The Third Energy Package tasks the Agency with monitoring the internal markets for electricity and gas. To this purpose, the Agency prepares an annual market monitoring report in close cooperation with the European Commission, National Regulatory Authorities, and other relevant organisations. The legal basis for the Agency’s market monitoring duties is in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No. 713/2009.
Moreover, the objective of the Agency’s market monitoring activities is to explain how energy markets can perform more efficiently, thus making energy more affordable to the benefit of European energy consumers. For example, if barriers to market integration of the internal electricity and gas markets are removed, then the level of competition should improve. As a consequence, the Agency’s market monitoring report aims to compare retail market competition in different markets across the EU, with a view to identifying instances of best practice which improve market performance.
The Agency’s report assesses the internal markets for energy and, in particular, focuses on retail prices (including compliance with consumer rights as mentioned in the Third Package), network access (including grid access for renewable energy sources), and on any barriers to the Internal Energy Market (IEM). The Market Monitoring report consists of 4 parts: electricity wholesale, Gas wholesale, electricity and gas retail and Customer Protection.
Consultancy studies
1. In 2017, the Agency published the results of a survey conducted among wholesale market participants - mainly shippers, suppliers, traders and energy intensive customers - across the EU on the remaining barriers to gas wholesale market trading. The survey was commissioned by the Agency and conducted by a Consultant. The results of the survey provide input into the assessment of developments in gas wholesale markets which the Agency performs every year for the preparation of its Market Monitoring Report (MMR). However, at this stage the results of the survey only reflect the opinions of those market participants that participated in the survey. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency nor were those of the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs).
The main identified barriers categorised by the Consultant by hub development category. Whereas the most important barriers for established, advanced and emerging hubs overlap to a large degree - albeit at different levels of intensity - those experienced in illiquid hubs differ significantly.
2. In 2015, the Agency commissioned a consultancy study to present an overview of the current forward electricity markets and ways to monitor the functioning and efficiency of these markets. It also includes proposals for monitoring the effect of the Forward Capacity Allocation Guideline.
The final report and the presentation of the study are accessible below:
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ECA study on European Electricity Forward Markets and Hedging Products – State of Play and Elements for Monitoring; and
- Power point
presentation of the study.
3. In 2015, the Agency also commissioned a consultancy study to develop a methodology for a composite index, the ‘ACER Retail Competition Index (ARCI)’. The methodology uses a representative selection of the most important indicators presented and analysed in the retail chapter of the MMR. The index allows the results of the individual indicators to be summarised in a more comprehensive way and, on this basis, provides an indication of the relative performance of competition in MS’s retail markets. The final report with the methodology is available at:
4. Within the context of Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 and Directive 73/2009, Network Codes (NCs) and Guidelines (GLs) were created. These regulations also established ACER’s market monitoring responsibilities in terms of implementation and economic effects of NCs on market performance. In order to prepare and implement a monitoring framework for gas network codes, the Agency commissioned a consultancy study in 2015 for a methodology to evaluate the impact of the gas Network Codes and Guidelines in terms of implementation and market effects. The study went through
market consultation between 12 June and 17 July 2015.
The final report and the presentation of the study are accessible below:
