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 6 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 6 September 2024 to submit your views.

Based on the feedback received, ACER aims to publish a report evaluating the consultation responses by mid-October 2024.

Today, ACER releases its report on the Austrian gas transmission tariffs proposed for 2025 by E-Control, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of Austria.

The proposed methodology takes into account the changes in network patterns resulting from the 2022 energy crisis. To address these challenges, E-Control proposes:

• Adopting a capacity weighted distance methodology as the reference price methodology.
• A split of revenue between entries and exits of 27/75.
• Introducing a cap on domestic exit points to mitigate potential tariff increases, alongside offering 50% discounts at storage exit points.

What does ACER recommend?

ACER analysed the information provided by E-Control and assessed the compliance of the proposed methodology against the requirements of the Network Code on Harmonised Transmission Tariff Structures (NC TAR). Based on this analysis, ACER provides the following recommendations to the NRA:

• Evaluate the network topology and use patterns. For instance, the NRA should take into account the distance gas flows need to cover to supply different network points into the methodology.
• Explore the methodologies that best align with the network’s characteristics and usage, including selecting appropriate cost drivers and other instruments such as flow scenarios.
• Compare the results of the Capacity Cost Allocation (CAA) assessment to identify the most suitable methodologies for the Austrian transmission network. The NRA should investigate whether high CAA outcomes indicate potential cross-subsidisation between intra-system and cross-system network usage.

What are the next steps?

E-Control adopted the motivated decision on the reference price methodology on 31 May 2024, after receiving preliminary input from ACER.

Following the publication of this report, E-Control shall consider ACER’s recommendations in its next tariff consultation, scheduled for completion by the end of 2024. 

Access all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents.

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 6 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.

ACER publishes today its Consolidated Annual Activity Report (CAAR) for 2023, which details the regulatory activities it performed in relation to:

• the ongoing integration of Europe’s electricity and gas markets;

• its market surveillance under the Regulation on wholesale energy markets integrity and transparency (REMIT) to protect against market abuse.

The CAAR assesses the extent to which ACER achieved the objectives of its 2023 work programme. It also addresses some ACER management and governance matters. The report was adopted on 19 June 2024 by ACER's Administrative Board, following the favourable opinion of ACER's Board of Regulators.

What were the main developments in 2023?

In 2023, ACER successfully adapted to a rapidly changing landscape marked by the energy crisis, the evolving geopolitical circumstances and the ongoing pursuit of Europe’s ambitious Green Deal goals. These developments brought to prominence ACER's role in EU energy regulation and in monitoring energy markets to ensure that they are trustworthy.

In 2023, ACER focused on:

• Promoting a competitive and integrated EU energy market, supporting decarbonisation, and enhancing energy security of supply.

• Providing insights on the European energy market through many reports and engagement, including its Market Monitoring Reports.

• Detecting suspected energy market abuse and promoting consistency in REMIT’s application.

Besides contributing its expertise to the three key legislative packages (revised REMIT regulation, the electricity market design, and the hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package), some highlights include:

In the European electricity market

• Policy paper on the further development of the EU electricity forward market;

• Analysis of the Emergency Measures adopted by Member States in response to the crisis;

• Development of long-term capacity calculation methodologies;

• Introduction of the MONOCLE monitoring tool to monitor electricity market codes;

• Contribution to improve the European Resource Adequacy Assessment.

In the European gas market

• Extensive monitoring of gas market trends and price drivers;

• Mapping of gas storage filing regulations;

• Establishment of a daily LNG price assessment and benchmark

In REMIT

• Implementation of the Market Correction Mechanism;

• Extensive collection, analysis and screening of data to prevent market abuse and manipulation, and promoting consistency in REMIT’s application.

Access previous editions.

Expanding the capacity of the European electricity system requires not only securing investments but also enhancing the efficiency of infrastructure by deploying smart solutions, which can be faster and more cost-effective than conventional grid options.

Energy regulators play an important role in ensuring efficient infrastructure, which is the foundation of secure system operation, well-functioning electricity markets as well as facilitating the roll-out of more renewables, by:

• encouraging network operators to effectively deploy all types of network technologies;

• promoting cost-efficient investments; and

• maximising the value of grid investments for network users.

The 2023 Energy Infrastructure Forum’s conclusions tasked ACER and CEER to develop discussion papers on smart grids’ key performance indicators for electricity transmission and distribution networks.

What is in the guidance paper?

In this context, ACER and CEER have jointly developed a set of guiding principles to evaluate the performance and efficiency of European electricity smart grids.

The guidance paper published today, ahead of the 2024 Energy Infrastructure (Copenhagen) Forum (27 June 2024):

• Sets the framework of smart-grid performance indicators.

• Offers an overview on the responsibilities of network operators.

• Describes the potential applications of network performance indicators and how they support EU energy targets.

• Explains the relationship between input and output performance indicators and defines responsibilities for each.

What are the next steps?

ACER and CEER invite feedback on the guiding principles by 28 July, after which the aim is to develop concrete smart-grid Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for both Transmission and Distribution System Operators.

Submit your feedback to diana.ivanova-vanbeers@ceer.eu or KPI_ESN@acer.europa.eu by 28 July.