Transparency and trust
The ENTSO-E Transparency Platform
To understand what new investments or measures would be the most effective moving forward, it is first necessary to define scenarios that depict the energy system that the EU is striving to achieve.
ENTSO-E’s Transparency Platform (Art. 3, Regulation 543/2013) centralises data related to the generation, transportation and consumption of electricity at the European level. The data is collected from data providers, including TSOs and other qualified third parties. Depending on the users’ needs, this data can serve various purposes, such as market analysis, research or trading. The Platform is also instrumental in the monitoring and regulation of power markets.
The system processes about 10 million files per year. At the end of 2018 it had over 13,000 registered users (up from 9,000 at the end of 2017). Each day, 57 data providers (up from 50 at the end of 2017) send 45,000 to 50,000 files, of which about 5,000 are reported to ACER under the REMIT Regulation. The missing data continues to decrease, from 40 % at the launch of the Platform in 2015 to under 20 % today. Start-ups and new players increasingly use the Platform’s wealth of data to deliver more value to customers.
The Transparency Platform has been updated in accordance with the requirements outlined in the updated Manual of Procedure (version of December 2016). 2018 was a transitory year during which the data providers updated their systems. In 2018 the Platform was compatible with both Manual of Procedures (old and updated). The Manual of Procedures was revised again in 2018 in accordance with the Electricity Balancing Guideline.
The document was consulted via the ENTSO-E Transparency User Group, submitted to ACER in April and then modified and resubmitted in December (MoP v3.1). The Platform will be developed in 2019 to meet these new requirements.
Moreover, the Transparency Platform is undergoing a transformation to become a more user-friendly, market-serving platform that centralises data required not only by the Transparency Regulation (reg. n.543/2013) but also by other relevant pieces of legislation related to the internal electricity market. This development was triggered by new obligations and by the feedback received from users, in particular via the ENTSO-E Transparency Platform User Group.
Improving data quality
ENTSO-E members entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that establishes requirements for the quality of the data provided by TSOs and for the checks by ENTSO-E of these requirements. In addition, ENTSO-E develops internal reports for data providers on the completeness and quality of the data.
Allowing data re-use via open data licencing
In 2018, ENTSO-E began implementing its Data Policy, which was approved at the end of 2017, to the Transparency Platform. The Data Policy aims at increasing data quality and data re-use, with the ultimate objective of ensuring, when relevant, open data license.
The aforementioned MoU also ensures that TSOs’ data can be re-used by Transparency Platform users without any restriction. The MoU covers data provided by TSOs as well as Transmission Capacity Allocators, such as the Joint Allocation Office, which is among the largest data providers of the Platform. As a result, the updated Terms and Conditions of the TP went into effect in early January 2019. The new Terms permit part of the data (see full list) to be freely re-used with no need to seek the permission of the primary owner.
Make the Platform more user-friendly
In parallel, ENTSO-E, in close cooperation with the Transparency Platform User Group, started working on the design of the new graphical user interface to make the Platform more user-friendly. The following screens were made available in 2018 in parallel with the current user interface: actual generation per production type, unavailability of production and generation units, cross-border physical flows, and actual generation per generation unit. Collection of user feedback is ongoing, and the new interface is expected to be implemented for the whole Platform in 2020.
Transparency of capacity calculation by TSOs
Several legal texts provide for transparency in capacity calculation: Regulation 714/2009, Regulation 543/2013, but also the CACM and FCA regulations and the SO Guideline. In 2018 ENTSO-E investigated the status of data available to market parties in different CCRs and possible new indicators. ENTSO-E also consulted stakeholders on their expectations, which are to understand, ex ante, how capacities are calculated and optimised and, ex post, what limited the capacity, how the grid was used and which measures were taken to mitigate contingencies.
Several improvement opportunities were identified, and ENTSO-E is elaborating an action plan. Transparency and timely implementation of the network codes are paramount for achieving the optimal integration of the European market.
