Menu

European Electricity network codes

With increased interconnections between countries of the European Union, the operation of the electricity networks and the monitoring of energy flows become ever more complex.

In order to guarantee security of supply, to ensure the continuous functioning of the electricity system and to enable energy exchanges between the different markets, common EU-wide rules involving all relevant stakeholders of the different Member states are necessary.

These rules, called "Network Codes" or guidelines, govern the cross-border transactions in the electricity market and the operation of power grids. They should facilitate the harmonization, integration and efficiency of the European electricity market.

Network codes come into force after publication in the official journal of the EU and become legally binding. Their different methodologies, procedures and guidelines are to be published and implemented by the relevant stakeholders.

Already approved methodologies and documents are listed below in three groups: market guidelines, connection network codes and guidelines for operating the electrical system.

Market codes and guidelines

Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 establishing a guideline on Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) entered into force on 15 August 2015. The provisions of CACM govern the establishment of cross-border EU electricity markets in the day-ahead and intraday timeframes, as well as methods for the calculation of interconnection capacity.

Methodology NC Article Decision Date
Determination of Capacity Calculation Region Art. 15 ACER N°06/2016 November 2016
Amendment on the Determination of Capacity Calculation Regions Art. 15 ILR/E17/57 October 2017
Amendment of the Determination of Capacity Calculation Regions Art. 15 ACER N°04/2019
ACER Corrigendum
Avril 2019
August 2021
Determination of Capacity Calculation Regions Art. 15 ACER N°04/2021 May 2021
Amendment of the Determination of Capacity Calculation Regions Art. 15 ACER N°08/2023 March 2023
Generation and Load Data Provision Methodology Art. 16 ILR/E17/1 January 2017
Common Grid Model Methodology Art. 17 ILR/E17/23 May 2017
CCR Core : Day-ahead Capacity Calculation Methodology
CCR Core : Intraday Capacity Calculation Methodology
Art. 20 ACER N°02/2019 February 2019
CCR Core : Amendment of the Day-ahead Capacity Calculation methodology Art. 20ff ILR/E21/10 June 2021
CCR Core : Second amendment of the Day-ahead Capacity Calculation methodology Art. 20ff ILR/E23/53 December 2023
CCR Core : Amendment of the Intraday Capacity Calculation Methodology Art. 20ff ACER N°06/2022 April 2022
Methodology and assumptions that are to be used in the bidding zone review process Art. 32 ACER N°29/2020 November 2020
Methodology for coordinated redispatching and countertrading for the Core CCR Art. 35 ACER N°35/2020 December 2020
Methodology for the price coupling algorithm, the continuous trading matching algorithm and the intraday auction algorithm Art. 37 ACER N°04/2020 January 2020
Products that can be taken into account in the Single Day-Ahead Coupling Art. 40 ACER N°37/2020 December 2020
Methodology for the Calculation of Scheduled Exchanges resulting from the single Day-ahead coupling Art. 43 ILR/E19/15 February 2019
Amendment of the methodology for the Calculation of Scheduled Exchanges resulting from the single Day-ahead coupling Art. 43 ACER N°10/2023 May 2023
CCR Core : Fallback Procedures Art. 44 ACER N°10/2018 September 2018
CCR Core : Amendment of the Fallback Procedures Art. 44 ACER N°02/2021 March 2021
CCR Core : 2nd Amendment of the Fallback Procedures Art. 44 ILR/E22/7 March 2022
Proposal for Cross-zonal Capacity allocation and other arrangements Art. 45 & 57 ILR/E17/3 January 2017
Amendment Proposal MNA (DE/LU) Art. 45 & 57 ILR/E18/35 October 2018
Products that can be taken into account by NEMOs in intraday coupling process Art. 53 ACER N°05/2020 January 2020
Methodology for pricing intraday cross-zonal capacity Art. 55 ACER N°01/2019
ACER Corrigendum
Janvier 2019
August 2021
Methodology for the Calculation of Scheduled Exchanges resulting from the single Intraday coupling Art. 56 ILR/E19/19 March 2019
Proposal for intraday cross-zonal gate opening and gate closure times Art. 59 ACER N°04/2018 April 2018
Day Ahead Firmness Deadline Art. 69 ILR/E17/31 June 2017
Congestion Income Distribution Methodology Art. 73 ACER N°07/2017 December 2017
Amendment of the Congestion Income Distribution Methodology Art. 73 ACER N°16/2021 December 2021
Amendment of the Congestion Income Distribution Methodology Art. 73 ACER N°16/2023 December 2023
Common methodology for redispatching and countertrading cost sharing for the Core CCR Art. 74 ACER N°30/2020 November 2020

Forward Capacity Allocation (FCA)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1719 establishing a guideline on forward capacity allocation (FCA) entered into force on 17 October 2016. The provisions of FCA establish a framework for the calculation and allocation of interconnection capacity, and for cross-border trading, in forward markets (i.e. timeframes longer than day-ahead).

