ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators, represents 39 electricity
transmission system operator
File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg, 380px, Simplified diagram of AC electricity grid from generation stations to consumers
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s (TSOs) from 35 countries across Europe, thus extending beyond EU borders. ENTSO-E was established and given legal mandates by the
EU's Third Package for the
Internal energy market in 2009, which aims at further liberalising the gas and electricity markets in the EU.
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History
On 27 June 2008, 36 European electricity
transmission system operator
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s (TSOs) signed in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
a declaration of intent to create the ENTSO-E.
[
] ENTSO-E was established on 19 December 2008 in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
by 42 TSOs as a successor of six regional associations of the electricity transmission system operators.
[
][
] ENTSO-E became operational on 1 July 2009. The former associations ETSO, ATSOI, UKTSOA, NORDEL, UCTE and BALTSO became a part of the ENTSO-E, while still offering data by their predecessors for public interest.
[
]
Creation of ENTSO-E was initiated by the adoption of the European Union
third legislative package on the gas and electricity markets.
In 2003, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
conducted a sector inquiry concerning the competition of
electricity market
In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...
in six European countries.
[
] Examining competition in these countries, the final report stated serious issues to be solved.
[
] It was noticed that the integration between member state's markets is still insufficient. Additionally, the absence of transparently available market information was assessed.
As a result, the third legislative package on the EU gas and electricity markets was adopted by the European Commission in September 2007.
[
]
Objectives
According to its website, "ENTSO-E promotes closer cooperation across Europe’s
TSOs to support the implementation of
EU energy policy and achieve Europe’s energy & climate policy objectives, which are changing the very nature of the power system. The main objectives of ENTSO-E centre on the integration of
renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar power into the power system, and the completion of the internal energy market (IEM), which is central to meeting the European Union’s energy policy objectives of affordability, sustainability and security of supply.
..ENTSO-E aims to be the focal point for all technical, market and policy issues relating to TSOs and the European network, interfacing with power system users, EU institutions, regulators and national governments."
Members
TSOs are responsible for the
bulk transmission of electric power on the main
high voltage
High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...
electric networks. TSOs provide
grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Common usage
* Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road
* Grid reference, used to define a location on a map
Arts, entertainment, and media
* News g ...
access to the
electricity market
In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...
players (i.e., generating companies, traders, suppliers, distributors, and directly connected customers) according to non-discriminatory and transparent rules. In many countries, TSOs are in charge of the development of the grid infrastructure, too. TSOs in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
internal electricity market are entities operating independently from the other electricity market players (unbundling).
ENTSO-E contained 39 Member TSOs from 35 countries as of September 2022. Due to
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
three Great Britain based operators left and only Northern Ireland's SONI remains from the UK.
On 14 January 2016
TEİAŞ
Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (Turkish: Türkiye Elektrik İletim A. Ş., abbreviated TEİAŞ) is the transmission system operator for electricity in Turkey. It is a government-owned corporation. It is planned for a minority stake t ...
signed an agreement with ENTSO-E to become first observer member, the agreement expired in January 2019. On 26 April 2022
Ukrenergo
Ukrenergo ( uk, ПрАТ «Національна енергетична компанія "Укренерго"», literally 'National Power Company "Ukrenergo"') is an electricity transmission system operator in Ukraine and the sole operator of ...
signed Observer Membership Agreement with ENTSO-E.
Observers
Geographical area
![ElectricityUCTE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/ElectricityUCTE.svg)
The geographical area covered by ENTSO-E's member TSOs is divided into five
synchronous areas and two isolated systems (Cyprus and Iceland). Synchronous areas are groups of countries that are connected via their respective power systems. The system
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
(50 Hz, with usually very minor deviations) is synchronous within each area, and a disturbance at one single point in the area will be registered across the entire zone. Individual synchronous areas are interconnected through
direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
interconnector
An interconnector (also known as a DC tie in the USA) is a structure which enables high voltage DC electricity to flow between electrical grids. An electrical interconnector allows electricity to flow between separate AC networks, or to link sy ...
s.
The benefits of synchronous areas include pooling of generation capacities, common provisioning of reserves, both resulting in cost-savings, and mutual assistance in the event of disturbances, resulting in cheaper reserve power costs (for instance in case of a disturbance or outage).
Legal basis
The
Third Energy Package
The European Union's Third Energy Package is a legislative package for an internal gas and electricity market in the European Union. Its purpose is to further open up the gas and electricity markets in the European Union. The package was proposed ...
and Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity regulation stipulate ENTSO-E's tasks and responsibilities. Regulation (EU) 838/2010 on guidelines relating to the inter-TSO compensation mechanism sets out the methodology by which TSOs receive compensation for the costs incurred in hosting cross-border flows of electricity. Regulation (EU) 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure defines European Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) identifies ENTSO-E's ten-year network development plan (TYNDP) as the basis for the selection of PCIs. ENTSO-E is also mandated to develop a corresponding cost–benefit methodology
for the assessment of transmission infrastructure projects.
The Transparency Regulation (EU) No. 543/2013
[
] on submission and publication of data in electricity markets makes it mandatory for European Member State data providers and owners to submit fundamental information related to electricity generation, load, transmission, balancing, outages, and congestion management for publication through the ENTSO-E Transparency Platform.
