Pan-European integrated intraday energy market is one year old

 
XBID, the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) solution, of which REN - Rede Eléctrica Nacional, SA. is part, is celebrating its first year and, since its launch, more than 16 million transactions have been executed. For the fourth quarter of 2019, the SIDC is expected to expand to seven more countries.
 
All parties involved in the SIDC solution recognize that this first year of operation was successful, with a large and growing number of deals, along with stable and robust system performance. Over 16 million deals have been successfully completed since the go-live in June 2018.
 
Preparation and testing are now underway for the launch of the 2nd wave, which should be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019. With the second wave, the following countries will be integrated into the existing intraday coupling region: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia. The countries in operation from the outset are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden and Spain.
 
A 2nd wave pre-release session is scheduled for early October 2019 to inform the various stakeholders before the go-live. A testing period is also being prepared with the various market participants, also to provide opportunities for new users to become familiar with the SIDC solution and conduct their own tests.
 
The co-chairs of the SIDC Steering Committee, Jean Verseille and Stefano Alaimo, said: 'We are very pleased to have reached this important milestone of one year of operations. The growth in the number of deals shows the important role of an integrated intraday market. We look forward to the completion of the expansion and development of the SIDC. With seven more countries entering by the end of 2019, there will be geographic coverage of the SIDC for 21 countries. Stakeholders are already discussing a possible further expansion to a 3rd wave'.
 
The SIDC is also being developed to provide additional services and, later, a second version is expected to be implemented in 2019. It is important to note that, for the different market participants, this will increase the depth of the order book to 100, a significant increase from the current 31.
 
An integrated European intraday market will increase the overall efficiency of intraday trade, promoting effective competition, increasing liquidity and enabling a more efficient use of generation resources across Europe.
 
With the increase in intermittent and renewable production, interest in trading in intraday markets is growing, as it may become increasingly difficult for market participants to be in equilibrium after the closing of the daily market. 
 
Minimizing the deviations from traded energy as close as possible to the delivery period is beneficial for market participants and for the energy systems, reducing, among other things, the need for reserves and associated costs. Additionally, the intraday market is an essential tool that enables market participants to adapt to unexpected changes in consumption and production.