The Organized Short-Term Cross-Border Electricity Market is organized and operated by OKTE, a.s., within the territory of the Slovak Republic in accordance with the legislation, specifically Act No. 251/2012 Coll. on Energy and on amendments and supplements to certain acts as amended (Energy Act), Act No. 250/2012 Coll. on Regulation in Network Industries as amended (Act on Regulation in Network Industries), and the Regulation of the Network Industries Authority No. 207/2023 Coll., which lays down the rules for the functioning of the internal electricity market, the content of the operating rules of the system operator, the organizer of the short-term electricity market, and the scope of the commercial terms and conditions that are part of the operating rules of the system operator (Market Rules) and the Operating Rules of OKTE, a.s. (Operating Order). The company's business activities are regulated and subject to price regulation by the Office for the Regulation of Network Industries.
The organized short-term electricity market allows market participants to close their trading positions before the actual delivery or offtake of electricity, thereby reducing the risk of imbalance between the planned and actual load of electricity delivered or consumed. OKTE, a.s. operates a day-ahead market, an intraday continuous market, and an intraday auction market. Day-ahead market allows participants to place orders for the following day, while the intraday continuous market and the intraday auction market allow trading within the delivery day.
The day-ahead market in Slovakia is in operation from 2009, when the Market Coupling between the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic (2M MC) was implemented. Following the success of 2M MC, the project was extended to Hungary in 2012 and Romania in 2014, creating the 4M MC group on the day-ahead market. This group enabled joint trading in the bidding zones of Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania.
OKTE, a.s. launched intraday trading for market participants in Slovakia in the Slovak bidding area in 2016 without the possibility of cross-border intraday continuous trading at the time. The actual launch of the intraday electricity market platform took place on April 1, 2016.
The 4M MC project was followed by the launch of the Interim Coupling project on June 17th 2021. This project interconnected the 4M MC and other European regional market coupling projects through the cooperation of national regulatory authorities, transmission system operators, and national market operators. The Slovak trading area thus became part of the Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC), a unified European day-ahead electricity market.
The Core Flow-Based Market Coupling (Core FB MC) project was launched on June 8th, 2022, creating the so-called Core Capacity Calculation Region (Core CCR; a region in which the capacity is calculated based on electricity flows). The project interconnected trading zones of Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Core FB MC is considered to be a target solution for market coupling in SDAC, determined by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 of 24 July 2015, which establishes guidelines on capacity allocation and congestion management (CACM Regulation).
OKTE, a.s. successfully joined the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) project in the same year, enabling the integration of the Slovak trading zone into the continuous cross-border intraday trading market within the EU. This development allowed market participants to trade 15-minute products on a cross-border basis, significantly increasing market liquidity and efficiency. The new cross-border intraday trading platform was launched at November 29th, 2022.
The SIDC project introduced a new platform in 2024, expanding trading possibilities with addition of intraday cross-border auctions. The platform introduces 15-minute trading periods through an auction format, marking a significant advancement in market flexibility. The first intraday auction was conducted on June 13th 2024.
The next significant step in the development of the single day-ahead electricity market will be the implementation of a 15-minute trading period (15 MTU - Market Time Unit). This step will enable more accurate and flexible electricity trading, contributing to a better balance of supply and demand on currently the most liquid electricity trading platform in Slovakia.
OKTE, a.s. has been acting as Nominated Electricity Market Operator (NEMO) for the Slovak bidding zone since 2015. The successful renomination until 2027 proves that the company not only meets the prerequisites for execution of functions arising from the Energy Acts, but also meets strict technical, legislative, and administrative requirements set by European legislation. This ensures that the Slovak electricity market operates transparently, efficiently and in accordance with the highest European standards.