ACER publishes today the first Implementation Monitoring Report (the Report) on progress in Member States in implementing the EU-wide Network Code on Electricity Emergency and Restoration.

This Network Code provides the requirements that Transmission System Operators (TSOs) must follow in electricity emergency, blackout and restoration states. If TSOs follow these rules when they face an incident on their grid it helps prevent incidents deteriorating into blackouts and allows for an efficient and rapid restoration of the electricity system to a normal state from the emergency or blackout states.

Key Findings:

ACER finds that while implementation of the electricity grid emergency and restoration rules is well on track (e.g. on regional coordination, on suspension and restoration of market activities and on tools and facilities), there is still not a complete and uniform EU-wide implementation of this legally binding Network Code.  For example, there is still scope to improve:

• Measures of the system defence plan that are to be implemented on the grid.

• Measures of the restoration plans. 

• Assessment of the costs borne by system operators subject to network tariff regulation and stemming from the obligations laid down in the Network Code.

Why is it important to follow the electricity emergency and restoration rules?

A secure and efficient operation of the EU electricity system is a task shared between all the EU.

TSOs since all national systems are, to a certain extent, interconnected and a disturbance in one control area could affect another.

Hence, ACER underlines the importance of a correctly and fully implemented Emergency and Restoration Network Code to prevent the deterioration of an incident in a national system and to avoid the spread of disturbances to other areas and to enable swift restoration of the system back to normal state after a disturbance.

Hence, ACER underlines the importance of a correctly and fully implemented Emergency and Restoration Network Code to prevent the deterioration of an incident in a national system and to avoid the spread of disturbances to other control areas and to enable swift restoration of the system back to normal state after a disturbance.

ACER Recommendations:

ACER urges a prompt implementation of the articles of the Network Code that have already entered into force and invites the relevant NRAs to ensure a timely and complete application of the provisions that will apply as of 2022.

Access the report.

ACER publishes today its second series of reports on the implementation of the European Union Network Code on Harmonised Transmission Tariff Structures for Gas for both transmission systems in Poland: the national transmission system and the SGT pipeline. The latter refers to the Polish section of the Yamal transit pipeline, running from Russia through Belarus and Poland to Western Europe.

Regarding the national transmission system, ACER recommends that the Polish national regulatory authority for energy (URE), further justifies the reference price methodology (RPM) with the requirements of the Tariff Network Code, providing additional transparency regarding the expected use of the network. The Agency also recommends that the NRA provides additional transparency on investment projects. The NRA should also set a fixed entry-exit split or should provide due justification on the conditions that would trigger a change of the split.

Regarding the section of the SGT pipeline within Poland, the Agency recommends that URE further justifies the RPM, including additional clarity on the contracted capacity forecast, the detailed calculation steps of the methodology, and the calculation of the cost allocation assessment.

The Polish NRA shall take both motivated decisions by 31 March 2022.

Find out more and access all ACER reports on national tariff consultation documents.

An incident which took place in Poland’s Rogowiec substation on the 17 May 2021 led to the tripping of ten generation units of the Bełchatów power plant and a loss of 3,322 MW of generation capacity.

ACER and national regulators join ENTSO-E’s Expert Panel investigating the incident.

The Expert Panel’s Final Report is expected in Quarter 1 2022.

See here the ACER-ENTSO-E joint press release (of 21 December 2021).

ACER and Europe’s energy regulators welcome the European Commission’s hydrogen and decarbonised gas market legislative package.  In their joint Position Paper on Key Regulatory Requirements to Achieve Gas Decarbonisation, ACER and CEER provide recommendations in three areas:

• Enabling gradual and flexible regulation for hydrogen.

• Ensuring a level playing field in a decarbonised and integrated energy system.

• Empowering and protecting consumers for the energy transition.

It is clear that a successful energy transition must not only meet decarbonisation targets but also must meet consumers’ legitimate expectations of having reliable and affordable energy services. ACER and CEER set out nine key recommendations to carry out a successful energy transition:

1. Adopt a gradual and flexible regulatory approach to facilitate the emergence of competitive hydrogen markets, by defining core market and regulatory principles, guaranteeing a level playing field, ownership unbundling, third-party access, transparency and regulatory oversight;

2. Monitor hydrogen markets periodically to identify their development and whether more regulation is needed;

3. Apply cost reflectivity and beneficiary-pays principles to hydrogen networks, avoiding cross-subsidies between energy carriers;

4. Ensure an integrated, liquid and interoperable EU internal gas market, including by foreseeing a more flexible approach to the application of relevant network codes with respect to specific cross-border charges;

5. Adopt a more integrated approach to infrastructure development, both in relation to different levels of the supply chain (vertical), and to the various energy carriers (horizontal), consistent with the revised TEN-E Regulation;

6. Guarantee consumer rights regardless of energy carrier;

7. Embed robust consumer protection, future innovation, technology developments and new market trends in decarbonisation policies, recognising the specificities of gas markets;

8. Ensure cost efficiency and affordability to safeguard inclusiveness and a just transition, including by promoting and facilitating energy efficiency measures and information; and

9. Provide consumers with clear and reliable information and support, as well as ensure effective enforcement of their rights and consumer-centric digitalisation rules to enhance their empowerment and trust in the energy transition.

ACER and CEER stand ready to provide advice and they continue to work towards putting the consumer at the centre of the energy transition by promoting consumer awareness and protection.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today the Recommendation on the reasoned amendments to the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM Regulation’).

The CACM Regulation provides binding rules for implementing and operating an EU-wide single market coupling and capacity calculation in the day-ahead and intraday timeframes.

