NEMO stands for a Nominated Electricity Market Operator. A NEMO is an entity designated by the competent authority to perform tasks related to single day-ahead or single intraday market coupling. In other words, NEMOs are the organisations mandated to run the day-ahead and intraday integrated electricity markets in the EU. NEMOs are cooperating on a contractual basis (i.e. no joint venture, pooling arrangement, principal/agency relationship, partnership or formal business organisation.
EU Regulation 2015/1222 of 24 July 2015 (CACM Regulation) lays down detailed guidelines on cross-zonal capacity allocation and congestion management in the day-ahead and intraday integrated electricity markets. These guidelines aim to put a fully functioning and interconnected European internal energy market in place.
The guidelines help to ensure:
In this framework, the CACM Regulation:
To efficiently implement the Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC) and the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC), there needs to be a high level of coordination between:
A NEMO is an entity that acts as a market operator in national or regional markets to perform, in cooperation with TSOs, single day-ahead and intraday coupling. In particular, each NEMO is responsible for the implementation of the MCO (Market Coupling Operator) function, to be carried out in coordination with other NEMOs, namely to:
Together with the MCO function, NEMOs are also in charge of following tasks within different timeframes:
According to Article 4 of the CACM Regulation, each Member State electrically connected to a bidding zone in another Member State had to ensure that one or more NEMOs are designated by 14 December 2015 to perform the SDAC and/or SIDC. The designation shall be carried out by a designating authority (that is regulatory authorities, unless otherwise provided by Member States). This happens so long as the NEMO candidates meets all conditions set out in Article 6 of the CACM Regulation. Designations of NEMOs shall last for an initial term of four years.
A NEMO might operate also in a Member State different from the one of designation, offering its trading services as “passporting NEMO” in other Member States. However, this can only happen so long as the following does not happen:
According to Article 4(10) of CACM Regulation ACER shall maintain a list of the designated NEMOs, their status and where they operate on its website: ACER’s list of designated NEMOs
Besides the NEMOs designated in each Member State, the following NEMOs are active in other countries using the passporting option:
The All NEMO Committee facilitates the cooperation among NEMOs for all common European tasks necessary for the efficient and secure design, implementation and operation of single day-ahead and intraday coupling. The All NEMO Committee is a contractual decision making body without legal personality, formed by the appointed representatives of each NEMO.
The All NEMO Committee also ensures compliance with the CACM Regulation, the MCO Plan and related contracts and relevant methodologies. It does this by organising periodic teleconferences and/or physical meetings, where discussions and decisions on article 9 of the CACM Regulation take place. According to section 4.2 of the MCO Plan, the All NEMO Committee may create or dissolve working groups or task forces dedicated to managing specific topics, under the responsibility of relevant task force leaders that refer to All NEMO Committee.
The All NEMO Committee also represent official all NEMOs positions in several coordination groups and meetings with TSOs and Institutions (European Commission, ACER and NRAs) both in ad hoc meetings or relevant periodic Fora such as Florence Forum, MESC or TCG amongst others.
Cooperation is one of the key-words of the CACM Regulation. As a matter of fact, the establishment and efficient management of single day-ahead and intraday coupling process requires a high level of cooperation between Nominated Electricity Market Operators (“NEMOs”), who shall jointly carry out the MCO function based on the principle of non-discrimination (according to Article 7 of CACM Regulation).
To facilitate cooperation among NEMOs for all common European tasks required by the CACM Regulation each NEMO is entitled to sign the All NEMO Cooperation Agreement (ANCA) LINK and join the All NEMO Committee.
Under Article 7 of the CACM Regulation, on 14 April 2016 the Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) submitted to all regulatory authorities (NRAs) and to ACER the proposal for a plan that sets out how to jointly set up and perform the MCO functions, including necessary draft agreements between NEMOs and with third parties (the MCO Plan).
The MCO Plan was unanimously approved in its final version by all NRAs on 20 June 2017, and includes:
Under Article 9(6) of the CACM Regulation, the Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) have the obligation to propose to ACER the following terms and conditions or methodologies:
All NEMOs proposal for the price coupling algorithm and for the continuous trading matching algorithm, also incorporating TSO and NEMO proposals for a common set of requirements, in accordance with Article 37(5) and 37 (1) of the CACM Regulation (Algorithm Methodology);
All NEMOs proposal for products that can be taken into account by NEMOs in single day-ahead coupling process in accordance with Article 40 of the CACM Regulation (DA Products Methodology);
All NEMOs proposal for products that can be taken into account by NEMOs in single intraday coupling process in accordance with Article 53 of the CACM Regulation (ID Products Methodology);
All NEMOs proposal for the back-up methodology in accordance with Article 36(3) of the CACM Regulation (Back-up Methodology);
All NEMOs proposal on harmonized maximum and minimum clearing prices to be applied in all bidding zones which participate in single day-ahead and single intraday couplings, in accordance with Art. 41 (2) and Art. 54 (2) of CACM (Harmonised min-max clearing price methodology);
The proposals are subject to a public consultation (in line with Article 12 of the CACM Regulation).
The details of the approval of each proposal are given in the following table:
On 30th January 2020 with decision 04/2020, ACER adopted the Algorithm Methodology, also incorporating TSOs' and NEMOs' proposals for a common set of Requirements pursuant to Article 5(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/942 and Article 53(1) of Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 With the same date the Intraday Products Methodology was also approved with decision 05/2020
The Day-Ahead Product methodology was reviewed in 2020 and ACER decided on the the amendments to the methodology on 22 December 2020.
The Back-up Methodology were unanimously approved in its final version by all NRAs on the 24 January 2018,
With decisions 01/2023 and 02/2023, ACER decided on the now newest version of the Harmonized max and min clearing price (HMMCP) methodologies for the single day-ahead coupling and single intraday coupling.
HMMCP Methodology SDAC January 2023
HMMCP Methodology SIDC January 2023
Back-up Methodology
Intraday Products
Day-ahead Products (update 29 January 2021)
