Power exchange comes to life

Players on the Romanian power market have been slow to close deals on the Bucharest Power Exchange. On January 4, the first day of trading, the value of transactions on the power exchange stood at 1.5 billion ROL (38,158 euros). By the next day, this had tripled in value to about 5.3 billion ROL (136,000 euros), with around six new participants being registered each day, according to data released by the representatives of OPCOM, the operator and administrator of the Romanian electrical power market.

Currently, deals on the power exchange can only be made by players on the free power market, producers, distributors, suppliers or eligible consumers, with a minimum consumption threshold settled by the district ruling authority; they are free to use the power exchange – currently in an experimental stage and on which they can only make physical transactions (quantities of energy) – as well as the old system, the visible market.

The power exchange is set to become fully operational by the end of this year, when the platform for financial trading and payment between market participants will also be available.

“On the first day, there was a purchasing offer for 8,579 MWh for the next day and a sale offer of 8,912 MWh. The total quantity traded amounted to 1,188 MWh, which had a value of 1.5 billion ROL. On Wednesday, the value of transactions tripled and I believe it will grow after January 10th. Another four or five companies have already inquired as to how they can trade on the exchange,” Victor Ionescu, general manager of OPCOM, told Ziarul Financiar.