The process

On 22 January 2020, ACER received a request by the European Commission to provide a recommendation on reasoned amendments to the CACM Regulation.

After the scoping and drafting phase followed by a public consultation, which ended in June 2021, ACER and national regulatory authorities have evaluated all inputs received and started a review process with transmission system operators (TSOs) and nominated electricity market operators (NEMOs) to finalise the Recommendation.

On 18 January 2022 ACER is organising a webinar to present the amendments and engage with stakeholders. Register here.

 What is the Recommendation about?

The Recommendation strives to improve the entire CACM Regulation as it proposes changes to a wide range of topics, including amendments to the Electricity Transmission System Operation Regulation (‘SO Regulation’). The figure shows an overview of the proposed amendments:

 What are ACER’s recommendations?

   Market coupling governance and operations

ACER proposes amendments to the current market coupling governance set-up and assignment of responsibilities to make them fit for future challenges, by:

• Introducing a joint decision making body for all TSOs and NEMOs and qualified majority voting for decisions on market coupling.

• Establishing a European single legal entity to perform the market coupling operator’s tasks within five years after entry into force.

• Establishing of a permanent forum to involve stakeholders and market participants in market operations.

• The inclusion of intraday auctions as target model

• Fostering competition between NEMOs and ensure shared order books in the intraday market until close to real time.

• A new methodology developed by all NEMOs and TSOs on the publishing of information on the day-ahead and intraday coupling.

Capacity calculation and bidding zone review

ACER recommends to:

• Further specify the determination of capacity calculation regions to deliver maximal cross-zonal capacity (to the physical extent possible).

• Provide more details and regular reviews for capacity calculation methodologies to facilitate the achievement of the 70% target.

• Align the capacity calculation processes and bidding zone review with the Electricity Regulation.

• Improve efficiency by reformulating the criteria used in the bidding zone review.

SO Regulation

Various amendments to the SO Regulation stem out directly from the revisions of the CACM Regulation. In particular:

• Specific content moved from the CACM Regulation to the SO Regulation will benefit of synergies in the already existing and corresponding framework of the SO Regulation.

• Amendments mainly relate to data exchange, the common grid model, the operational security analysis and scheduling.

Would you like to find out more?

Read more on the recommendation:

• Recommendation N. 02/2021.

• Annex 1 (amended CACM Regulation).

• Annex 1a (track change version to the current CACM Regulation).

• Annex 2 (amended SO Regulation).

• Annex 2a (track change version to the current SO Regulation).

• Annex 3 (Initial impact assessment on market coupling organisation).

• Annex 4 (CACM Reasoning).

• Annex 5 (SO Reasoning).

• Annex 6 (evaluation of responses to the public consultation).

All ACER recommendations can be accessed here.

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) publishes today a decision approving an amendment to the congestion income distribution methodology for European electricity markets.

The amendment proposal was submitted by all Transmission System Operators (TSOs)’ to ACER in July 2021.

The approved methodology ensures a transparent and non-discriminatory sharing of congestion income among TSOs. 

What are the benefits of this amendment?

The amendments to the methodology are mainly connected with the implementation of the Core flow-based capacity calculation methodology planned for early 2022 and the progresses in the single intraday coupling.

As such, the amendment:

• introduces a more advanced calculation approach for those regions applying flow-based capacity calculation,

• extends the congestion income sharing to future intraday auctions and

• aligns the congestion income distribution methodology with the long term methodology as defined by the Forward Capacity Allocation (FCA) Regulation to ensure consistency across timeframes.

What’s the scope of the methodology?

The congestion income distribution methodology:

• facilitates the efficient long-term operation and development of the electricity transmission system,

• simplifies the efficient operation of the EU internal electricity market,

• allows for reasonable financial planning and

• reflects the general principles for congestion management provided by the Regulation on the internal market for electricity. 

Access the decision.

Europe’s Clean Energy Package of legislation set a binding minimum 70% target for electricity interconnector capacity for cross-zonal trading (the “minimum 70% target”). 

Why is this 70% target important?

The lack of sufficient cross-zonal capacity between Member States is one of the main barriers to the integration of electricity markets, and market integration is key to deliver on Europe's energy goals. Larger amounts of cross-zonal capacity made available for trade increase cross-border competition and facilitate more renewables on the grid.

Why is ACER publishing a dedicated 70% target report on the Nordics?

In 2020 and 2021, ACER published two reports monitoring the minimum 70% target in the EU. However, the analysis of the Nordic Alternate Current (AC) borders was not included, due to insufficient data provided by the Nordic TSOs to ACER at that time. Following a decision issued by ACER, the data was subsequently received.

What are ACER’s finding on the minimum 70% target in 2020 in the Nordic region?

The performance of the Nordic countries and the quality of the data they provided for monitoring is diverse.

While Denmark and Finland are meeting the 70% minimum target almost at all time, there is room for improvement for Sweden.

Moreover, ACER underlines that the monitoring would benefit from more accurate data, and invites the Transmission System Operators to accelerate their efforts to improve the quality of data they provide.

ACER calls for more harmonisation in monitoring, reporting and assessing compliance with the minimum 70% target.

In 2020 and 2021, ACER, a number of regulatory authorities and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) published various reports on the level of fulfilment of the 70% minimum target.

ACER calls for more coordination and harmonisation in these reports. A common and consistent message delivered by all concerned parties is key to facilitate stakeholders’ understanding of the progress towards meeting the minimum 70% target and to ensure that the minimum 70% target is implemented with equally high standards across the EU.

Find out more and access the reports.