The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) finds that ENTSO-E’s winter adequacy assessment is broadly consistent with its mandate and decided not to issue an opinion on it.

However, given the importance of the seasonal assessments and considering the increased public attention triggered by the high energy prices, ACER shares its considerations with ENTSO-E and other stakeholders.

ENTSO-E carries out the seasonal adequacy assessments twice a year to alert Member States and transmission system operators about risks related to the security of electricity supply that potentially might occur in the following six months.

What are the main highlights of ENTSO-E Winter Adequacy Outlook?

On 1 December 2021, ENTSO-E published its Winter Adequacy Outlook 2021/2022.

In the Outlook, ENTSO-E concluded that the current surge of gas prices in Europe should not pose adequacy risks, and that overall, there is no risk to electricity security of supply this winter.

What are ACER’s considerations?

- ACER broadly agrees with ENTSO-E, that the high energy prices likely do not have a direct impact on the short-term security of electricity supply. However, this assessment is subject to adequate gas supplies in Europe.

ACER has analysed ENTSOG’s winter gas supply assessment and emphasized, in its opinion, the value of including additional scenarios based on expected gas supplies.

Because of the interlinked nature of wholesale gas and electricity prices in Europe, it is important that ENTSO-E deepens the coordination with ENTSOG to ensure that inputs and assumptions to the seasonal assessments are consistent and reflective of cross-sectoral impacts.

- ACER observes that, as part of the common European risk-preparedness framework in the electricity sector, the Outlook effectively detects possible adequacy related problems for the winter season, complementing shorter-term regional and national assessments.

In late December 2021 (after the publication of the Outlook), following an additional unplanned outage of 4.5 GW of nuclear capacity, the French transmission system operator (RTE) re-assessed the short-term adequacy of the French power system and found that cold weather combined with low wind supply could strain supply margins during January and February 2022.

ENTSO-E updated its Outlook to provide a pan-European view, confirming that the new development in the French system had no anticipated adverse impact on neighbouring countries.

ACER recommends that these events are reflected in the Winter Review 2021/2022 published along with the next seasonal assessment. Such an ex-post comparison would give meaningful insight with respect to the completeness and accuracy of the ex-ante assessment.

- Lastly, ACER believes that an opinion on the Outlook would not bring significant new information, considering its involvement in the approval and in the implementation of the underlying methodology (through prior opinions).

The Outlook represents ENTSO-E’s fourth seasonal adequacy assessment delivered on the basis of the approved methodology. ACER has supported the implementation of the methodology by following up on the previous Outlooks by issuing opinions containing a set of recommendations.

As outlined in its latest opinion, ACER expects that the next seasonal assessment (Summer Outlook 2022) will fully comply with the approved methodology.

ACER, in close coordination with ENTSO-E and the national regulatory authorities, will continue to follow potential adequacy risks manifesting in the European electricity system.

Read more.

The National Regulatory Authorities of the Core region asked the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) to decide on the first amendment of the intraday capacity calculation methodology (LT CCM) for the region.

The Core region comprises 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Core day-ahead capacity calculation methodology includes a new approach for the long- term allocation (LTA) inclusion, called Extended LTA Inclusion (ELI). The proposed amendment allows the intraday capacity calculation to accommodate the principles of ELI approach and therefore enabling the compatibility of the day-ahead and intraday capacity calculation methodologies.

What are the next steps?

The ACER’s Decision 02/2019 will be amended to enable the harmonisation of the capacity calculation principles at intraday level with the Core day-ahead capacity calculation methodology.

To take an informed decision, ACER invites interested stakeholders to submit their views by 2 March 2022 to the email: ACER-ELE-2022-002(at)acer.europa.eu.

This amendment of the intraday capacity calculation methodology is the prerequisite for the implementation of the Core Day-ahead flow-based methodology. Therefore, it needs to be completed under the fast procedure, before the Core Day-ahead flow-based market coupling (Core FB MC) will go-live (20 April 2022).

ACER expects to reach its decision by 13 April 2022, before the Core Day-ahead flow-based capacity calculation methodology would enter into force.

What are the benefits?

The cross-border capacity calculation methodology promotes effective short‐term cross‐zonal trade.

The amended intraday capacity calculation methodology for the Core region will apply the flow-based approach, fully coordinated with the day-ahead flow-based capacity calculation approach.

The amended ACER’s Decision will contribute to the effectiveness and integration of the Core electricity markets by establishing the common rules for calculating the intraday cross-zonal capacity at regional level.

On 3 January 2022, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) received a proposal from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) regarding the Regional Coordination Centre (RCC) Post-Operation and Post-Disturbances Analysis and Reporting Methodology.

The Electricity Regulation lists the RCCs’ tasks and their roles. Among those tasks, the Regulation mandates the obligation for RCCs to carry out post-operation and post-disturbances analysis. The proposed methodology describes the RCC investigation, explains the data collection process, prescribes the work of the expert panel and guides the RCCs in preparing the post-disturbances report.

What are the next steps?

ACER will reach a decision on the proposal by 3 April 2022.

