New EU REMIT rules level playing field for energy operators

The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency, or REMIT regulation, was introduced in 2011 to prohibit insider trading and market manipulation of the EU’s wholesale energy markets, while safeguarding consumers and businesses from unfair practices by ensuring that electricity and gas prices reflected genuine supply and demand.

ACER, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, was tasked with monitoring these markets and collecting transactional data from market participants. Details of records of wholesale energy market transactions were reported by market participants, most often through third parties called registered reporting mechanisms (RRMs), directly to ACER. Market participants were also required to disclose and submit inside information reports to ACER, typically through third parties called inside information platforms (IIPs).

The European Commission first introduced a fee system to cover the costs associated with ACER’s monitoring activities in 2021, but last month announced it was launching a new fee framework to support “the long-term sustainability of ACER’s monitoring activities” after the agency said it had experienced a 47% increase in annual data reporting related to REMIT activities since 2021.

The new fee system took effect on 15 September via Commission Decision (EU) 2025/1771, which updates how ACER is funded through REMIT fees.

The new system creates a hybrid fee structure comprising fixed annual contributions as well as additional variable fees based on transaction volume. The Commission said the changes would ensure that “those who benefit from participating in EU energy markets by providing reporting services to energy companies and system operators [also] contribute to the costs of monitoring.”

The Commission said the revised approach would also mean that “larger or market participants with higher volumes of transactions contribute more, while smaller market participants face proportionate obligations.”

Garrett Monaghan, an energy expert at Pinsent Masons, said the new system would help level the playing field for smaller energy operators across the EU. “This structure ensures proportionality,” he said. “Larger entities with higher trading volumes contribute more, while smaller participants face manageable obligations. The design also aims to prevent undue financial burden when costs are passed on to clients.”

The Commission said the new fee structure would also support ACER’s expanded supervisory and investigatory powers following significant revisions made to the REMIT framework in May 2024 that sought to strengthen oversight of Europe’s energy markets amidst growing market and geopolitical turmoil.

The new fee system has been introduced following a consultation carried out by the Commission in August on two sets of draft rules, including proposals to amend the existing implementing regulation on data reporting to help ACER detect potential market abuse.