Germany's EEX in Bulgarian power futures tie-up, spot expansion (updated)
06/12/2018 12:29
(Adds separate expansion plans by the EPEX SPOT unit)
FRANKFURT, Dec 6 (Reuters) - German power exchange EEX
DB1Gn.DE and Bulgarian peer IBEX have signed a cooperation
deal to introduce Bulgarian electricity futures on the German
exchange in the first half of 2019 as the market-leading EEX
bourse pushes further east.
Bulgaria is liberalising its state-run energy systems while
IBEX, owned by state-controlled stock exchange BSE BSO.BB ,
wants to strengthen ties with other EU wholesale power markets.
EEX plans to list euro-denominated weekly, monthly,
quarterly and annual Bulgarian futures contracts for baseload or
24-hour power supply, to be settled against the day-ahead price
assessment by IBEX, the exchanges said in a joint statement.
Since EEX integrated the power products of Czech market PXE
in mid-2017, it has more than trebled cleared power trading
volumes in central and southeastern Europe, said Tobias Paulun,
chief strategy officer at EEX.
"Out cooperation with IBEX is another decisive step in the
development of power markets in southeast Europe," he said.
IBEX Chief Executive Konstantin Konstantinov said the
link-up would help generate important long-term price signals.
The EEX also said it will start Serbian and Slovenian power
futures contracts at the same date as the Bulgarian futures
products are introduced. That will give EEX a presence in 20
market zones across Europe, strengthening its lead as biggest
continental European power market, it said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1S15BT
Separately, EEX's spot power unit EPEX SPOT said it plans to
launch day-ahead and intraday power trading in Nordic and Baltic
countries next year.
A press release citing approval by its exchange council said
the 2019 start of day-ahead trading was foreseen in Denmark,
Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland,
depending on progress in pooling locally nominated operators.
Intraday trading was certain to become available in the
first half of 2019 in the Nordics and Baltics because necessary
software for automation was in place, it said.
Britain's continuous EPEX SPOT power market was migrated in
November to the auction system in use in continental markets,
EPEX SPOT also reported.
This was the last step in integrating operations with
Anglo-Dutch exchange APX, which it bought in 2015.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert
Editing by David Goodman and Adrian Croft)
((vera.eckert@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1228; Reuters
Messaging: vera.eckert.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))