Key activities
Pan-European Transmission Network plans and cost–benefit analysis
The ten-year network development plan 2016 (TYNDP) is drafted by ENTSO-E, in close cooperation with stakeholders, under scrutiny of
ACER and is finally adopted by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
. It is the only existing pan-European network development plan. It is the basis for the selection of EU projects of common interest (PCIs). The list of PCIs is not fixed by ENTSO-E and is subject to a different process led by the European Commission and EU Member States.
The TYNDP is updated every two years. For inclusion in the TYNDP, each project, whether transmission or storage, has to go through a cost–benefit analysis. The benefit analysis methodology
is developed by ENTSO-E in consultation with stakeholders and adopted by the European Commission. It assesses projects against socio-economic and environmental criteria.
Adequacy forecasts
ENTSO-E publishes summer and winter generation outlooks, well as a long-term system adequacy forecast, the Scenario Outlook & Adequacy Forecast (SO&AF). The seasonal outlooks assess if there is enough generation to cover supply and highlight possibilities for neighbouring countries to contribute to the generation/demand balance in critical situations in a specific country. The SO&AF analyses system adequacy on the long-term and is connected to investment decisions.
Network codes
ENTSO-E's network codes are binding pan-European rules drafted by ENTSO-E in consultation with stakeholders, with guidance from
ACER. Network codes are grouped in three areas:
* connection codes connecting electricity generators, demand, and direct current lines to the transmission grids;
* operational codes governing how the pan-European electricity systems are operated;
* and market codes facilitating and harmonising electricity trading across European borders.
The drafting and adoption process of network codes is defined by the
Third Package. ACER develops a framework guideline setting the policy choices for each code. On this basis, the codes are drafted by ENTSO-E in consultation with stakeholders. After ACER's opinion and recommendation for adoption, each code is submitted to the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
for approval through the
Comitology process, i.e., to be voted on by Member State representatives and thus to become EU law, directly binding and implemented across all Member States.
Transparency Platform (TP)
ENTSO-E's Central Information Transparency Platform provides free access to fundamental data and information on pan-European wholesale energy generation, transmission, and consumption.
[
CC‑BY‑4.0 license.
]
Research, development, and innovation (RDI)
ENTSO-E's R&D Roadmap provides the ENTSO-E vision on grid projects to be carried out by
TSOs to meet EU objectives. The roadmap is supported by the annual R&D Implementation Plan, which combines both top-down and bottom-up approaches in meeting the requirements of the roadmap. ENTSO-E publishes annually a R&D Monitoring Report that assesses the progress of TSO-related R&D work.
Governance
ENTSO-E is an international non-profit association (
AISBL
Laws regulating nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary associations vary in different jurisdictions.
Australia
In Australia, nonprofit organizations include trade unions, charitable entities ...
) established according to Belgian law. ENTSO-E is financed by its members. The TSOs contribute to the budget according to the number of countries and the population served.
The highest body of ENTSO-E is the Assembly, which is composed of representatives at CEO level of all the currently 43 members. The ENTSO-E Board is elected every two years from the overall membership and through the Assembly. It includes 12 representatives. The president, vice president, and committee chairs are invited to board meetings. The board coordinates the committees and LRG work and implements Assembly decisions.
ENTSO-E has established four specialized committees composed of managers from member TSOs. Each committee leads a number of regional groups and working groups.
At the same level as the four committees, the transversal Legal & Regulatory Group
advises all ENTSO-E bodies on legal and regulatory issues. In addition, expert groups on data, network codes implementation, and EU affairs provide specific expertise and work products to the association.
ENTSO-E's Secretariat is based in Brussels. It is headed by the secretary-general and represents ENTSO-E to the European institutions, regulators, and stakeholders.
Organizational chart
Key figures (2022)
* 39 transmission system operators
* 35 European countries
* 532 million customers served
* of transmission lines
* 3,174.2 TWh electricity transported
* 423,586 GWh of electricity exchange between member TSOs
* 1,023,721 MW net generation capacity connected to the grid
See also
*
EURELECTRIC
Eurelectric (full name: The Union of the Electricity Industry) is the sector association which represents the common interests of the electricity industry at a European level, plus its affiliates and associates on several other continents. Toget ...
*
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators
The European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) is an Agency of the European Union by the Third Energy Package in 2009. It was established in 2010 and has its seat in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
On 6 May, the administrative b ...
*
European Energy Community
The Energy Community, commonly referred to as the Energy Community of South East Europe (ECSEE), is an international organization consisting of the European Union (EU) and a number of non-EU countries. It aims to extend the EU internal energy ...
*
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) is an association of Europe's transmission system operators (TSOs). ENTSOG was created on 1 December 2009 by 31 TSOs from 21 European countries. Creation of the ENTS ...
(ENTSOG)
*
IPS/UPS
The IPS/UPS is a wide area synchronous transmission grid of some CIS countries, with a common mode of operation and centralized supervisory control. It has an installed generation capacity of 300 gigawatts, and produces 1,200 terawatt-ho ...
– TSO organization for the networks of most of the
former Soviet republics
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
and Mongolia
*
SuperSmart Grid,
European super grid
The European super grid is a possible future super grid that would ultimately interconnect the various European countries and the regions around Europe's borders – including North Africa, Kazakhstan, and Turkey – with a high-voltage ...
*
Nord Pool
Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has a main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Berlin and London. The company is owned by the European exchange operator Euronext as well as TSO Holding, ...
References
External links
ENTSO-E websiteENTSO-E Transparency Platform
{{Authority control
Electric power in the European Union
International energy organizations
Organisations based in Brussels