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The results of the customer satisfaction survey which was carried out in the summer, were presented and discussed at the EEX Exchange Council meeting chaired by Peter Heydecker, Head of Origination Gas & Power at Vitol SA, in Paris on 17 September 2013.
The survey aimed to assess the products and services of the exchange, and the findings obtained in the survey were largely, very positive. According to the survey, 93 percent of customers are satisfied with the performance of EEX with 23 percent of the participants being “very satisfied”. The majority of participants are satisfied with the liquidity of the EEX Power Market, while they still see room for improvement, particularly, on the Markets for Natural Gas and Emission Allowances, which are still developing. The customers evaluated the EEX Primary Market Auctions as being very positive, with a satisfaction level of 95 percent. Furthermore, the service by the Market Supervision Department, which supports traders on EEX, was also evaluated as being excellent (96 percent).
Overall, the members of the Exchange Council were very pleased with the results. The survey of the trading participants, contributes to reinforcing the on-going dialogue with customers and to the further improvement of the EEX portfolio of products and services. The customers requested improvements regarding the admission process on the exchange which will be streamlined further. Many trading participants, in particular, requested easier access to a clearing bank. 92 percent of those surveyed evaluated clearing (i.e. the collateralisation and settlement of the trading transactions via a central counterparty) as being important for their business. 48 percent went on to say that clearing was “very important”. Based on the results of the customer satisfaction survey, EEX will continue to work intensively, to continuously improve the quality of its products and services.
Resolutions regarding the introduction of new products and their integration into the rules and regulations of the exchange formed another focus of the meeting. For example, the members of the Exchange Council adopted the resolution to introduce quality-specific products on the Natural Gas Spot Market. As a result, trading participants will be able to trade volumes in H- and L-gas directly on the exchange through the PEGAS platform, from the beginning of the new gas business year on 1 October 2013. This forms yet another step towards moving volumes from control energy trading in natural
gas to trading on the exchange.
The Exchange Council also approved EEX’s request to reintroduce trading in power futures with physical fulfilment for the French market area in the future. Upon a request to this end by the customers, “French Futures” with physical delivery were introduced for clearing via the Trade Registration facility in July 2013. At the suggestion of the trading participants, EEX will also offer these futures with physical settlement for trading on the exchange on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis until the end of this year.
Finally, the Exchange Council approved the migration of the Derivatives Market trading system, which is scheduled for 2 December 2013. On this day, EEX will switch from the current EUREX Derivatives Market trading system to the “T7” trading system. This is a new trading system by Deutsche Börse AG offering “even higher performance and new functionalities for the trading participants and higher systems flexibility for EEX”, as Steffen Köhler, Managing Director Exchange and Chief Operating Officer, explained. EEX will inform its participants about the status of the migration and about the new functionalities in newsletters.
