EPEX Spot SE: On the way towards a common Spot Market
EPEX Spot SE will present itself with a stand of its own at this year’s E-world energy & water under the heading "Towards the Pan-European Market" and introduce its central role in European power spot trading.
EEX and Powernext established the joint company EPEX Spot SE with registered offices in Paris in September 2008 with the aim of concentrating their Power Spot Market activities in one European power exchange. Since 31st December 2008 EEX Power Spot GmbH operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of EPEX Spot SE.
On 1st July 2009, the last major step on the way towards a joint Spot Market for power will be taken: EEX Power Spot GmbH will be integrated into EPEX Spot SE. As of that time, the market rules and the market model of EPEX Spot SE will become effective for all markets (Germany/Austria, France and Switzerland). However, an operating unit of EPEX Spot SE supporting the German customers will be retained in Leipzig.
As soon as from 1st April 2009 European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC) will assume clearing and settlement of the EPEX spot transactions with delivery in France (formerly Powernext Day-Ahead Market).
“We believe that it makes great sense to simplify the market infrastructure in Europe and, primarily, in CWE: one trading platform, one clearing house, one rule book…”, Jean-François Conil Lacoste, CEO of EPEX Spot SE, is pleased and adds: “We welcome the other exchanges in the region to join us in order to complete that goal fast and facilitate the next regional integration steps.”
“We are very proud of what has been achieved so far”, Dr. Hans-Bernd Menzel, Chairman of the Board of EPEX Spot SE, explains. “The market integration into EPEX Spot SE constitutes an important step on the way towards a fair and uniform price for Europe.”
EPEX Spot SE is a Paris-based company under European law (Societas Europaea). EEX and Powernext each hold 50 percent in the joint company, in which they will integrate their entire spot power trading activities. The product range of EPEX Spot SE encompasses spot power trading for France, Germany/Austria and Switzerland. These countries account for more than one third of the European power consumption. As of July, a harmonised market model will become effective for the trading participants operating on these Power Spot Markets.
EEX operates Spot and Derivatives Markets for energy products and energy-related products. With more than 200 trading participants from 19 countries it is the energy exchange in continental Europe which boasts the biggest number of trading participants and the highest turnover. Power, natural gas and CO2 emission rights are traded both short-term on the Spot Market and long-term on the Derivatives Market with a time horizon of up to six years into the future. Furthermore, EEX offers financially settled coal futures. Clearing of exchange and over-the-counter transactions (OTC clearing) is provided by European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC). ECC is the clearing house of EEX and a subsidiary of the exchange.
Powernext SA, incorporated in 2001, manages several complementary, transparent and anonymous energy markets: Powernext® Gas Spot and Powernext® Gas Futures were launched on November 26, 2008 in order to hedge their volume and price risks from Within-Day to the next three gas seasons; Powernext-Balancing GRTgaz allows the Transmission System Operator GRTgaz to progressively cover its daily balancing needs through a market based mechanism. EPEX Spot, based in Paris, launched on January 1st 2009 and owned at 50% by Powernext, facilitates, 365 days a year, the hourly balancing of physical power delivered the following day on the French, German/Austrian and Swiss hubs. Powernext® Futures provides electricity price risk hedging for a period ranging between one month and three years; in April 2009, Powernext will contribute the French power derivatives to a new company dedicated to European power derivatives, based in Leipzig, against a 20 percent equity stake in this company.