We first discuss different rules for pricing and provision of balancing across EU member states and their implications. Some member states face significant transmission constraints inside their pricing zone(s). In principle, this can be avoided with smaller pricing zones and in some instances...

EU Member States increase deployment of intermittent renewable energy sources to deliver the 20% renewable target formulated in the European Renewables Directive of 2008. To incorporate these intermittent sources, a power market needs to be flexible enough to accommodate short-term forecasts and...

Decarbonization goals of the European Commission foresee different future scenarios for the European power market of which all are exceeding 60% renewables in the power system.3 High shares of intermittent renewable sources require significant changes to the physical system and impact the...

Current EU short-term market designs for electricity face several challenges in (i) securing efficient system operation (ii) unlocking the full potential of flexible resources and (iii) fostering effective use of transmission capacity. For a gradual reform of market design and to guarantee...

Long-term energy contracts have featured prominently in many decisions of the European Commission to support the opening of the electricity markets. Contracts were seen to foreclose the market hence the Commission comprehensively unwound pre-existing long-term contracts and formulated strict...

A shift from zonal pricing to smaller zones and nodal pricing improves efficiency and security of system operation. Resulting price changes do however also shift profits and surplus between and across generation and load. As individual actorscan lose, they might oppose any reform. We explore how...

Gas-fired power plants constitute a direct and important link between the gas and the electricity sectors and thus between the Target Models for electricity and gas. As the need for a flexible operation of gas-fired power plants will increase in tomorrow's low-carbon power markets, so also will...