Dodgy deals hit Dutch energy markets

Dutch anti-trust regulator Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) has reported an increase in suspicious trades in the first quarter of this year, representing a steep rise on 13 in the whole of 2019 and nine in 2020, according to major utility consumer group VEMW May 17. Of the 2019-2020 total, eight were electricity market and 13 in the gas market 

Almost half of the reports concern possible market manipulation, followed by insider dealing (15%), disclosure of inside information (15%) and data reporting (18%). Of the 13 reports in 2019, three are being further investigated, two have been dealt with via a short action, four have been sent to another supervisory authority and four have been closed.

The EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) obliges counter parties to report their wholesale energy market transactions to avoid market manipulation and insider dealing. Traders can only conclude transactions on the wholesale market if they are registered with ACM and the EU Agency for Co-operation of Energy regulators (ACER). In the first days of 2021, more than 80 market parties registered with ACM as a result of the new Brexit rules.