MEFFPower, the CCP for energy derivatives created by BME through MEFF, has doubled its number of members in its first year of operations, going from 13 to 26 members.
During this first year, the volume on MEFFPower came in at around 600,000 MWh per month on average, although the volume in the second half of operations reached 3.7 TWh, from 1.3 TWh (+183%) in the first six months.
The open interest has been growing since its start to the current 1.4 TWh, compared to 0.7 TWh six months after its launch, which proves how the initiative has gained momentum over the past twelve months.
“MEFFPower’s goal for the coming months is to continue increasing its number of members, who in this way can gain access to the derivatives market. At the same time market participants will be able to trade with new entities despite not having credit lines with them”, said Rafael Acosta, Head of MEFFPower.
Developing this market in Spain
The Spanish energy derivatives market, which operates mainly on an OTC basis, is an increasingly international market, operated basically by 30 to 40 companies that use it for hedging or arbitraging purposes or which simply trade on future electricity prices.
The liberalisation of the Spanish electricity market has brought about an increase in the Spanish energy derivatives market, which has gone from a trading volume on the OTC market of18 TWh in 2006 to 298 TWh at the end of 2011. This figure exceeds the overall energy consumption in Spain, currently at 260 TWh.
The consolidation of MEFFPower will contribute to the development of the electricity derivatives market in Spain by removing counterparty risk. In addition, it will boost liquidity and enhance security and transparency in the Spanish energy market.