Today, ACER releases its report on the Lithuanian gas transmission tariffs directed at the Valstybinė Energetikos Reguliavimo Taryba (VERT), the national regulatory authority (NRA) of Lithuania.

The report assesses the compliance of the proposed reference price methodology (RPM) with the requirements of the Network Code on Harmonised Transmission Tariff structures. 

What is the proposed methodology about?

The Lithuanian regulator proposes to:

• Apply a postage stamp reference price methodology with flexible entry-exit splits, complemented by a 100% discount at entry points for domestic biomethane producers.
• Align entry tariffs with those of the neighbouring FinEstLat (Finland, Estonia and Latvia) zone.
• Simplify the existing tariff structure by abandoning the previously applied system based on multiple asset cost splits and differentiated tariffs.
• Use a flow-based charge (commodity-based tariff) with a fixed tariff level for the entire regulatory period.
• Offer a conditional product with limited allocability (i.e. the product can only be used to ship gas to pre-defined system points) at entry and exit points with non-EU countries.

What are the key findings? 

After analysing the consultation document, ACER concludes that:

• The proposed methodology meets the requirements on transparency, non-discrimination, and volume risk.
• Compliance with the requirements on cost-reflectivity, avoidance of cross-subsidisation, and prevention of cross-border trade distortions cannot be fully assessed, due to several design elements of the methodology.
• While the criteria for setting the flow-based charge are met, further clarification is needed on how the charge will be adjusted and reconciled. 
• Simplifying the tariff structure has made the methodology more understandable for system users.

What does ACER recommend? 

ACER recommends that the national regulator, when adopting its final decision:

• Provides a clear framework for the flow-based charge, preferably by recalculating its level annually.
• Ensures full compliance of non-EU entry and exit points with the network code. 
• Assesses regional networks and allocates their costs in a compliant way, in line with EU rules and ACER’s guidance.

See all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents. 

The ACER report Unlocking flexibility: No-regret actions to remove barriers to demand response identifies persistent barriers to demand response and proposes 12 no-regret actions to remove them. 

The report is a roadmap and a call to action for policymakers, system operators, regulators, and market participants to act now. These actions will enhance flexibility, improve system efficiency, reduce consumer costs, and support the energy transition.

What are flexibility and demand-response?

Demand is the consumer side of the electricity market. Demand response is when consumers (or aggregators on their behalf) adjust their electricity consumption and generation in response to a change in the electricity market price (or a financial incentive) to increase/decrease/shift the timing of their electricity consumption. 

Power system flexibility is the electricity system’s ability to adjust to changing generation, consumption and grid conditions. Distributed energy resources, including demand response, energy storage, and distributed generation, play a key role in providing this flexibility.

Demand response supports more variable renewable generation and demand-side resources being added to the power grid. When consumers respond to price signals and actively participate in electricity markets, the benefits extend beyond them, helping to reduce price volatility for all consumers.

How is unlocking demand response linked to energy bills and the clean energy transition? 

Consumers have an important role to play in energy markets and the shift to cleaner energy. Enabling demand response supports this transition.

Recognising this, the first action of the European Commission’s Action Plan for Affordable Energy (February 2025) is to make electricity prices more affordable 

One way to achieve this is by increasing flexibility in the power system. Greater demand response helps reduce price volatility and price spikes, makes it easier to integrate renewables, and increases overall system resilience.

What are ACER’s recommendations?

The ACER report sets out 12 concrete actions to remove the barriers to demand response calling, for example, for:

• Stronger price signals through dynamic pricing and time-of-use tariffs to encourage consumer participation.
• Simplified market entry allowing aggregators and small players to provide flexibility services.
• Wider adoption of smart meters to enable real-time demand response.

ACER and the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) agree to follow the actions set out in the report and call on policymakers, Member States, system operators, and market players to similarly focus on these 12 actions.

Interested in the topic? Read ACER’s recommendation on the Network Code on Demand Response, which provides further insights into the regulatory framework supporting flexibility in electricity markets.

Read more. 

Today, ACER releases its report on the German gas transmission tariffs directed at the Bundesnetzagentur für Elektrizität, Gas, Telekommunikation, Post und Eisenbahnen (BNetzA), the national regulatory authority (NRA) of Germany.

The report assesses the compliance of the proposed reference price methodology (RPM) with the requirements of the Network Code on Harmonised Transmission Tariff structures (NC TAR). 

What is the proposed RPM about?

The German NRA proposes to:

• Apply a postage stamp RPM with uniform entry and exit tariffs.
• Use conditional products with discounted tariffs.
• Use non-transmission services, including metering at exit points (for both end-users and distribution networks) and alternative nomination procedures for gas deliveries.

What are the key findings? 

After analysing the consultation document, ACER concludes that: 

• The RPM complies with the requirements of the network code on transparency, non-discrimination and volume risk.
• Due to insufficient information on regional networks, ACER could not assess the compliance of the proposed tariffs with the principles of cost-reflectivity, avoidance of cross-subsidisation and prevention of cross-border trade distortions. 
• While the criteria for setting metering charges are met, ACER could not assess whether the proposed tariff methodologies for alternative nomination procedures comply with NC TAR principles.

What does ACER recommend? 

ACER recommends that the NRA, when adopting its final decision:

• Assess regional networks and allocate their costs in a compliant way, in line with EU rules and ACER’s guidance.
• Provide more clarity on how discounted tariffs for conditional products are calculated.

See all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents. 

On 27 March 2025, ACER received the transmission system operators’ (TSOs’) proposal to amend the Harmonised Allocation Rules (HAR) for long-term electricity transmission rights.

To inform its decision-making process, ACER will open a public consultation on 24 April 2025.

Why change the rules?

