Powernext
Powernext is a Paris-based company operating a European energy exchange which provides an electronic market, similar to a stock market, for the trading of energy contracts in Europe. Created in July 2001 with the opening of the European electricity market, Powernext has built a network of over 75 European members, including energy producers such as EDF, RWE, Electrabel, Endesa, Gaz de France, end users, banks, brokers, traders, and retailers.
Powernext SA manages several complementary, transparent and anonymous energy markets:
- Powernext Day-Ahead facilitates, 365 days a year, the hourly balancing of physical power delivered the following day on the French hub;
- Powernext Futures provides electricity price risk hedging for a period ranging between one month and three years;
- Powernext Balancing GRTgaz allows the Transmission System Operator GRTgaz to progressively cover its daily balancing needs through a market based mechanism.
Powernext recently announced the launch of a spot and futures national gas market by the end of 2008.
NYSE Euronext sold its Powernext shares to HGRT (the holding of transmission system operators led by the French RTE, with the Belgian Elia and the Dutch TenneT) and purchased the carbon activity of Powernext Carbon in December 2007.
Powernext and the German energy exchange EEX have officialized the merger of their electricity spot and futures markets. Powernext and EEX are in the process of setting up a 50:50 European spot power exchange based in Paris and a 20:80 European power derivatives exchange based in Leipzig.