ACER publishes today a new open call for European associations of energy market participants to be involved in the REMIT Roundtable meetings in 2022 and 2023.

ACER organises the REMIT Roundtable meetings at least once per year, to share and discuss views and best practices on REMIT data collection. Roundtable participants are invited to actively contribute to the discussions, as well as to provide their feedback to consultations related to REMIT data collection.

Representatives of European associations of energy market participants are now encouraged to express their interest in participating in the Roundtable meetings by registering online.

National associations can participate through the European association(s) of which they are members.

Apply by Friday 4 March 2022. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

Read more.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today two Opinions related to the review of exemptions from the obligation of enabling bi-directional capacity in gas pipelines at two interconnection points (IPs).

In particular, ACER provides an assessment on the Decisions taken by the national regulatory authorities of:

• Austria and Hungary at the Mosonmagyaróvár IP: accepting the transmission system operators (TSOs)’ proposal (Gas Connect Austria and FGSZ) and considering the obligation of enabling bi-directional capacity as already fulfilled,

• Austria and Slovenia at the Murfeld/Ceršak IP: accepting the TSOs’ (Gas Connect Austria and Plinovodi) proposal and prolonging the exemption from the obligation of enabling bi-directional capacity.

What is the role of ACER?

After being notified by the Competent Authorities (i.e. the relevant NRAs) that the Decisions have been taken, ACER shall issue Opinions on the elements of the coordinated Decisions according to the requirements of the Security of Gas Supply (SoS) Regulation.

ACER’s Opinions are then submitted to the Competent Authorities and the European Commission, for possible consequential actions.

What is ACER’s assessment?

1. Interconnection point "Mosonmagyaróvár" (Hungary to Austria)

ACER believes the TSOs’ proposal was prepared and consulted in compliance with the SoS Regulation.

The Austrian and Hungarian energy regulatory authorities, E-Control and MEKH, timely decided on the proposal in a coordinated way. The TSOs proposal and the Decisions sustain there is already permanent bi-directional capacity at the Mosonmagyaróvár IP, under certain conditions related to:

• gas demand and temperature in Hungary,

• a request of application of solidarity from the Republic of Austria.

However, ACER notes the proposal does not include a feasibility study for a reverse flow project enabling permanent marketable capacities and a cost-benefit analysis based on the requirements of the TEN-E regulation.

The Decisions note that the main infrastructure standard indicator of the SoS Regulation (the so-called N-1 indicator) is already at an adequate level in Austria.

ACER agrees that there is no need to increase the capacity from Hungary to Austria at the Mosonmagyaróvár IP under the current circumstances. The investment costs of having significant marketable firm reverse flow capacity at this IP would significantly outweigh the very limited prospective benefits in terms of security of gas supply.

However, ACER is not convinced that the cumulative conditions indicated in the TSOs’ proposal could qualify as permanent physical bi-directional capacity. ACER believes that the agreed crisis scenarios, including any conditionalities to the physical flow capability, must be relevant and meaningful to offer gas flows from Hungary to Austria in a supply crisis.

Alternatively, a request for exemption should be submitted or a physical reverse flow project offering marketable capacity should be developed.

Read more on the ACER Opinion (Hungary - Austria).

2. Interconnection point "Murfeld/Ceršak" (Slovenia to Austria)

ACER believes the TSOs’ proposal was prepared and consulted in compliance with the SoS Regulation.

The Austrian and Slovenian energy regulatory authorities, E-Control and the Slovenian Energy Agency, timely decided on the proposal in a coordinated way.

ACER confirms the Decision fulfils the requirements of the SoS Regulation. However, the request for an exemption does not include a complete feasibility study for the project and a cost benefit analysis as required by the TEN-E regulation.

The Decisions note that the main infrastructure standard indicator of the SoS Regulation (the so-called N-1 indicator) is already at an adequate level in Austria.

ACER confirms there is no need to establish bi-directional capacity from Slovenia to Austria at the Murfeld/Ceršak interconnection point under the current circumstances.

The establishment of the capacity from Slovenia to Austria in the short - to medium - term, when not supported by the market, may result in inefficient investments. The investment costs of having permanent bi-directional reverse flow capacity at this interconnection point would significantly outweigh the very limited prospective benefits in terms of security of gas supply.

Find out more on ACER’s Opinion (Slovenia - Austria).

Today marks a changing of the guard for the ACER Administrative Board, with Michel Thiollière taking over from Dr Jochen Penker as the Administrative Board Chair.

