the prohibition of insider trading.

CoRDiS further assessed an operational mistake that EDFT had acknowledged, which led to excessive purchases on the French day-ahead electricity market and contributed to the price spikes observed on 7 and 8 November 2016. CoRDiS concluded that EDFT’s erroneous orders likely gave false or misleading signals as to the supply and demand on the spot electricity market.

Access CoRDiS’ decisions (in French).

Both sanctions decisions can be subject to an appeal to the French Conseil d’Etat.

What’s the role of ACER?

In accordance with its European wholesale energy market monitoring duties to detect and prevent trading based on inside information and market manipulation, ACER contributed by analysing EDF’s behaviours and providing its preliminary assessment to CRE, stating its reasonable grounds to suspect insider trading by this market participant.

In 2021, ACER updated its Guidance on REMIT (6th Edition) to anticipate upcoming decisions from National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) on insider trading and on erroneous orders giving false or misleading signals. The updated Guidance included a specific chapter on the prohibition of insider trading (Chapter 5) and provided additional examples of market manipulation (Chapter 6).

ACER welcomes this first decision against insider trading under REMIT, as well as sanctioning market manipulation resulting from erroneous orders. ACER underlines that unintentional behaviours can also possibly disrupt the wholesale energy markets and be subject to market manipulation prohibited by REMIT.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today the 28th edition of its REMIT Quarterly.

What is the REMIT Quarterly?

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

Covering the first quarter of 2022, this edition highlights the REMIT decision on market manipulation in the French gas market, upheld by the French High Court, which resulted in EUR 1 million fine.

The Quarterly also includes:

• the hydrogen wholesale market development, which looks at the structural developments of last year towards a liquid wholesale market for hydrogen,

• the recent updates on the ACER decision regarding the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) market,

• considerations for an enhanced REMIT stakeholders’ awareness,

•  statistics on Registered Reporting Mechanisms (RRMs)’ contingency reports, as well as providing an overview of REMIT breach cases in the first quarter of 2022,

• recent updates of the REMIT documentation.

Read more.

Following a five-month consultation with stakeholders aimed at improving REMIT data reporting, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today the updated Transaction Reporting User Manual (TRUM) and its Annex II.

The amendments provide guidance on the reporting of transactions related to the transportation of natural gas, which need to be reported to ACER according to the REMIT Implementing Regulation.

The updated guidance aims to:

• update and clarify the data field descriptions related to gas transportation contracts,

• clarify and ensure consistency on the reporting of gas transportation contracts,

• include new examples of transaction reporting based on ACER’s analysis and the interaction with National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and stakeholders.

The consultation included input from different stakeholders, including associations of market participants, organised market places, and registered reporting mechanisms.

Access the new version of the Transaction Reporting User Manual and its Annex II.

ACER also provides the updated 13th edition of the FAQs on REMIT transaction reporting. Intended to foster clarity and simplify cooperation with reporting parties, the new edition of the FAQs includes new frequently asked questions to better reflect the evolution of the trading activity on EU markets. Facilitating the correct reporting of data is key to ensure the integrity and transparency of the markets.

Access the new version of the FAQs on transaction reporting.

In addition, ACER has also published the 27th edition of the Q&As on REMIT policy, which introduces three new Q&As coordinated with the relevant NRAs. The new edition clarifies the application of REMIT when dealing with the disclosure of inside information, guarantees of origin, and renewable energy aggregators.

Access the new edition of the Q&As on REMIT policy topics.

All documents are accessible via the new REMIT Knowledge Base, which is now available and fully integrated with the ACER website.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has published a decision requesting further information from Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) operating in the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) market.

The information is needed for the reconstruction of the trading activity on the Shared Order Book in the SIDC market and thus allowing ACER to fully comply with its mandate of monitoring the wholesale energy markets pursuant to Article 7 of REMIT. The requested information complements the data collected on SIDC according to Article 8 of REMIT.

What are the benefits?

Providing ACER with the relevant information allows the Agency to monitor effectively the European wholesale market’s integrity and transparency, particularly the Single Intraday market, according to REMIT.  

Deterring market participants from manipulating the market, ensuring trust in the functioning of the markets and fostering market integration have the ultimate goal of protecting the interest of companies and consumers.

Access ACER Decision 01-2022.

ACER publishes today a new open call for European associations of energy market participants to be involved in the REMIT Roundtable meetings in 2022 and 2023.

ACER organises the REMIT Roundtable meetings at least once per year, to share and discuss views and best practices on REMIT data collection. Roundtable participants are invited to actively contribute to the discussions, as well as to provide their feedback to consultations related to REMIT data collection.

Representatives of European associations of energy market participants are now encouraged to express their interest in participating in the Roundtable meetings by registering online.

National associations can participate through the European association(s) of which they are members.

Apply by Friday 4 March 2022. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

Read more.