Acer opens consultation on EU gas network code revision

EU energy regulators' agency Acer has opened a final consultation on proposed changes to the capacity allocation mechanism (CAM NC), with a view to finalising its recommendations in December.

The consultation on 26 September-25 October seeks opinions on Acer's suggested changes to the CAM NC, including options for reforming the incremental capacity process.

One option would completely remove the mechanism from CAM NC, while another would amend the process to make it "more robust and efficient". A third would remove the mechanism's binding stage but keep the demand assessment and design stages, Acer proposed.

The incremental capacity process has made a "very limited contribution to cross-border capacity development based on market interests", with just one successful project in four cycles, Acer said.

Acer also recommended allowing transmission system operators (TSOs) to request deposits from network users that submit non-binding demand indications, which could be returned if the economic test passes at least the lowest level of offered capacity, or if the user submits a binding bid equal to its non-binding indication.

Acer also recommended creating a new ‘balance-of-month' (BOM) capacity product, either through rolling auctions for packaged daily products over progressively shorter terms or a standardised BOM product with a dynamic multiplier.

TSOs and regulators said the former would be simpler and cheaper to implement, but shippers preferred the latter, Acer said. The EU agency expressed some support for a standardised product with a dedicated price and a dynamic multiplier depending on the days remaining in a month, as this could be accomplished relatively quickly.

Acer also recommended that after the initial offering of yearly, quarterly and monthly firm capacities, these products should be offered again in subsequent additional auctions that should take place once a week on Thursdays. Only the relevant upcoming period would be offered in additional auctions, meaning — for example — additional yearly auctions would offer only the upcoming gas year. And separately, monthly capacity should be offered up to three months in advance within each quarter.

The group suggested that decisions on applying implicit capacity allocation methods be made jointly by regulators in a region as opposed to a single body, as offering only on one side of an interconnection "would hinder the efficient allocation of capacity".

Acer suggested that from 5 August 2026, CAM NC provisions also apply to entry points from and exit points to non-EU countries, subject to derogations under the new decarbonised gas package, before which time the decision would still be taken by national regulatory authorities.

And Acer proposed shifting the auction calendar year to July-June rather than March-February, as moving annual capacity auctions to July from March has left the current calendar "misaligned with the cascaded auctioning of capacities of different durations that cover the gas year with yearly capacity being auctioned in July".

Finally, Acer proposed recalculating technical capacity "at least every two years", to reflect "evolving market circumstances" such as supply, demand and network planning. When assessing future flows for the purpose of recalculating technical capacity, TSOs should also consult network users and publish information on the process and its outcomes, Acer said.

By Brendan A'Hearn