European Energy Markets Transparency Report

Abstract

This report describes the development of transparency in the European wholesale energy markets. Every year starting from 2010, the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) will publish a Transparency Report and assign the Energy Transparency Award. The award aims at promoting transparency best practices and distinguishing a European undertaking, institution or industry association for its particular contribution to the transparency of energy markets. The initiator and the first financing body of the Energy Transparency Award is RWE Supply and Trading. The 2010 Transparency Report focuses on the issue of transparency in wholesale energy markets. Energy trading in Europe has increased considerably since liberalisation and currently involves several hundreds of operators. For instance, figures show that the overall volume of electricity traded via both exchanges and OTC almost tripled between 2000 and 2009, and that the number of total daily transactions in Europe - physical and financial - ranges nowadays between 6,000 and 10,000. In this context, transparency has the important role of allowing the operators to better understand the market and receive correct economic signals, in a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” fashion. As a result, transparency contributes to create competitive and well-functioning markets, which is a core goal of the European energy policy.