Navigating Energy Markets Surveillance

collected by :Victor Alphen

Since MAR came into effect in July 2017, many European energy firms have been playing catch up. MAR has added yet another layer of surveillance requirements, bringing energy firms into line with all other firms trading financial contracts. Nasdaq recently participated in a panel at the 2018 ETRC Summit in London to further discuss MAR/MAD and how energy firms are approaching their respective trade surveillance controls and programs. To this end, having a system that can adapt and is in line with expectations is becoming more commonplace amongst energy firms. In addition to the above, consensus was found regarding the need for false positives as a hallmark of a well-functioning surveillance system.

Google and Microsoft Are Shaping Energy Markets

Since 2015, large corporations have signed deals for more than 7 gigawatts of renewable energy. Consequently, energy storage is becoming more attractive. This week, we're talking with two leading buyers of renewable energy, Google and Microsoft. We'll talk with Neha Palmer, Google's head of energy strategy, about hitting 100 percent renewable energy. Recommended reading:GTM: The Latest Trends in Corporate Renewable Energy ProcurementGoogle: We're Set to Reach 100% Renewable Energy -- and It's Just the BeginningMicrosoft: Transitioning to Zero-Carbon EnergySubscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

Energy Storage Markets Forecast To Double With Falling Prices And Favorable Policies

as informed in GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association have just released the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2017 Year-in-Review, which says that 1,000 megawatt-hours were deployed between 2013 and 2017 and which predicts that more than 1,200 megawatt-hours of energy storage will get deployed in 2018 alone; last year, it was 431 megawatt-hours. Altogether, GTM estimates that the annual value of the U.S. energy storage market will exceed $1.2 billion in 2019. Energy storage would thus graduate beyond the injection of electrons to prevent lights from flickering out and into the wholesale energy markets. California's Independent System Operator is also actively trying to incorporate energy storage into mix of generation assets, as PG&E Corp., Sempra Energy and Edison International must collectively buy 1,325 megawatts of energy storage by 2020. Energy storage is thus emerging as a method by which to shore up both traditional facilities and renewables plants.

London Covered in Snow as Cold Snap Makes Energy Markets Shiver

U.K. gas prices doubled to the highest in more than a decade in a bitter weather front that has killed at least 24 people throughout Europe and covered Mediterranean beaches with snow. "Cold weather, tight storage and supply issues combined to drive up gas prices in Britain and across Europe," Enappsys Ltd., an energy trading consultant in Stockton-on-Tees, England, said in an emailed note. Average temperatures in the U.K. are forecast at minus 3.3 Celsius on Wednesday, about 8 degrees below seasonal norms. Flows from Norway have been reduced due to an outage at a key processing plant, while heavy snow at a U.K. gas terminal is preventing pipeline imports from the Netherlands. Average temperatures in Germany are forecast at minus 7.1 Celsius, about 9 degrees below seasonal norms.

Some Emerging European States Need to Do More to Liberalise Energy Markets

An effective unbundling will diversify the energy market. This is not merely related to EU countries, as the integration of the Balkans into a single European energy system is one of the priorities of the EU. Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo have all been part of the so-called Energy Community since 2006, with the main goal of creating an integrated European-Trans Balkan energy market. "As regards Energy Community countries, the commission represents the European Union in the secretariat and participates in the monitoring and assessing of the progress of the transposition of Third Energy Package legislation in the countries party to the community," Ms Itkonen says. As a result, these countries continue to keep their energy markets closed, as opposed to opening themselves up to increased integration with the European Union, harming competition and potential investment.