ACER publishes today its report on Latvia’s proposed gas transmission tariffs.
ACER assessed the proposed methodology to calculate the gas tariffs, including:
The public consultation of the Latvian national regulatory authority, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), is missing certain information required to be included in the consultation according to the Network Code on Gas Transmission Tariffs.
ACER recommends that PUC improves:
Access the ACER report on the Latvian gas tariffs.
Access all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents.
ACER published today the updated electronic format for the reporting of primary and secondary capacity allocations for gas in accordance with Table 4 of the 2014 Commission Implementing Regulation on data reporting.
The new version of the electronic format for the reporting of Table 4 transactions implements:
The new version is available via REMIT Reporting Guidance page: Annex V.IV to the Manual of Procedures (MoP) on Data Reporting.
To reflect the new electronic format and to facilitate the reporting of contracts for the transportation of natural gas under the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT), the following guidance documents on REMIT transaction reporting were also updated:
All updated documents are available on the ACER website. The TRUM and the FAQs on transaction reporting are also available in the REMIT Knowledge Base.
Reporting parties are expected to comply with the updated electronic format and transaction reporting guidance within six months of their publication (i.e. by 17 October 2023 at the latest). The older version will be retired at the same time.
ACER thanks all stakeholders who tested the new electronic format and provided their feedback.
ACER publishes today its Recommendation on the treatment of electricity losses in the Inter-Transmission System Operator Compensation (ITC) mechanism.
The ITC mechanism compensates Transmission System Operators (TSOs) for the costs incurred on national power systems for hosting cross-border flows of electricity (transits). The ITC fund seeks to cover the costs of the incurred transmission losses and infrastructure’s availability.
Power losses happen with electricity’s transmission and they can give rise to significant costs. In most EU countries, the procurement of energy to cover transmission losses is in the hands of the TSOs. Reducing losses decreases the operational costs of power grids and increases benefits to the society.
The ACER Recommendation is addressed to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), TSOs and National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) after ACER having identified potential shortcomings in its latest yearly monitoring report on the ITC mechanism.
Access the Access the ACER Recommendation on the Treatment of Losses for the Purpose of the ITC Mechanism.
Are you a strongly motivated, competent master graduate or PhD student looking for an exciting position in energy? If yes, you landed in the right place.
The ACER graduate programme aims to attract graduates with a completed Master Degree and PhD students who are interested in developing professionally by embarking on an exciting learning opportunity in EU energy regulation in its offices in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The aim is to create a pool of fresh talent capable of contributing to core ACER tasks and policy and creating a bridge with the latest academic insights.
ACER’s graduate programme is open to Master Degree graduates and PhD students who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have completed their university studies (4 years or more), attested by a diploma.
Graduate programme candidates are also required to have a very good knowledge of at least two EU languages, one of them should be English.
The graduate programme period lasts 1 year in total, with the starting date set according to the Agency’s internal needs and availabilities all along the calendar year.
Have a look at the ACER graduate programme open call.
Fill in the Graduate Programme Application Form, attach a copy of your diploma(s) and send it to graduate(at)acer.europa.eu.
The Agency draws a list of eligible and suitable applicants according to its current needs and available places.
Before the final selection decision, applicants can be contacted by the ACER HR team to verify their availability, suitability, language skills, and to discuss expectations. The final decision is then taken by the ACER Director.
Only short-listed candidates will be informed about the outcomes of the selection procedure.
Read carefully the Rules before submitting the application!
Graduates not receiving a salary or other form of financial support from outside of ACER are provided with a monthly grant from ACER. As of 1 January 2023, the graduate programme grant amounts to 1,771.50 € per month. Graduates can also be awarded some extra contributions, under certain conditions:
If you have further questions, contact: graduate(at)acer.europa.eu.
ACER launches today a public consultation on electricity grid operators’ proposals for a harmonised cross-zonal capacity allocation methodology for procuring electricity balancing capacity.
Electricity grid operators must keep the power system stable or in balance. Allocating cross-zonal capacity to balancing capacity enables the power system to be balanced more efficiently.
ACER received the Transmission System Operators’ (TSOs’) and ENTSO-E’s proposals:
These three proposals aim at integrating balancing capacity markets with the use of cross-zonal capacities. The goal is to lower the costs of procuring electricity balancing capacity while ensuring security of supply. This can be archieved by reducing the overall balancing capacity needs and by lowering the procurement cost of that balancing capacity which needs to be procured.
What are the next steps?
On 31 March 2023, with its Decision 08/2023, ACER approved for the European Union a proposal from 13 October 2022 by Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to include the Norwegian bidding zone borders into the electricity capacity calculation regions (CCRs).
Norway is part of the internal energy market through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). In 2021, following the Capacity allocation and congestion management (CACM) Regulation becoming binding for Norway, TSOs proposed the inclusion of the Norwegian bidding zone borders in the Hansa and Nordic CCRs.
