These Commission Regulations are binding rules coupling the national electricity markets and fostering their integration in the European internal electricity market. This should be achieved by an efficient use of the European electricity transmission system, while keeping an adequate level of security of supply and assuring the long-term operation and network development across the European Union.
Market codes aim at improving the market efficiency by promoting:
Following these objectives is beneficial for fostering competition, avoiding market distortions and entry barriers, therefore facilitating the formation of cost-reflective market prices and supporting the achievement of the European Union target for the penetration of renewable generation.
The Regulation on the internal market for electricity complemented with three Commission Regulations on market rules are forming the main legal framework for the establishment and functioning of the European internal electricity market. These three regulations are covering all the timeframes of the European internal electricity market:
These regulations foresee the establishment of more detailed rules and procedures called terms and conditions or methodologies, which need to be developed by Transmission System Operators (TSOs) or Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) and approved by national regulatory authorities or ACER.