Ensuring natural gas wholesale market integrity and the trust of the market participants and consumers depends to a big extent on the increased transparency of the key demand and supply elements. The EU Regulation on Energy Wholesale Markets Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) aims at setting up a legal framework to achieve this goal. DEPA SA supports the effort to ensure natural gas wholesale market integrity and transparency by posting on the website useful information.
- European Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011, as supplemented with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014, which establishes a control framework of wholesale energy markets (hereinafter “REMIT”).
- REMIT forbids market manipulation and inside information exploiting.
More specifically:
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- It sets out what behaviour of the participants in said markets are abusive, i.e. market manipulation or any attempt to manipulation, exploitation of inside information etc.
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- It explicitly forbids the above abusive behaviours and foresees the enactment of rules for penalties if the provisions of the Regulation are violated.
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- It imposes the obligation on market participants to publicly disclose in an effective and timely manner inside information that can significantly affect the prices of related energy products and
- It imposes the obligation on any person professionally arranging transactions in wholesale energy products to report any suspicious transaction.
2. What is the aim of REMIT?
- Ensuring the integrity and transparency in energy markets via providing ACER and RAE (and/or other regulatory authorities, i.e. Securities and Exchange Commission, Competition Commission etc) with detailed data related to said wholesale market transactions.
- Strengthening the trust of market participants.
Establishing an environment of objective and competitive prices of the relevant products to the benefit of the consumers.
3. Who is governed by REMIT reporting obligations?
- electricity and natural gas suppliers & traders
- electricity and natural gas producers
- natural gas shippers
- companies proving system balancing services
- wholesale customers
- end consumers who, as single economic entity, have total annual consumption more than 600GWh
- system operators
- operators of storage facilities
- operators of LNG facilities
- investment companies in the meaning of article 4(1), Νο. 1 of Directive 2004/39.
The above participants should be registered as “market participants” in the Centralised European Registry for Energy Market Participants (CEREMP). More information about the registration procedure can be found at: https://www.acer-remit.eu/ceremp/home?nraShortName=11&lang=el_GR.
- Contracts for the supply of electricity and natural gas where delivery (of any given duration) is in the EU
- Options, future contracts, exchange contracts and all derivatives related to electricity and natural gas produced, traded or delivered in the EU
- Contracts relating to the transmission (of any given duration) of electricity or natural gas in the EU between participants in secondary markets (including reselling or transfer of said contracts)
- Options, future contracts, exchange contracts and all derivatives related to the transmission of electricity and natural gas in the EU and
- contracts for the supply and distribution of electricity and natural gas for end users with annual consumption capacity more than 600 GWh. According to Article 3.2 of the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014, in order to facilitate reporting, all end customers with a technical capacity more than the above threshold should notify the competent counterparty (their supplier(s)) about the technical consumption capacity from the specific consumption unit.
Note:
- Intergroup contracts, contracts for electricity and natural gas balancing services, contracts for delivery of electricity produced by a plant with capacity <= 10MW and contracts for delivery of natural gas produced by a plant with capacity <=20MW are reported only following a request of ACER in special cases.
- REMIT does not cover wholesale energy products that are broker products covered by Directive 2014/57/EU relating to penalties in case of market abuse.
5. What are the reporting times for the transactions based on REMIT?
The deadline for the reporting of said transactions differs depending on the category of energy products:
- standard contracts must be reported the latest up to the next working day from the conclusion of the relevant contract (or its amendment, termination, annulment)
- non-standard contracts must be reported the latest within one month from the conclusion (or the amendment, termination) of the contract.
6. When does the reporting obligation under REMIT start?
- REMIT entered into force on December 28, 2011, with a
- Gradual implementation of the reporting obligations
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- standard contracts from 7 October 2015 and
- non-standard contracts from 7 April 2016.
7. Revision of the REMIT Regulation
In the context of the energy crisis exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission submitted, at the same time as the proposal for the reform of the electricity market design, in March 2023 a legislative proposal to amend the REMIT Regulation, in response to the high and volatile energy prices of 2022, adapting the scope of the previous regulation to current and evolving market conditions, with the aim of enhancing the transparency and stability of EU energy markets. The new Regulation (EU) 2024/1106 (REMIT II) amending Regulations (EU) no.1227/2011 and (EU) 2019/942 entered into force on May 7, 2024, however certain provisions, such as e.g. the articles concerning the LNG price evaluations and the relevant index (LNG benchmark) apply from January 1, 2025.
The key points of the revised REMIT Regulation are summarized below:
- Brings a closer alignment of EU rules on the transparency and integrity of energy markets with those of financial markets.
- The scope of REMIT is widened, eg it now also covers energy storage (electricity and natural gas) and the market manipulation provisions under REMIT also apply to financial instruments.
- The scope of ACER's regular surveillance is extended to EU platforms covering electricity balancing markets and more information is provided on algorithmic trading.
- A new environment is being created for investigations and sanctions by the Agency, ie ACER has been given investigative powers in cross-border cases (involving two or more Member States). These powers complement the investigative powers of national regulatory authorities with ACER and the National Regulatory Authorities working closely together.
- The implementation of the Regulation continues at national level. The power to impose fines for breaches of REMIT or the substantive obligations contained in the Regulation remain in the hands of Member States. ACER's enforcement powers are limited to being able to carry out investigations or to comply with requests for information e.g. if a party obstructs the Agency's on-site inspection or fails to provide the requested information, ACER may impose a fine. ACER is also tasked with adopting decisions approving authorizations and revoking authorizations of Inside Information Platforms. (IIPs) and Registered Reporting Mechanisms (RRMs).
By the end of 2024, ACER is expected to update its guidance to National Regulatory Authorities and other stakeholders to reflect the new legal framework.
For the new REMIT II Regulation, see also the relevant ACER announcement (https://www.acer.europa.eu/news-and-events/news/revised-remit-protects-eu-energy-market-manipulation-acer-addresses-stakeholders-questions).