OPCOM

PRESS RELEASE
19 November 2014

The Czech-Slovak-Hungarian-Romanian Day
ahead Electricity Market Coupling successfully started on
19 November 2014

On 19 November 2014 the CZ-SK-HU-RO Market Coupling was successfully launched, integrating the Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Romanian day-ahead electricity markets and replacing CZ-SK-HU Market Coupling.

All involved project parties are happy to announce that the implicit allocation by means of the market coupling mechanism ran smoothly without any incidents on the first day and all processes function as planned.

Victor Ionescu, CEO of OPCOM says: “This success represents a big step forward to the creation of the European Internal Energy Market. Our project team has worked hard to couple the electricity markets of the four countries. We are now operating a solution compatible with the European target that will bring benefits to the market participants in the coupled markets. ”
“We are working on the goal of successfully extending the fruitful cooperation between the four countries to other projects in connection with the integration of the CEE electricity markets in order to achieve the final goal of having a single European electricity market”, Gheorghe Visan, Member of Transelectrica’s Directorate said.

The project started in August 2013 with the aim to extend the CZ-SK-HU Market Coupling towards Romania and to implement the PCR (Price Coupling of Regions) solution. Transmission system operators (ČEPS, SEPS, MAVIR and Transelectrica) together with power exchanges (OTE, OKTE, HUPX and OPCOM) supported by national energy regulators (ERÚ, ÚRSO, MEKH and ANRE) collaborated within the project in order to develop and implement all necessary solutions which ensure technical and procedural compatibility of 4M MC with the target European solution which is already implemented in other coupled European regions. Market coupling allows higher efficiency of trading and capacity allocation, which should lead to higher security of supply, higher liquidity and lower price volatility.

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Press Release 19 November 2014