Joint Allocation Office (JAO), which aims to provide a one-stop-shop to support the European electricity capacity market, announced on 10 June an investment in its cross border auction platform. The next generation platform, developed in partnership with Unicorn Systems, a specialised technology provider for energy market solutions, is intended to create a fast, flexible and scalable transmission capacity marketplace for Europe. As the Single Allocation Platform (SAP) for all EU pan-EU Transmission System Operators (TSOs), it will be key in enabling the EU’s drive for electricity market integration to sustain rising electricity demand, whilst also supporting the energy transition.
The new platform is said to feature state-of-the-art cloud architecture, intuitive user interfaces co-designed with market participants, automation and proactive monitoring to enable more efficient trading operations, and enhanced cybersecurity compliance including NIS2 and ISO27001 standards.
Adapting to demand
The new platform is designed to grow with demand, using a flexible state of the art architecture that easily integrates with third party systems, supporting the EU’s ambition to scale interconnection capacity to at least 15% by 2030. The upgraded solution will be funded and supported by more than 30 TSOs. It will replace JAO’s current electronic capacity auction tool (eCAT), which allocates short and long-term transmission capacity rights for more than 500 market participants and over 40 TSOs across Europe.
Fundamental upgrade
Scheduled for completion by 2027, the new platform is believed to represent a fundamental upgrade to Europe’s electricity capacity marketplace infrastructure, enabling ‘seamless adaptation to rapid market evolution and regulatory shifts’.
“The aim is to create a dynamic one-stop-shop online electricity marketplace, capable of scaling and adapting to support the EU’s ambitious plans for electricity system integration,” said Thomas Kieffer, COO at JAO. “It will be fully future proof to support the rapid expected expansion of interconnections and looming regulatory shifts in the EU electricity market. Built for interoperability and ease of use, the new platform will lower barriers to mass participation in electricity markets and bring us a step closer to a single electricity ecosystem delivering cheaper, cleaner power for Europe.”
