ACER updates its recommendation to regulators on reporting on the use of electricity congestion income

Congestion income is the revenue that Transmission System Operators (TSOs) collect in the event of congestion when allocating electricity cross-zonal capacity.

How Member States can use the congestion revenue they collect is specified in the EU law. National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) must report to ACER (the EU Agency) on the use of electricity congestion income. ACER has updated its recommendation to regulators on how to do so.

Why did ACER update its Recommendation?

• Regulation on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices (October 2022) allows Member States to use the surplus congestion income to also finance measures in support of final electricity customers.

• The Methodology for the use of congestion income will for the first time come into full effect for the NRAs reports to be published in early 2023.

• Gained experience in the first two years of the NRA reporting on the amounts and use of congestion income.

Hence, ACER has updated its original (2020) Recommendations to NRAs.

What’s new in ACER’s recommendation?

• Discontinuity of collecting some project specific data that is already available to ACER (e.g. commissioning date, capital expenditure etc.);

• More options provided for the NRAs to prove the cross-border relevance of projects where congestion income is used;

• The possibility to indicate the support for electricity customers as a use of the collected congestion income is now included; and

• Clarification of certain terms and clearer phrasing.

Access the ACER (2022) Recommendation.