In order to inform its assessment, ACER invites interested third parties to submit their observations by 31 January 2022 to ACER-ELE-2022-001(at)acer.europa.eu.

Access the ACER Public Notice.

Access the ENTSO-E’s proposal on the RCC Post-Operation and Post-Disturbances Analysis and Reporting Methodology.

ACER publishes today the first Implementation Monitoring Report (the Report) on progress in Member States in implementing the EU-wide Network Code on Electricity Emergency and Restoration.

This Network Code provides the requirements that Transmission System Operators (TSOs) must follow in electricity emergency, blackout and restoration states. If TSOs follow these rules when they face an incident on their grid it helps prevent incidents deteriorating into blackouts and allows for an efficient and rapid restoration of the electricity system to a normal state from the emergency or blackout states.

Key Findings:

ACER finds that while implementation of the electricity grid emergency and restoration rules is well on track (e.g. on regional coordination, on suspension and restoration of market activities and on tools and facilities), there is still not a complete and uniform EU-wide implementation of this legally binding Network Code.  For example, there is still scope to improve:

• Measures of the system defence plan that are to be implemented on the grid.

• Measures of the restoration plans. 

• Assessment of the costs borne by system operators subject to network tariff regulation and stemming from the obligations laid down in the Network Code.

Why is it important to follow the electricity emergency and restoration rules?

A secure and efficient operation of the EU electricity system is a task shared between all the EU.

TSOs since all national systems are, to a certain extent, interconnected and a disturbance in one control area could affect another.

Hence, ACER underlines the importance of a correctly and fully implemented Emergency and Restoration Network Code to prevent the deterioration of an incident in a national system and to avoid the spread of disturbances to other areas and to enable swift restoration of the system back to normal state after a disturbance.

Hence, ACER underlines the importance of a correctly and fully implemented Emergency and Restoration Network Code to prevent the deterioration of an incident in a national system and to avoid the spread of disturbances to other control areas and to enable swift restoration of the system back to normal state after a disturbance.

ACER Recommendations:

ACER urges a prompt implementation of the articles of the Network Code that have already entered into force and invites the relevant NRAs to ensure a timely and complete application of the provisions that will apply as of 2022.

Access the report.

An incident which took place in Poland’s Rogowiec substation on the 17 May 2021 led to the tripping of ten generation units of the Bełchatów power plant and a loss of 3,322 MW of generation capacity.

ACER and national regulators join ENTSO-E’s Expert Panel investigating the incident.

The Expert Panel’s Final Report is expected in Quarter 1 2022.

See here the ACER-ENTSO-E joint press release (of 21 December 2021).

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today the Recommendation on the reasoned amendments to the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM Regulation’).

The CACM Regulation provides binding rules for implementing and operating an EU-wide single market coupling and capacity calculation in the day-ahead and intraday timeframes.

The process

On 22 January 2020, ACER received a request by the European Commission to provide a recommendation on reasoned amendments to the CACM Regulation.

After the scoping and drafting phase followed by a public consultation, which ended in June 2021, ACER and national regulatory authorities have evaluated all inputs received and started a review process with transmission system operators (TSOs) and nominated electricity market operators (NEMOs) to finalise the Recommendation.

On 18 January 2022 ACER is organising a webinar to present the amendments and engage with stakeholders. Register here.

 What is the Recommendation about?

The Recommendation strives to improve the entire CACM Regulation as it proposes changes to a wide range of topics, including amendments to the Electricity Transmission System Operation Regulation (‘SO Regulation’). The figure shows an overview of the proposed amendments:

 What are ACER’s recommendations?

   Market coupling governance and operations

ACER proposes amendments to the current market coupling governance set-up and assignment of responsibilities to make them fit for future challenges, by:

• Introducing a joint decision making body for all TSOs and NEMOs and qualified majority voting for decisions on market coupling.

• Establishing a European single legal entity to perform the market coupling operator’s tasks within five years after entry into force.

• Establishing of a permanent forum to involve stakeholders and market participants in market operations.

• The inclusion of intraday auctions as target model

• Fostering competition between NEMOs and ensure shared order books in the intraday market until close to real time.

• A new methodology developed by all NEMOs and TSOs on the publishing of information on the day-ahead and intraday coupling.

Capacity calculation and bidding zone review

ACER recommends to:

• Further specify the determination of capacity calculation regions to deliver maximal cross-zonal capacity (to the physical extent possible).

• Provide more details and regular reviews for capacity calculation methodologies to facilitate the achievement of the 70% target.

• Align the capacity calculation processes and bidding zone review with the Electricity Regulation.

• Improve efficiency by reformulating the criteria used in the bidding zone review.

SO Regulation

Various amendments to the SO Regulation stem out directly from the revisions of the CACM Regulation. In particular:

• Specific content moved from the CACM Regulation to the SO Regulation will benefit of synergies in the already existing and corresponding framework of the SO Regulation.

• Amendments mainly relate to data exchange, the common grid model, the operational security analysis and scheduling.

Would you like to find out more?

Read more on the recommendation:

• Recommendation N. 02/2021.