Stakeholder engagement in 2018
ENTSO-E engages with stakeholders via dedicated groups, public consultations, conference, workshops and other events, trainings and individual contacts. Stakeholder groups include, for example, the independent Advisory Council, the three Network Codes European Stakeholder Committees, the Balancing Stakeholders Group, the Network Development Stakeholder Group and the Transparency Platform Users Group. Overall, stakeholder satisfaction with ENTSO-E’s work has increased compared to 2017, from 3.95 to 4.08 (out of a maximum of 5)4. Stakeholder satisfaction has particularly increased in regard to transparency.
4 Based on ENTSO-E’s yearly Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey conducted from 11 January to 4 February 2019, which received 37 answers.
The independent Advisory Council
ENTSO-E’s independent Advisory Council, which met three times in 2018, has provided advice to ENTSO-E’s Board on ENTSO-E’s agenda and strategy, on the review of our public consultation process, the implementation of network codes and related public consultations, and on a wide range of ENTSO-E’s work products including on improvements to ENTSO-E’s Transparency Platform. In 2018 the Advisory Council welcomed three new members: Europex, T&D Europe, and SolarPower Europe as additional representative of the RES sector.
Key dates & documents
Public consultations
While there has been an improvement in stakeholders’ satisfaction with consultations, some stakeholders remain critical of our public consultations process. Critics primarily target the reduced length of some consultations, which limits the possibility for smaller organisations to provide input. Of the 59 consultations hosted on ENTSO-E’s Consultation Hub in 2018, the majority (44) lasted from 4 to 6 weeks, with an average length of 37 days. This is roughly on par with 2017.
To answer these concerns (and adapt to new obligations stemming from the Clean Energy for all Europeans package (CEP)), we are reviewing our Consultation Policy with the aim to facilitate early engagement of stakeholders, provide more visibility on upcoming consultations, and, overall, make it easier for stakeholders to provide input. The draft revised Consultation Policy will be shared for consultation at the time of entry into force of the CEP, in mid-2019.
In parallel to formal online consultations that are open to all, ENTSO-E sometimes also proactively approach the main stakeholders for informal discussions, such as for our Annual Work Programme 2019. In addition, to inform stakeholders of upcoming consultations that are part of network code implementation, ENTSO-E is maintaining an overview of upcoming activities for each code, including consultations and workshops, on the website electricity.network-codes.eu.
ENTSO-E’s 4th regional conference: Alpine Power Links
In April 2018 ENTSO-E organised its fourth regional conference, which focused on Alpine power links and in collaboration with the TSOs of Southern Germany Amprion GmbH and TransnetBW, APG of Austria, Swissgrid of Switzerland, RTE of France, ELES of Slovenia, and Terna of Italy, as well as the Renewables Grid Initiative and the Florence School of Regulation. Participants discussed e.g. how to develop the network to optimise the flexibility potential offered by hydro in the region, how to adapt markets to the energy transition, the role of civil society and NGOs and the need for inclusion of non-EU TSOs such as Swissgrid in the relevant coordination processes.
Power Coordination Europe conference
Every year, one of the five regional security coordinators (RSCs) and ENTSO-E organise a regional electricity summit in Europe. On 16 October 2018, Coreso and ENTSO-E organised the #PowerCoordinationEurope conference, exploring the concept of regional coordination and discussing the way-ahead towards the next decade. Focus areas were the advancement of regional power coordination and network code implementation, the interoperability of RSCs and solutions for tomorrow, electricity security and cyber-security.
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About this annual report
ENTSO-E’s Annual Report is a legally mandated deliverable, submitted to ACER for opinion. In line with ENTSO-E’s key activity areas, it is structured as follows:
1 and 2. Internal Energy Market: this part is divided into activities related to
i) network codes and ii) the future power system;
3. Develop a new ICT approach and capability, including cyber-security;
4. Develop the DSO partnership;
5. Coordinate and facilitate regional developments;
6. Develop transparency and trust, including stakeholder engagement activities.
The resources used to deliver these objectives are detailed in Annex 1.
The activities described in this report were delivered thanks to the collective work of ENTSO-E’s 43 member TSOs and ENTSO-E’s Secretariat based in Brussels.
