PRESS RELEASE

(Bucharest, November 20, 2019)

The coupling of the Romanian intraday electricity market with the markets of other 20 countries involved in the European project of introducing pan-European cross-border trading on the intraday timeframe was successfully launched on November 19, 2019

Yesterday, November 19, 2019, five years after the successful launch on November 19, 2014 of the day-ahead electricity markets coupling from Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was launched the coupling of the Intraday electricity market from Romania with the markets of other 20 countries involved in this European project of introducing pan-European cross-border trading on the intraday timeframe, respectively Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

OPCOM is pleased to announce that the continuous trading through the market coupling mechanism went without incidents on the first day of trading for delivery on November 20, 2019, including through cross-border trades.
All processes are operating as planned, after the date of November 12, 2019, when the new M7 Trading platform was launched in commercial operation, supporting the intraday electricity market in Romania and facilitating its connection to the common IT system, which ensures the matching of market participants orders in the shared order book, taking into account the cross-border capacities provided by transmission system operators.

Victor Ionescu, CEO OPCOM says: "This success is a great step forward in order to complete the Single Intra-Day Market Coupling as required by the Regulation 1222/2015. The project team worked hard for joining, together with the other countries of the 2nd SIDC wave, the countries that were already operating in coupled mode for more than a year. OPCOM is now administering an intraday coupled electricity market that will benefit market participants by stepping up the possibilities for more accurate balancing positions closer to real time. We express our thanks to the market participants for their understanding and cooperation over the last few weeks, ANRE for the support in adapting the rules applicable to the intraday market and Transelectrica for the solid partnership in this new challenge for the Romanian electricity market. We expect the participants on the Romanian intraday electricity market operating in coupled mode to use this tool intensely for commercial adjustment of positions with only one hour prior to delivery."

Dynamic information on the intraday market from Romania operating in coupled mode can be found here:
https://www.opcom.ro/pp/home.php
https://www.opcom.ro/opcom/rapoarte/pi/raport_cuplare_PI.php?lang=ro
Market coupling allows a more efficient trading and cross-border capacity allocation, which should lead to a higher security of supply, a better use of generation resources, an increased liquidity and competition, with beneficial effects for the market as well as for final consumers.

PRESS RELEASE 20.11.2019