• Annex 1 (amended CACM Regulation).

• Annex 1a (track change version to the current CACM Regulation).

• Annex 2 (amended SO Regulation).

• Annex 2a (track change version to the current SO Regulation).

• Annex 3 (Initial impact assessment on market coupling organisation).

• Annex 4 (CACM Reasoning).

• Annex 5 (SO Reasoning).

• Annex 6 (evaluation of responses to the public consultation).

All ACER recommendations can be accessed here.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today a decision approving an amendment to the congestion income distribution methodology for European electricity markets.

The amendment proposal was submitted by all Transmission System Operators (TSOs)’ to ACER in July 2021.

The approved methodology ensures a transparent and non-discriminatory sharing of congestion income among TSOs. 

What are the benefits of this amendment?

The amendments to the methodology are mainly connected with the implementation of the Core flow-based capacity calculation methodology planned for early 2022 and the progresses in the single intraday coupling.

As such, the amendment:

• introduces a more advanced calculation approach for those regions applying flow-based capacity calculation,

• extends the congestion income sharing to future intraday auctions and

• aligns the congestion income distribution methodology with the long term methodology as defined by the Forward Capacity Allocation (FCA) Regulation to ensure consistency across timeframes.

What’s the scope of the methodology?

The congestion income distribution methodology:

• facilitates the efficient long-term operation and development of the electricity transmission system,

• simplifies the efficient operation of the EU internal electricity market,

• allows for reasonable financial planning and

• reflects the general principles for congestion management provided by the Regulation on the internal market for electricity. 

Access the decision.

Europe’s Clean Energy Package of legislation set a binding minimum 70% target for electricity interconnector capacity for cross-zonal trading (the “minimum 70% target”). 

Why is this 70% target important?

The lack of sufficient cross-zonal capacity between Member States is one of the main barriers to the integration of electricity markets, and market integration is key to deliver on Europe's energy goals. Larger amounts of cross-zonal capacity made available for trade increase cross-border competition and facilitate more renewables on the grid.

Why is ACER publishing a dedicated 70% target report on the Nordics?

In 2020 and 2021, ACER published two reports monitoring the minimum 70% target in the EU. However, the analysis of the Nordic Alternate Current (AC) borders was not included, due to insufficient data provided by the Nordic TSOs to ACER at that time. Following a decision issued by ACER, the data was subsequently received.

What are ACER’s finding on the minimum 70% target in 2020 in the Nordic region?

The performance of the Nordic countries and the quality of the data they provided for monitoring is diverse.

While Denmark and Finland are meeting the 70% minimum target almost at all time, there is room for improvement for Sweden.

Moreover, ACER underlines that the monitoring would benefit from more accurate data, and invites the Transmission System Operators to accelerate their efforts to improve the quality of data they provide.

ACER calls for more harmonisation in monitoring, reporting and assessing compliance with the minimum 70% target.

In 2020 and 2021, ACER, a number of regulatory authorities and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) published various reports on the level of fulfilment of the 70% minimum target.

ACER calls for more coordination and harmonisation in these reports. A common and consistent message delivered by all concerned parties is key to facilitate stakeholders’ understanding of the progress towards meeting the minimum 70% target and to ensure that the minimum 70% target is implemented with equally high standards across the EU.

Find out more and access the reports.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today an opinion on the third update of the manual of procedures for the European Network System Operator for Electricity (ENTSO-E) transparency platform.

ENTSO-E submitted the request for opinion to ACER on 6 October 2021. The update concerns mostly the data related to the European Platforms for the exchange of electricity balancing services across the EU.

Overall, ACER finds the updated manual of procedures fulfils the requirements for the publication of the balancing data items and meets the objective of the Transparency Regulation, subject to the consideration of various recommendations included in the Opinion.

ENTSO-E transparency platform

The purpose of the transparency platform is to provide a common service to all market participants, such as generators, retailers and traders. By increasing transparency, the platform contributes to prevent insider trading and provides equal level playing field between small and large actors.

Read more on ACER Opinion.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today a decision approving the harmonised allocation rules for long-term transmission rights (HAR) proposed by all Transmission System Operators (TSOs) for electricity. These rules should ensure a transparent and non-discriminatory capacity allocation of long-term transmission rights to all market participants.

The HAR entail a uniform set of forward market rules for the whole EU that promotes the development of a liquid and competitive market, while providing market participants with equal opportunities to hedge their risk associated with cross-zonal electricity trading.

What common requirements do they set?

The HAR set out common requirements for participation in auctions, provide details on collaterals, specify the organization of auctions, specify the returns and transfers of long-term transmission rights, determine the rules for remuneration and compensation of long-term transmission rights, determine the fallback procedures, describe the principles of invoicing and payments and other related aspects needed for a proper functioning of forward capacity allocation.

The principles set out by the HAR will be applied together with the regional annexes that are approved by the concerned regulatory authorities. These annexes may introduce regional or bidding zone border specific requirements describing a particular type of long-term transmission rights, their remuneration regime, alternative fallback mechanism and compensation rules defining regional firmness.

Access the decision.