European Gas Exchange Takes Giant Volume Leap

European energy exchange Powernext recorded its highest annual traded volume of gas on its Pegas platform with a total of 1,024.8 TWh in 2015. This is up 81% on the year before’s 567.2 TWh and occurred across all Pegas market segments, Powernext said January 26.

Overall spot trading volumes in 2015 rose to 440.6 TWh, up 52% on 2014, with particularly strong growth at the Dutch TTF (up 84%). The German NCG and Gaspool delivery areas registered 194.9 TWh, up 51%, including 56.8 TWh of quality specific gas products.

France was up 26% at 116.7 TWh, while Belgium’s very young ZTP delivery zone saw 10 times as much trade, reaching 5.0 TWh.

Powernext told NGE that new financial and physical offerings at the UK NBP and the Italian PSV, new spot products and generally higher trade contributed to the like-for-like increase. Last November it also launched locational spot products to support the physical balancing of French and German transmission system operators. Locational trades are used when it becomes necessary to link the contractual world of hubs with the laws that operate in the physical world of pipelines.

Since the start of last year all EEX Group gas markets have been operated by Powernext on Pegas. At the same time, EEX became the majority shareholder of Powernext. With this step, the access to all natural gas products available on Pegas was facilitated with all major European gas hubs being offered on one platform through one membership.

Powernext CEO Egbert Laege said that last year was a “crucial step for the development of Pegas.” With 177 members, he said, Pegas could become the pan-European gas platform of choice, “as long as we continue to focus on satisfying our client’s ambitions. This trust enables us to continue our development, with the introduction of new markets and additional products in 2016.”

William Powell