The next step in the central Western European electricity market: cross-border balancing

Abstract

Following initiatives on the day-ahead and intra-day stage, a regional approach towards real-time balancing constitutes a logical next step in the process towards a single Central Western European electricity market. For the moment, balancing market designs still significantly differ between the countries of the region and a coordinated approach for cross-border exchange of balancing services is lacking. Further harmonisation and coordination efforts are consequently required to enable the implementation of a single cross-border balancing market in the region.