Today, ACER has published two reports and a recommendation related to energy infrastructure in the EU:
European Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) are key cross-border infrastructure projects that further link the energy systems of EU countries. Such infrastructure projects are a strategic priority for achieving Europe’s ambitious clean energy goals. Delays in such investments can hamper further market integration, security of supply and be a major obstacle to the timely rollout of renewable projects. ACER’s annual PCI monitoring reports address the status of PCIs, their implementation plans, reasons for delays and rescheduling.
The revised TEN-E Regulation also tasked ACER with reviewing investment evaluation, risk assessment and regulatory incentives for energy network projects. The 2023 ACER report examines how national regulatory authorities (NRAs) mitigate risks for project promoters and incentivise investments in innovative, efficient and sustainable energy infrastructure. It also includes a common methodology on the risk assessment of PCIs.
CBCA is about sharing the efficient investment costs of a PCI between the countries which are significantly impacted by the projects. The new ACER recommendation on CBCA defines good practices (for project promoters and for NRAs) for shared cost allocation requests.
ACER’s recent review of the progress and regulatory treatment of PCIs shows that:
To facilitate the evaluation, approval and implementation of high value European projects, ACER recommends NRAs, TSOs and project promoters to:
Access the:
From 21 July to 15 September 2023, ACER will run a public consultation on its upcoming report on cross-border capacity in EU electricity markets in 2022, to be published on 21 July 2023.
ACER’s monitoring is crucial for integrated markets, as it contributes to efficient cross-border trade, integration of renewables, ensuring security of supply and reducing price volatility.
The ACER report on cross-border capacity in electricity markets will:
After publishing its report on cross-border capacity in electricity markets on 21 July 2023, ACER will:
Based on its findings and stakeholders’ input, ACER will issue a formal opinion with recommendations to the European Commission and European Parliament by November 2023.
ACER runs a public consultation from 17 July 2023 to 25 September 2023 to gather stakeholders’ views on concrete amendment proposals on two European electricity grid connection network codes:
Stakeholders can submit their comments separately, to one or both GC NCs.
The public consultation will last for 10 weeks.
Since the development of the first European grid connection codes in 2012, there have been important policy developments in decarbonising Europe’s energy and transport sectors.
The revisions of network codes are needed to update the existing regulatory framework to ensure Europe’s interconnected power system adapts to emerging trends, such as increasing number of electricity storage modules, electrical charging points for e-vehicles, or the proliferation of distributed energy resources.
In September 2022, the European Commission asked ACER to initiate the process of amending the existing European network codes. Since then, ACER has:
On the basis of the input from this summer consultation, ACER prepared a recommendation for amendments to the European Commission later in 2023.
Access the public consultation page.
Learn more about the electricity grid connection codes.
Subscribe to receive automatic notifications on ACER’s public consultations.
On 30 May 2023, ACER approved the Transmission System Operators’ (TSOs’) proposal of 20 December 2022 to amend the methodology for calculating scheduled exchanges resulting from single day-ahead coupling (SDAC).
On 25 January 2023, the EU National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) referred to ACER a joint TSOs’ proposal on the amendments to the methodology for calculating scheduled exchanges resulting from SDAC under the Capacity allocation and congestion management (CACM) Regulation.
Having gained experience from multiple nominated electricity market operator (NEMO) arrangements, TSOs identified improvements to the methodology, particularly for calculating scheduled exchanges between NEMO trading hubs.
Before approving the TSOs’ proposal, ACER assessed whether changes would contribute to market integration, non-discrimination, effective competition and proper functioning of the EU electricity market. To make an informed decision, ACER also consulted stakeholders in March 2023.
TSOs shall implement the methodology for calculating scheduled exchanges resulting from SDAC no later than three months after its approval, i.e. by 30 August 2023.
Access the:
In January 2020, the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) reported a functionality process issue to the Functionality Platform and proposed to enhance the availability of firm gas capacity at interconnection points (IPs).
ACER and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) have published a series of proposals that address the issue by providing shippers with greater flexibility to book firm capacity at IPs.
EFET considers that the current Network Code on Capacity Allocation Mechanisms (CAM NC) standard auction timetable limits gas trading opportunities, which could affect market efficiency and the quantity of capacity sold by Transmission System Operators (TSOs).
EFET’s proposal suggests enabling TSOs to sell firm IP capacity in uniform price allocation (UPA) auctions outside the current yearly, quarterly and monthly auctions envisaged by the CAM NC.
The ACER and ENTSOG proposed solutions go beyond the initial EFET proposal. They aim at enhancing the effectiveness of the capacity allocation rules of the CAM NC, while ensuring their adaptability with market conditions and market participants’ needs by:
The Issue Solution Note and the Issue Supporting Note (Annex I) are available at the case page: Greater flexibility to book firm capacity at IPs.
ACER and ENTSOG will publish additional documents (Annex II to the Solution Note) to propose corresponding amendments to the CAM NC.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the changes in supply and demand created transportation bottlenecks as the gas system was originally designed for optimal transportation of Russian supplies. With liquified natural gas (LNG) and increased pipeline supplies primarily entering the EU from the west, bottlenecks in transportation occurred.
Due to physical congestion at LNG terminals and at cross-border pipelines in North-West Europe, the system was used at full capacity and gas could not easily flow to where it was needed most during the 2022 energy crisis, which drove hub price-spreads high. To address these bottlenecks in the short term, the existing infrastructure must be optimised to accommodate new supply routes.
In the gas market crisis, short-term mitigating actions are important. The voluntary gas-demand reduction target has been extended until 31 March 2024 and storage-filling trajectories for 2023 have been updated. Addressing the most acute bottlenecks presents a no-regret measure to improve market efficiency in the short term.
In addition to its annual monitoring of congestion, ACER made a focused research of how congestion emerged in the most acutely congested markets of Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and how the respective transmission system operators (TSOs) and national regulatory authorities (NRAs) addressed the bottlenecks.
ACER expects the TSOs to:
ACER expects NRAs to:
In summer 2023, ACER will publish a report specifically on congestion in North-West Europe with findings and recommendations.
In its 10th Report on Congestion in the EU Gas Markets and How it is Managed, ACER finds a tripling of network congestion. ACER calls on gas Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to relieve the bottlenecks.
In the gas market crisis, short-term mitigating actions are important. Europe’s voluntary gas-demand reduction target has been extended until 31 March 2024 and storage-filling trajectories for 2023 have been updated. Addressing the most acute bottlenecks presents a no-regret measure to improve market efficiency in the short term.
Congestion occurs first at the level of contracts when network users cannot obtain the capacity contract they need to flow gas. It is addressed by bringing any unused capacity back to the market.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the changes in supply and demand created gas transportation bottlenecks. With liquified natural gas (LNG) and increased pipeline supplies primarily entering the EU from the west (in a system originally designed for transporting Russian supplies to Europe), bottlenecks in transportation occurred.
Due to physical congestion at LNG terminals and at cross-border pipelines in North-West Europe, the system was used at full capacity and gas could not easily flow to where it was needed most during the 2022 energy crisis, which drove hub price-spreads high. To address these bottlenecks in the short term, the existing gas infrastructure must be optimised to accommodate new supply routes.
ACER urges:
Access ACER’s 10th Report on Congestion and its technical annex.
