APG and EPEX SPOT launch Austrian Intraday market
Important milestone for implementing the pan-European Intraday target model achieved
Vienna / Paris, 17 October 2012 – The Austrian Transmission System Operator, Austrian Power Grid AG (APG), and the European Power Exchange EPEX SPOT SE have jointly launched an Intraday market in Austria on 16 October 2012 and connected it, via an open interface provided by APG, to the Franco-German Intraday markets. Physical and financial settlement of the new Austrian power contracts are provided by Europe’s central clearing house for energy, European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC).
The launch of the Austrian Intraday market in the control zone of APG constitutes an important milestone for implementing the Pan-European Intraday Target Model for continuous implicit Intraday trading, as described in the ACER Framework Guidelines on Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management. The Austrian Intraday market is henceforth connected to the French and German Intraday markets of EPEX SPOT: Market participants from the three countries will benefit from the pooled liquidity and more harmonized trading and operational rules. The existing mechanism for Austrian-German cross-border schedules nomination is not affected and remains available for all market participants.
In a subsequent step of the integration process of the Austrian Intraday market, the cross-border Intraday lead-times for trading between Austria, France and Germany will be further improved: APG and EPEX SPOT, together with other concerned parties, are working on a synchronization of the local and cross-border trading gate closure times on the Power Exchange, in order to enable cross-border trading closer to real-time. These improvements are scheduled for 2013 subject to successful testing of systems and regulatory approvals.
EPEX SPOT and APG have now set up the necessary infrastructure to ensure a smooth integration of the Austrian market into the Pan-European Intraday Target Solution, consisting of a Shared Order Book and a centralized Capacity Management Module.
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Austrian Power Grid AG (APG) is Austria’s independent transmission operator and as such responsible for the domestic high-voltage grid. The APG grid spans about 3.500 km of power lines, which are constantly managed, maintained and further developed along the increasing economic needs by a team of 450 specialists. In close cooperation with the TSOs of fellow European states the APG grid lays the foundation for the realization of a free European electricity market. VERBUND AG holds 100% shares within APG.
EPEX SPOT SE operates the power spot markets for France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Day Ahead and Intraday). Together these countries account for more than one third of the European electricity consumption. EPEX SPOT is a Paris-based company under European law (Societas Europaea) with a branch in Leipzig. A total volume of 251.5 TWh has been traded in the first 9 months of 2012 on the EPEX SPOT power markets, of which 13.2 TWh on the Intraday markets. EPEX SPOT’s members number 200.
European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC) is the central clearing house for energy and related products in Europe. In its function as the central counterparty, ECC assumes clearing as well as physical and financial settlement of all transactions concluded on the EPEX SPOT markets, offering to market participants an integrated and automated clearing process, together with the benefits of a large partner network and maximum cross-margining effects. Currently, ECC provides clearing services for six European Exchanges.