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If 70% of the physical capacity of all power lines had been offered for cross-zonal trade by transmission system operators, half of the most severe price spikes or 147 spikes could have been avoided in South-East Europe in the summer of 2024, according to the latest report of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).
The 2025 Monitoring Report examines the role of cross-zonal electricity trade in shaping a more integrated and efficient European Union electricity market. It also tracks progress, challenges and benefits in the implementation of the 70% requirement.
During the summer of 2024, the EU saw a significant increase in electricity prices, affecting mostly bidding zones in central and south-eastern Europe. Some countries experienced an unseen price increase on power exchanges, from 50% to 170%.
ACER noted that prices particularly spiked during the evening hours, reaching up to EUR 1,000 per MWh.
The prices were highest in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece
Prices were the highest in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. At the time, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Greece, Romania and Bulgaria were preparing a proposal for an intervention mechanism.
According to ACER’s report, during the high-price events, spreads at several bidding zone borders in central Europe rose to unprecedented levels, signalling insufficient availability of cross-zonal capacity to accommodate the market’s need for cross-zonal exchanges.
The 70% requirement would have enabled an average reduction of peak prices by up to EUR 78 per MWh
The authors’ comparison of the average realized day-ahead prices during the evening peaks with the counterfactual scenario showed a considerable mitigation of prices.
It revealed that the implementation of the 70% requirement would have enabled an average reduction of peak prices by up to EUR 78 per MWh in central and south-east bidding zones, underlining the dampening effect of cross-zonal trade, the document reads.
According to ACER, higher availability of cross-zonal capacities in central Europe would have mitigated both the frequency and the severity of the high price events, as cross-zonal trade provides flexibility to the system.
End-2025 deadline is at risk
The 2019 Clean Energy Package introduced a legal requirement on EU electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) to offer at least 70% of their physical capacity on all lines of relevance for cross-zonal trade.
The obligation is intended to maximise cross-zonal trade and mitigate its discrimination over internal trade, ACER explained.
The 70% requirement ensures that domestic electricity flows are not prioritized over cross-border trade, mitigates price spikes, such as those seen in summer 2024 across South-East Europe, and brings significant additional welfare to EU electricity markets, it added.
The agency stressed that the end-2025 deadline is at risk.
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