Methodology NC Article Decision Date
CCR Core: Long-term capacity calculation methodology Art. 10 ACER N°14-2021 November 2021
CCR Core: Amendment of the long-term capacity calculation methodology Art. 10 ACER N°03-2023 January 2023
Core CCR TSOs’ methodology for splitting long-term cross-zonal capacity Art. 16 ILR/E20/41 July 2020
Core CCR TSOs’ 1st amendment of the methodology for splitting long-term cross-zonal capacity Art. 16 ILR/E23/15 May 2023
Generation and Load Data Provision Methodology Art. 17 ILR/E17/75 November 2017
Common Grid Model Methodology Art. 18 ILR/E18/26 July 2018
CCR Core: Proposal for the regional design of long-term transmission rights Art. 31 ILR/E17/59 October 2017
Amendment of the CCR Core Proposal for the regional design of long-term transmission rights Art. 31 ILR/E18/28 July 2018
2nd Amendment of the CCR Core Proposal for the regional design of long-term transmission rights Art. 31 ACER N°15-2019 October 2019
3rd Amendment of the CCR Core Proposal for the regional design of long-term transmission rights Art. 31 ILR/E20/29 July 2020
Requirements of the Single Allocation Platform Art. 49 & 59 ILR/E17/60 October 2017
Amendment of the requirements of the Single Allocation Platform Art. 49 & 59 ACER N°09-2022 July 2022
Amendment of the requirements of the Single Allocation Platform Art. 49 & 59 ACER N°05-2023 March 2023
Harmonised Allocation Rules for Long Term Transmission Rights Art. 51 ACER N°03-2017 October 2017
Amendment of the Harmonised Allocation Rules for Long Term Transmission Rights Art. 51 ACER N°14-2019 October 2019
Amendment of the Harmonised Allocation Rules for Long Term Transmission Rights Art. 51 ACER N°15-2021 November 2021
Amendment of the Harmonised Allocation Rules for Long Term Transmission Rights Art. 51 ACER N°18-2023 December 2023
CCR Core: Regional Specific Annex to the Harmonised Allocation Rules for long-term transmission rights Art. 52 ILR/E17/58 October 2017
CCR Core: Amendment of the regional Specific Annex to the Harmonised Allocation Rules for long-term transmission rights Art. 52 ILR/E19/24 March 2019
CCR Core: 2nd Amendment of the regional Specific Annex to the Harmonised Allocation Rules for long-term transmission rights Art. 52 ILR/E19/54 October 2019
CCR Core: 3rd Amendment of the regional Specific Annex to the Harmonised Allocation Rules for long-term transmission rights Art. 52 ILR/E21/57 December 2021
Proposal for a Congestion Income Distribution (CID) methodology Art. 57 ILR/E19/29 June 2019
Amendment of the proposal for a Congestion Income Distribution (CID) methodology Art. 57 ACER N°10-2022 July 2022
Amendment of the proposal for a Congestion Income Distribution (CID) methodology Art. 57 ACER N°06-2023 March 2023
Methodology for sharing costs incurred to ensure firmness and remuneration of long-term transmission rights Art. 61 ACER N°12-2021 October 2021
Amendment of the methodology for sharing costs incurred to ensure firmness and remuneration of long-term transmission rights Art. 61 ACER N°07-2023 March 2023

Electricity Balancing (GLEB)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing (GLEB) entered into force on 18 December 2017. The provisions of GLEB lay down a detailed guideline on electricity balancing, including the establishment of common principles for the procurement and the settlement of frequency containment reserves, frequency restoration reserves and replacement reserves, and a common methodology for the activation of frequency restoration reserves and replacement reserves.