The harmonised allocation rules apply to all long-term transmission rights allocations conducted within the European Union. They provide specifications for the auctioning of long-term transmission rights (including use and curtailment of long-term transmission rights, eligibility criteria, etc.) and go through a review process every two years. 

The TSOs’ proposal updates various elements of the HAR related to arrangements with market participants to consider upcoming market changes (e.g. introduction of 15 minutes market time unit in day-ahead) and recent incidents (e.g. single-day ahead market decoupling in June 2024).

What are the next steps? 

The public consultation will run until 22 May 2025. 

ACER will decide on this amendment by 29 September 2025. 

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) is the EU framework that aims to prevent wholesale energy market abuse and support fair competition. The regulation was amended in 2024 to ensure the regulatory framework keeps pace with evolving market dynamics.

Now, ACER has updated its Questions & Answers (Q&As) on REMIT to incorporate the changes introduced in the amended regulation. 

The Q&A document (first published in 2011) summarises frequently asked questions about REMIT and their answers. It provides market participants and other stakeholders with information on REMIT definitions, market participant obligations, transaction reporting, and more.

What’s new in the updated Q&As?

This 30^th edition aims to align the document’s legal references with the revised regulation and clarify key concepts, including:

• new obligations for third-country market participants;

• order book reporting by organised marketplaces; and

• the expansion of REMIT’s scope to include new products (such as energy storage and hydrogen). 

The revised Q&As provide clearer explanations of reporting and compliance aspects, helping market participants to better understand the new requirements.

For additional questions about REMIT implementation and data reporting, stakeholders are encouraged to:

• check ACER guidance documents; or

• submit their queries via the REMIT query form.

With its Decision 03-2025, ACER has approved a proposal from Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) to amend the single intraday coupling (SIDC) products methodology. 

Why is single intraday market coupling important? 

Before ‘market coupling’ was introduced in the EU, cross-border power grid capacity and electricity had to be bought separately. Now, market coupling (day-ahead and intraday) allocates scarce cross-border grid capacity efficiently by coupling wholesale electricity markets in different regions, while taking into account cross-border power grid constraints. 

With the growth in intermittent renewables (e.g. wind and solar), there is a growing interest in intraday trading for market participants to be in balance after the closure of the day-ahead market and as close to real time as possible. This flexibility benefits both market participants and power systems. 

What is the methodology about?

The SIDC products methodology is defined by the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) Regulation. The methodology specifies the types of products that can be traded within the EU’s continuous single intraday market and in intraday auctions. Here, trading begins the day before delivery and continues through the day of delivery, supporting real-time adjustments to supply and demand across borders.

Why did ACER amend the methodology and what’s new?

The update aligns the SIDC products methodology with the single day-ahead coupling (SDAC) products methodology (amended in September 2024 to allow 15-minute trading). With this change, market participants will be able to trade electricity in 15-minute intervals in both day-ahead and intraday markets, resulting in enhanced market flexibility.

Harmonising trading rules across both markets is necessary to comply with the EU Electricity Regulation and reduce entry barriers for market participants trading short-term products. 

What are the next steps? 

NEMOs are required to implement the amendments promptly after adoption.

Today, ACER publishes its report on electricity network tariff methodologies. This report analyses how network tariffs are set across the EU and how network costs are allocated across different network users (e.g. generators, consumers, battery facilities or other storage operators). 

The report enhances transparency and comparability in electricity network tariff setting by sharing national practices. It also examines and offers insights into various tariff challenges faced by energy regulators. 

How is it relevant to the European Commission’s Action Plan for Affordable Energy?

Network charges finance the operation and upgrade of the power grid. ACER has repeatedly flagged that, for EU competitiveness, network costs need to be contained as they are one of the main drivers of electricity costs.

Action 1 of the European Commission’s Action Plan for Affordable Energy (February 2025) is to make electricity prices more affordable. The ACER tariff practices report, which emphasises fair and cost-reflective electricity network tariffs, is timely as the European Commission puts forward (Q2 2025) a design of tariff methodologies for network charges to incentivise the use of flexibility and investments in electrification.

What are ACER’s key messages? 

• Getting the price signals right is key. As the energy transition advances, network costs are expected to rise (possibly to double by 2050) and account for a bigger share of the electricity bill (see ACER report on electricity infrastructure, December 2024). This calls for a regular ‘fitness check’ by regulators of network tariff methodologies. Ensuring the network tariffs send the right price signals optimises grid use and keeps network costs down.
• Containing the rise in network costs is important for EU competitiveness and affordable electricity. Future-proof measures should ensure all network users receive signals for flexibility and system efficiency, rather than unduly shifting costs among them.
• Network tariffs should be cost-reflective to encourage users to adapt their behaviour. Together with market prices, they provide a combined price signal, influencing users’ electricity generation and consumption patterns. 
• Two-thirds of EU countries have recently made (or plan to make) major revisions to their network tariff methodologies. Many of these changes align with ACER’s past recommendations (including increasing the use of power-based tariffs in alignment with the cost-causality principle, introducing time-of-use signals and removing unjustified discounts).
• Local power system context matters. No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution can be easily found: this ACER report presents select national practices from which regulators can draw inspiration to increase system efficiencies and keep electricity network costs down, tailoring them to local needs.

ACER offers 10 principles for national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to consider when setting or approving their next electricity transmission or distribution tariff methodologies. These aim to:

• enhance transparency and comparability of network tariff methodologies;
• ensure non-discrimination among network users;
• promote cost-reflectivity and efficient price signals; and
• foster stakeholder engagement before major methodology revisions.

What are the next steps?

ACER will continue to facilitate the exchange of best practices among NRAs, engaging closely with stakeholders to gain valuable insights.  

ACER stands ready to support the European Commission as it develops its guidance on the design of electricity network methodologies (2025) and its Electrification and Grids Package (2026).