Mr Thiollière (France) was formerly a Commissioner at the French energy regulatory authority (CRE) and former president of MEDREG.

Jochen Penker has served as Member of the Administrative Board of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) from 2014 and as Chair for a mandate of two years, from December 2019 until 27 January 2022. The Administrative Board is the governing body of the Agency.

The incoming Administrative Board Chair, Mr Thiollière said:

“I am honoured to take over the lead of the Agency’s Administrative Board at this exciting time of pursuing Europe’s ambitious energy goals”. 

During Dr Penker’s chairmanship of the Administrative Board, ACER’s mandate was extended as a consequence of the 2019 Clean Energy Package (including an increase in work, more decisions and appeals), and Mr Christian Zinglersen was appointed as the new ACER Director.

Welcoming the new Chair and paying tribute to the outgoing Chair, Christian Zinglersen, ACER’s Director said:

“I look forward to working with Mr Thiollière whom I’m sure will show great leadership of the Board like his predecessor. Dr Penker, in chairing the Agency’s Administrative Board, has contributed to ACER’s successes on a number of fronts be it from the smooth Agency-wide work continuity during the pandemic, to helping to redress the Agency’s understaffing, and through to increased visibility about ACER’s added value in the broader context of the European Green Deal. His integrity and expertise have been key in a period where the Agency’s decision-making powers have increased and market integration issues were at stake.”

Today, at his last Administrative Board meeting, Dr Jochen Penker said:

“It has been my honour to serve ACER’s Administrative Board as Chair. These two years have been challenging. We adapted to running meetings online. We managed finally to establish the communication strategy of the Agency, something that has been for far too long in the pipeline. We embraced the new mandates from the Clean Energy Package. We welcomed the new Director. Working together, we helped shape the future of the Agency. ACER is now on a better financial footing for its market monitoring which is key to the integrity of Europe’s wholesale energy markets. It was a journey with a shared goal of contributing to ACER’s success and in setting the scene for a modern green organisation and European authority. We initiated the Greening Action Plan. Today, ACER is a frontrunner in sustainability management among EU Agencies."

ACER’s Director, the other Members of the Administrative Board and the Chair of the Board of Regulators expressed their gratitude to Dr Penker for his hard work over the past two years. They  warmly welcomed the new Chair, Mr Thiollière, congratulated Dr Spiridonovs for his reappointment as Member and welcomed Mr Bartuska as new Member and Ms Čelić (Croatia), Ms Ludwiniak (Poland), and Mr Kaderják (Hungary) as new Alternate Members.

Find out more about the role of the Administrative Board and its Members.

In January 2022, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the European University Institute (EUI) signed a knowledge partnership agreement with the aim of informing the energy policy debate and advancing regulatory thinking in Europe.

Since 2010, ACER and the EUI’s Florence School of Regulation (FSR Energy), hosted within the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSC), have been cooperating on a number of initiatives including policy events, training courses, and development of new research in the field of energy policy and regulation. In this context, ACER experts regularly participate in policy events and contribute to training courses organised by the FSR, bringing direct practical experience in European energy regulation.

“Energy Regulators, particular those based in Europe, are one of the FSR Energy and Climate’s most important stakeholders. The FSR aims at informing the regulatory debate in Europe through its research and policy events and, therefore, having an early insight on the forthcoming issues is essential to maintain its relevance. ACER is thus a key interlocutor.”

Alberto Pototschnig, FSR Energy Deputy Director for Policy Affairs

As the issues facing the energy sector are evolving and becoming more complex in order to achieve the ambitious energy and climate policy targets and accomplish the associated energy transition, the two organisations stand to benefit even more from a close cooperation.

“The energy sector is changing rapidly. Only by adopting a multidisciplinary approach and by engaging with different stakeholders, ACER can stay abreast of the game and contribute to a smooth transition to a low carbon energy system. In this respect, the partnership with FSR Energy is key: it provides a high-quality platform for policy debate and research and allows our staff to access an excellent faculty of global regulatory experts.”

Christian Zinglersen, ACER Director

In the framework of the partnership, the following activities will be co-designed and delivered:

• FSR Training Courses offered to or involving ACER staff;

• Exchange of views on topics of mutual interest;

• Events on a variety of topics and with diverse formats, involving the partners and external stakeholders;

• Research activities on current energy topics; and

• Study visits to ACER for EUI scholars.

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.