European Commodity Clearing (ECC) has successfully started its clearing and settlement services for natural gas trade transactions concluded at the Danish gas exchange Gaspoint Nordic A/S (Gaspoint Nordic).
Gaspoint Nordic has adapted products and processes to established standards of continental European gas markets and now offers 24/7 trading for short-term products with the support of ECC which was launched on 1 October 2014. This step allows Gaspoint Nordic and ECC the timely implementation of the Danish balancing energy model. This foresees that the procurement of balancing energy by the network operator should be primarily done on a transparent exchange-based marketplace.
"ECC is already performing clearing and settlement of German, Austrian, French, Dutch and Belgian gas contracts on a 24/7 basis and will now adapt these established processes to the Danish gas market. Participants who are already active in other markets cleared by us, get access to an even broader product offering", explains Dr. Thomas Siegl, Chief Risk Officer of ECC.
"By clearing via ECC, our customers benefit from the usage of established interfaces and processes for the settlement of their trades. By introducing the 24/7 service, we provide customers with more flexibility for short-term trading with physical gas contracts", adds Jacob Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of Gaspoint Nordic.
The 24/7 operation of the Danish gas market will be supported by the market supervision of the European Energy Exchange (EEX). In the framework of a cooperation with the Danish gas transmission system operator Energinet.dk, which currently holds 100 percent of Gaspoint Nordic A/S, EEX – subject to approval of the relevant competition authorities – will acquire 50 percent of the shares in the Danish gas exchange.