The construction of the new 1000 MW BritNed undersea power interconnector between Maasvlakte near Rotterdam and the Isle of Grain in the Thames estuary is well underway. It is planned to come into commercial service at the beginning of 2011, and it represents a significant increase in the interconnection capacity between Britain and the continent.

BritNed offers considerable opportunities and benefits to the region. It will significantly

contribute to the diversity of electricity supply in Britain and the Netherlands, as well

as improving security of supply. APX-ENDEX is playing a key role in the development of the BritNed trading arrangements.

A proportion of the cable will be reserved for market coupling. In December 2009, BritNed and APX-ENDEX signed a contract for the development of a market coupling solution. APX-ENDEX is in the process of developing a system that will price couple the APX GB day-ahead auction market with the CWE market coupling arrangements. The solution will enable market coupling from the Netherlands to all directions: north (via NorNed), east and south (via the CWE MC replacing the TLC) and west (via BritNed). It will also link the two electricity markets operated by APX-ENDEX in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The various market coupling developments have meant that APX-ENDEX, in close co-operation with its partners, has developed a high level of expertise for market integration in all aspects: design, ICT, and daily operations of Market Coupling.

Advantages of European Integration

• Increased liquidity and trading volume
• Robust and trustworthy price indices
• Access to trading participants across Great Britain, NW Europe and the Nordic regions
• Strengthened competition in each country
• Lower barriers for small players to trade

Facts & Figures

• Cable length 260 kilometres
• Cable capacity 1000 MW
• Connection between Maasvlakte (NL) and the Isle of Grain (UK)
• Operational at the beginning of 2011
• APX-ENDEX trading members continue to bid into their local auction markets
• Trades automatically match across borders to the extent capacity is available
• APX-ENDEX is the central counterparty to all implicit trades
• Nominations are handled by APX-ENDEX

Presentations

European Market Development – implications for GB

APX-ENDEX, Market Coupling & BritNed