A public hearing will be held at Helsinki Airport in which the report will be presented and discussed. You are most welcome. The event will also be available via the web for those who cannot travel to Helsinki.

Place: Helsinki Airport Congress T2 (terminal 2)

Finnish time: 13.00-16.30

Agenda hearing 17 November

Register for attending the meeting

Please note that places are limited. Please register with:

Marie.kjellen@nordicenergy.org

Register for the Accompanying Webinar

The event will also be available via online streaming webinar for those who cannot travel to Helsinki. You will be able to see the PowerPoint presentation and listen to the presentation, panel discussion and questions. You will even be able to post questions live.

Register for the webinar here

Sign up link for the webinar

There is also a link to the webinar from Vaasaett´s website

The Nordic Energy Regulators, NordREG, now publishes three documents that summarize the past four years of work towards a Nordic retail market for electricity. NordREG simultaneously looks forward and suggest that the Nordic energy ministers should endorse a continued ambitious collaboration between the Nordic countries in order to continue the development of the electricity market.

In recent years NordREG has focused on how the Nordic electricity market can be more customer friendly. NordREG has agreed upon guidelines on how it can achieve a common Nordic end-user market. This has resulted in a common understanding of the design of the market; the electricity market should be supplier centric.

NordREG has made recommendations for processes where the customer interacts with the market: moving process, switching process and invoicing. These recommendations have since then been partly implemented in the Nordic countries. Efforts to develop a common Nordic electricity market will therefore continue after 2014. The continued Nordic work will focus on information management, how the DSO-role can be developed, the development of smart grids and how we can increase demand flexibility.

Read all reports here:

NordREG status report to EMG on the Nordic End-User Project

NordREG’s work towards a harmonised Nordic retail market

Strategy for a harmonised Nordic retail market

The European Commission has as part of the draft Guideline on Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (hereinafter the Guideline) suggested rules that should lead to competition between Nominated Electricity Market Operators, NEMOs. The Guideline outlines a structure that can be characterised as a development of the newly-launched NWE market coupling for the day-ahead markets. In order to facilitate competition within this setup, the Guideline allows for more than one NEMO in a specific bidding zone, given that these NEMOs are designated in at least one Member State. In this setup all NEMOs shall also be responsible for developing, implementing and operating the joint MCO (Market Coupling Operator) functions.

The Nordic Regulators have taken an united position on the matter. Our position will also be communicated to the Nordic Ministries.

NordREG welcomes any effort to make markets in general more competitive, given that this also increases overall efficiency and does not entail decreased system security or additional costs. As regards the market structure described in the current draft, NordREG is concerned that it does not present a market structure that will prove to be efficient over the long term, in the sense that it will not lead to efficient competition. The current version proposes a structure that makes it possible for existing Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) to enter each other’s home markets and thus offer some kind of competition. The current guideline is far from sufficient for providing the necessary means to also open the market to new entrants.

NordREG believes that one of the keys to designing a structure that actually would open the market for NEMO services to real competition is to make a clear distinction between natural monopoly functions and functions/tasks that can be provided by competitive companies. The potential shortcomings that we have identified in the structure currently proposed stem from this basic principle not being applied.

NordREG encourages Member States to suggest to the Commission to issue an impact assessment on alternative governance structures required when introducing competition between NEMOs. Similarly one should make an assessment and define, which functions should be included under the MCO and which functions would naturally be suited for competitive NEMOs.

• Read the position paper

 

What are the obstacles for suppliers and energy service companies in the national Nordic electricity markets?

NordREG encourages currently active as well as previously active electricity suppliers and energy service companies to respond to the questionnaire made by the consultant VaasaETT made on the behalf of NordREG. The questionnaire closes 30 September.

• Please answer the questionnaire

 

Wednesday the 25th of June the NordREG Retail Market Working Group hosted a hearing at Arlanda airport. The focus of the hearing was the task Work beyond 2014 – what should be the focus for NordREG future work so that a harmonized retail market is truly accomplished. The working group was happy to see so many participants at the event, about 30 people, and quite a few participants via the web, about 10-15 people.

NordREG would like to thank all participants for a fruitful hearing.

Documents

• Lennart Söder, Presentation_Nordic_regulators_140625
• Introduction NordREG

NordREG believes that the technical work cannot stop at this point because it’s crucial in order to implement already issued Nordic recommendations. It is also important to continue the good cooperation between the TSOs, DSOs and suppliers and keep the process ongoing. NordREG believes that this is necessary in order to avoid a situation where the stakeholders may continue to develop own technical solutions. concludes that there are three main areas which need to be addressed: The development of a Nordic technical handbook which in detail describes harmonized back-office processes, maintenance of documents, such as XML schemas and finally the development of use-cases by the industry. NordREG encourages the industry to continue this work and suggests that this work is led by the industry, NordREG therefore welcomes initiatives from the TSOs and the industry and intends to facilitate when necessary and incorporate tasks of that nature in the upcoming workprogramme for NordREG.

