Transparent monitor for prices on the green power exchange
Energie Zukunft Schweiz AG, with the support of EnergieSchweiz, has developed a price monitor that brings transparency to trading in guarantees of origin for renewable energy. Licensees of the green power exchange have had access to it for a few days. Risks in purchasing are thus limited.
For more than two years, it has been the case that only where renewable energy is in it, renewable energy may also be on it. The revised Federal Energy Act came into force at the beginning of 2018. Since then, all electricity suppliers have had to declare in full exactly where the electricity they supply comes from. The so-called guarantees of origin fulfill precisely this function and their efficient procurement has gained central importance for all energy supply companies.
Non-transparent HKN market full of financial risks
The situation today is characterized by a great information imbalance. The large producers and sellers of renewable energy - especially hydropower - dominate the market thanks to an information advantage.
The buyers, around 600 energy supply companies, have to hold their own in this non-transparent market and are exposed to considerable financial risks: Smaller companies in particular, which make 3 to 4 purchases per year, often do not have the resources to monitor prices regularly and react at the opportune moment. Companies are legally obliged to purchase HKN, but there is no independent market price report yet.
Green power exchange bundles liquidity and information
The growing demand for HKN as well as the increasing price volatility create the need for reliable and transparent HKN market prices in Switzerland. The green power exchange operated by Energie Zukunft Schweiz AG (EZS) and AEW Energie AG has been bundling trading in a steadily growing volume of electricity on a neutral trading venue for eleven years.
Energy suppliers or large-scale consumers advertise their requirements on the green power exchange, and producers or traders then offer their guarantees of origin. Today, more than 700 GWh per year are traded on the platform. EZS has set itself the goal of doubling this volume by the end of 2021.
The new price monitor finally creates transparency
With the support of EnergieSchweiz, Energie Zukunft Schweiz has developed a price monitor that for the first time automatically displays transparent market prices for renewable energies in Switzerland. With the price monitor, the collected bids and the concluded transactions of the green power exchange are now clearly displayed.
Market participants can evaluate the data and use the knowledge gained to make statements about price developments, future prospects, and possible risks and how to avoid them. As a neutral platform operator, Energie Zukunft Schweiz makes this information available in compiled and compact form as reports.
Interested in the new price monitor? Andreas Schmid, Project Manager HKN Trade, will be happy to answer your questions.
Example price development HKN Hydropower Switzerland:
(Source: EZS)
The price monitor maps developments for guarantees of origin for solar power and hydropower from Switzerland and Europe. The following trends can be identified, for example, for HKN for Swiss hydropower: After a slight price increase in the 2nd quarter of 2020, the prices in mid-August for HKN Hydro Switzerland for the production years 2020 to 2023 were below 1.50 Swiss francs. Accordingly, with the price monitor, the historical price development can also be presented neutrally and transparently for the other HKN.