Méthodologie NC Article Décision Date
Implementation framework for mFRR Platform Art. 20 ACER N°03/2020
ACER Corrigendum
Janvier 2020
August 2021
Amendment to the implementation framework for mFRR Platform Art. 20 ACER N°14/2022
September 2022
Implementation framework for aFRR Platform Art. 21 ACER N°02/2020
ACER Corrigendum
Janvier 2020
August 2021
Amendment to the implementation framework for aFRR Platform Art. 21 ACER N°15/2022 September 2022
Implementation framework for IN Platform Art. 22 ACER N°13/2020 June 2020
Amendment to the implementation framework for IN Platform Art. 22 ACER N°16/2022 September 2022
Methodology for a list of standard products for balancing capacity Art. 25(2) ACER N°11/2020 June 2020
Amendment to the methodology for pricing balancing energy and cross-zonal capacity Art. 30(1) ACER N°03/2022 February 2022
Methodology for harmonising processes for the allocation of cross-zonal capacity for the exchange of balancing capacity or sharing of reserves Art. 38(3) ACER N°11/2023 July 2023
Methodology for pricing balancing energy and cross-zonal capacity Art. 30(1) ACER N°01/2020
ACER Corrigendum
Janvier 2020
August 2021
Methodology for pricing balancing energy and cross-zonal capacity Art. 30(1) ACER N°01/2020 January 2020
Methodology for a co-optimised allocation process of cross-zonal capacity Art. 40(1) ACER N°12/2020 June 2020
CCR Core: Methodology for the market-based allocation process of cross-zonal capacity for the exchange of balancing capacity Art. 41(1) ACER N°11/2021 August 2021
CCR Core: Methodology for the market-based allocation process of cross-zonal capacity for the exchange of balancing capacity - rectified text Art. 41(1) ACER Corrigendum January 2022
Common settlement rules applicable to all intended exchanges of energy as a result of the reserve replacement process, the frequency restoration process with manual and automatic activation and the imbalance netting process Art. 50(1) ACER N°17/2020 July 2020
Proposal for Common settlement rules for intended exchanges of energy as a result of the frequency containment process and ramping period Art. 50(3) ILR/E20/28 June 2020
Proposal for Common settlement rules for all unintended exchanges of energy Art. 51(1) ILR/E20/28 June 2020
Methodology for the harmonisation of the main features of imbalance settlement Art. 52(2) ACER N°18/2020 July 2020

Connection codes and guidelines

Demand Connection (DCC)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1388 establishing a network code on demand connection (DCC) entered into force on 7 September 2016. The provisions of DCC set out detailed rules relating to the connection of demand facilities to national electricity networks.

Méthodologie NC Article Décision Date
Regulation on requirements for Demand connection Art. 12 to 21 ILR/E19/20 March 2019

Requirements for Generators (RfG)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/631 establishing a network code on requirement for grid connection of generators (RfG) entered into force on 17 May 2016. The provisions of RfG set out detailed rules relating to the connection of power generating installations to national electricity networks.

High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1447 establishing a network code on requirements for grid connection of high-voltage direct current system and direct current-connected power park modules (HVDC) entered into force on 28 September 2016. The provisions of HVDC set out detailed rules relating to the connection of high-voltage direct current systems to national electricity networks.

You can address your questions or submit your proposals concerning the connexion codes implementation, by email, to the following address: info.CNC_implementation@creos.net

System operation codes and guidelines

Electricity Transmission System Operation (SO)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1485 establishing a guideline on electricity transmission system operation (SO) entered into force on 14 September 2017. The provisions of SO set out detailed rules relating to safeguarding operational security, frequency quality and the efficient use of the interconnected system and resources.

Methodology NC Article Decision Date
Common proposal for the Key Organisational Requirements, Roles and Responsibilities (KORRR) relating to Data Exchange Art. 40 ILR/E19/1 January 2019
Common Grid Model Methodology Art. 67(1) et 70(1) ILR/E18/27 July 2018
Methodology for coordinating operational security analysis Art. 75 ACER N°7/2019 June 2019
Methodology for coordinating operational security analysis – rectified text Art. 75 Corrigendum January 2023
Amendment of the methodology for coordinating operational security analysis Art. 75 ACER N°7/2021 June 2021
Methodology for Regional Operational Security Coordination for the Core CCR Art. 76 ACER N°33/2020 December 2020
Methodology for assessing the relevance of assets for outage coordination Art. 84 ACER N°8/2019 June 2019
Methodologies, conditions and values included in the synchronous area Continental Europe
- Dimensioning FCR
- Limits volume exchange FRR
- Limits volume exchange RR
Art. 118 & 153 & 176 & 177 & 178 & 179 ILR/E19/27 April 2019
Methodologies and conditions included in the LFC block operational agreements DE-LU-DK
- LFC Block: Ramping restrictions
- LFC Block: Coordination Actions
- LFC Block: Dimensioning rules
Art. 119 & 137 & 152 & 157 ILR/E19/45 August 2019
Common proposal per synchronous area for the determination of LFC blocks Art. 141(2) ILR/E18/31 August 2018
Common amended proposal per synchronous area for the determination of LFC blocks Art. 141(2) ILR/E22/1 February 2022
Additional properties of FCR Art. 154(2) ILR/E21/1 January 2021
Amendment of all Continental Europe TSOs’ proposal for the definition of a minimum activation time period required for FCR providing units or groups with limited energy reservoirs Art. 156(10) ILR/E22/38 December 2022
Assumptions and methodology for a cost-benefit analysis Art. 156(11) ILR/E19/26 April 2019

Emergency and Restoration (E&R)

The Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2196 establishing a network code on electricity emergency and restoration (E&R) entered into force on 18 December 2017. The provisions of E&R set out detailed rules for the purposes of safeguarding operational security, preventing the propagation or deterioration of an incident to avoid a widespread disturbance and the blackout state, as well to allow for the efficient and rapid restoration of the electricity system from the emergency or blackout states.