ACER’s “70% Target Report” Finds That Member States Have Much More To Do To Reach The EU’s Minimum 70% Interconnector Capacity Margin Available For Cross-Zonal Electricity Trading

Europe’s Clean Energy Package (CEP) has set a binding minimum 70% target for electricity interconnector capacity for cross-zonal trading (the “minimum 70% target”).

Why is this 70% target important?

The lack of sufficient cross-zonal capacity is one of the main barriers to the integration of electricity markets, and market integration is key to deliver on Europe’s energy goals. The more interconnector capacity that is made available by Transmission System Operators (TSOs) for cross-zonal trade, the more trading that can occur.

How are Member States doing on the 70% target?

The 70% target is legally binding since the start of 2020. The “70% target report” of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) provides an overview of the current levels of margins for cross-zonal capacity compared to the minimum legally binding 70% target for the first half of 2020.

ACER’s 70% target report finds that:

Member States have much more to do to get closer to the legally binding minimum 70% target
The levels of margins for cross-zonal capacity is mixed across the EU. Efforts are needed in all Member States to meet the minimum 70% target at all times.
How? Members States can count on several measures at their disposal to improve the level of margin offered such as cost-efficient investments; use of remedial actions; and bidding zone reconfiguration, to help them to reach the target.
On Direct Current (DC) borders, the 70% target was met most of the time but with a few notable exceptions.
On Alternating Current (AC) borders, there is a very diverse picture with significant room for improvement to meet the 70% target for most regions and borders.
ACER’s monitoring depends critically on Transmission System Operators (TSOs) providing robust and extensive data. ACER acknowledges the efforts made by a majority of TSOs to improve the provision of data. However, the completeness and quality of this data needs to be further improved.
For consistency, national regulatory authorities (NRAs) should consider the results of ACER's analysis to assess the compliance of TSOs with the minimum 70% target.

Find out more:

ACER 70% target webinar: Thursday, 21 January 2021 (10.00 -11.30)

Read the ACER’s comprehensive 70% target report and detailed annexes