Before approving the TSOs’ proposal for the EU, ACER assessed whether the changes would contribute to market integration, non-discrimination, effective competition and the proper functioning of the EU electricity market. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) is conducting in parallel its assessment to prepare its decision for Norway.
To make an informed decision, ACER also consulted stakeholders across the EEA through a public consultation between 28 October and 25 November 2022.
CCRs define the geographic areas (i.e. by listing bidding zone borders) across Europe in which the task of capacity calculation and other processes are coordinated by the TSOs (i.e. subject to regional methodologies).
There are 8 CCRs in Europe: Nordic, Hansa, Core, Italy North, Greece-Italy (GRIT), South-west Europe (SWE), Baltic and South-east Europe (SEE).
Forming CCRs benefits European consumers, as it:
ESA, responsible for overseeing the application of the EEA rules in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, has been asked by the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority for (NVE-RME) to decide on the CCR methodology for Norway.
The amendments of the CCRs decided by ACER for the EU will become applicable provided that ESA and NVE-RME adopt their respective decisions on the CCR methodology.
Access the ACER Decision on the amendment to the determination of capacity calculation regions and its annexes:
Europe requires significant investment in energy infrastructure that is cost-efficient to successfully achieve the energy transition. Every two years, the European grid operators submit their Ten-Year Network Development Plan (or TYNDP) to ACER. Today, ACER identifies, in its two opinions, improvements and shortcomings of the 2022 draft electricity TYNDP developed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E):
The main objectives of the TYNDP are to:
The TYNDP also provides essential and comprehensive information for the selection of projects of common interest (PCIs).
In ACER’s opinion, the draft electricity TYNDP 2022 does not sufficiently contribute to the efficient and secure functioning of the electricity market.
ACER acknowledges the resource intensiveness and complexity of the TYNDP process and welcomes a number of improvements in the 2022 draft electricity TYNDP, for instance in the:
ACER finds that the plan does not sufficiently contribute to the efficient and secure functioning of the electricity market, especially compared to previous TYNDPs, mainly due to five shortcomings:
In addition, ACER was not able to assess whether the system’s resilience to climate change impacts is addressed in the draft electricity TYNDP 2022.
ACER proposes several recommendations to ENTSO-E to serve European consumers and Europe’s decarbonisation and sector integration ambitions.
For the 2022 final Electricity TYNDP, ACER recommends ENTSO-E to:
For the 2024 electricity TYNDP and beyond, ACER recommends ENTSO-E to, inter alia:
Access the ACER opinions:
ACER Opinion 03/2023 on the methodological aspects of the ENTSO-E TYNDP 2022.
On 1 March 2023, ACER received the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) proposal for the amendment of the Harmonised Allocation Rules (HAR) for long-term electricity transmission rights, mainly to allow for their long-term flow-based allocation. ACER launched a public consultation on 29 August 2023 on the amendments to the rules.
Cross-zonal capacity is currently allocated in the long-term electricity market with no coordination between different bidding zone borders, causing inefficiencies in some capacity calculation regions. This HAR amendment is needed to introduce the flow-based allocation of long-term transmission rights, enabling cross-zonal coordination. This will make the long-term market more efficient and aligned with the day-ahead market design.
Flow-based allocation of long-term transmission rights is a mechanism that efficiently allocates cross-border transmission capacity in the electricity market. It takes into account the physical reality of the transmission network by calculating the available capacities of physical network elements (so-called Remaining Available Margins) for electricity exchanges between different areas, as well as sensitivity factors (so-called Power Transfer Distribution Factors).
A flow-based mechanism enables cross-zonal coordination in long term electricity markets, leading to better network representation and more accurate price signals for cross-border trade, reducing market distortions and ensuring that the prices reflect the true cost of generating and transmitting electricity.
Amending the rules will allow the implementation of two projects for long-term flow-based capacity calculation and allocation; in the Core and the Nordic capacity calculation regions. The HAR revision is the final step needed for the implementation of these projects, following the approval of the single allocation platform, the congestion income distribution and sharing costs incurred to ensure firmness and remuneration of long-term transmission rights on 22 March 2023.
In addition to this proposal, TSOs submitted to ACER their proposal for amending the HAR provisions on collaterals by 1 August 2023.
ACER will decide on both proposals for amending the rules in a single procedure by the end of 2023.
To make an informed decision, ACER runs a public consultation (from 29 August to 26 September 2023) on the amendments to harmonised allocation rules for long-term electricity transmission rights.
On 22 December 2023, with its Decision 18/2023, ACER approved the TSOs' proposal to amend the Harmonised Allocation Rules (HAR) for long-term electricity transmission rights.
On 31 March 2023, ACER issued an Opinion on the revised statutory documents of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).
To inform its assessment, ACER consulted, from 3 to 17 February 2023, stakeholder organisations, in particular organisations representing the system users, including customers.
ACER's opinion is addressed to the European Commission. Following ACER’s opinion, the Commission has three months to provide its own opinion to the transmission system operators (TSOs). Subject to a favourable opinion of the Commission, the TSOs must adopt and publish the revised statutory documents.
Access the Opinion.