• Continuation of technical work after BRS

In December 2012 NordREG decided to work on recommendations of creating harmonised technical requirements for the information exchange between the Nordic countries. The work was conducted by Edisys consulting in cooperation with the Nordic Ediel Group (NEG), as the NEG organisation already is deeply involved in the establishment of technical requirements on national level in the four countries.

The technical harmonisation report also called the “Business Requirement Specification for a Harmonised Nordic Retail Market Business processes, message format, content and interface” is now finished and NordREG presents the report made by Edisys consulting together with a note with NordREG’s comments.

• BRS-Report
• Covernote-on-BRS-report

NordREG recommends that the moving process should be further harmonized an therefore present the following report. The report focuses on the regulatory framework for the move-in and move-out processes. This relates to markets players back office procedures, so the customer may well have moved before the processes are done.  NordREG suggests nine recommendations for the move-in process. These recommendations are described in fifteen messages that should be sent between the Supplier and Distribution System Operator (DSO) or the National point of Information (NPI). NordREG suggests seven recommendations for the move-out process, these recommendations are described in seven messages that should be sent between the supplier and DSO/NPI.  The move-in and move-out processes can be conducted simultaneously.

This NordREG report includes both fully harmonised processes and some exceptions that could not be harmonised so far. NordREG concludes the current moving report should enhance transparency and may contribute to eliminate some of the entry barriers for a supplier entering the Nordic market.

• Read the report Framework for a harmonized model for moving

Welcome to our hearing on the 25^th of June on NordREG’s future work at Radisson Skycity Arlanda, Stockholm between 10:00-15:00 o’clock. Please find an agenda for the event below. For those of you who cannot travel to Stockholm to participate at the hearing, we encourage you to participate via the web. You can use the link below and you find instructions, in Swedish, that will help you log on. We suggest that you test the link prior to the hearing.

 

https://meet.lync.com/energimarknadsinspektionen/marielle.liikanen/MGCC2GNF

Follow the instructions to participate online

	Agenda items	Speaker
09.30-10.00	Breakfast
10:00-10:15	Introduction	Marielle Liikanen, chair of Retail Market WG NordREG
10:15-11:00	Presentation – Future challenges and development of the electricity market	Professor Lennart Söder, KTH
11:00-11:30	First round of discussion	All
11:30-12:30	Lunch
12:30-13:45	Group work	All
13:45-14:00	Presentation of group work
14:00 -14:50	Second round of discussion	All
14:50-15:00	Sum up	Marielle Liikanen

Introduction and background

The Nordic Energy Regulators (NordREG) have for several years been promoting the development of a harmonised Nordic electricity market and is supported by the Nordic minsters for energy. The main goal is to create common Nordic solutions for the retail market that eliminate the biggest entry barriers for a supplier entering the Nordic market.

The task “Planning the work beyond 2014” is part of NordREG’s work program for 2014. NordREG intends to make a work program that is forward looking and stretches over a period of the next four years and input from industry and other interested parties will be crucial for planning these future activities.

Structure of the day

The hearing is a public and open forum for any stakeholders to give input to NordREG’s plans for the future.

Marielle Liikanen, chair RMWG[1], will give a short introduction describing the thoughts that NordREG has for the future presented in thematic areas. The day continues with an inspirational speech from Professor Lennart Söder, KTH[2], to give the participants new insights and ideas.

After the presentation the participants continue with discussions and work groups. The participants will be divided into four or five groups. The task will be to discuss the thematic areas, objectives and questions listed below. Each group will take notes and present their views.

The hearing will be streamed on internet so it will be possible for participants that are not able to participate at Arlanda to take part of the hearing. Also all can give written input until 30^th of June. NordREG may publish any written input together with for example the final report.

Basis for previous work

The objectives for the harmonisation work during the period 2011 to 2014 were:

1. Customer friendliness
2. Well-functioning common market
3. Improved competition
4. Improved efficiency
5. Compliance with EU regulation and development
6. Neutrality of DSOs

These objectives for the period 2011 to 2014 have been the guidelines for the project. Each task made during the period 2011 to 2014 has aimed to be in line with these objectives. NordREG believes that these may still be suitable for future work but are keen on input from you to learn what your thoughts are.

 

Thematic areas for discussion:

Below tentative thematic areas with sub areas that could be the focus for NordREG’s work, in the context of retail market issues, for the next four years:

1)      Information exchange

a)      TSO role and responsibility

b)      access between hubs/information-exchange systems

c)      NBS

2)      Market rules energy services

a)      Unbundling

b)      DSO role and responsibility

3)      Smart grids:

a)      Market rules micro-production

b)      Market rules for demand response

 

Guideline for input on NordREGs work plan for the coming four years

The following questions are meant as guideline for group work and written input:

• What objectives would you like to change, add or remove?
• What thematic areas would you like to change, add or remove?
• What concrete tasks would be investigated and harmonised for each thematic area and sub areas?
• Other?

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