Pegas Platform Expands into Denmark
Danish gas exchange Gaspoint Nordic will join the EEX-operated Pegas platform this year, Leipzig-based EEX said July 6. It will be the first Scandinavian country on the platform.
The Danish transmission system operator Energinet.dk said the move would “significantly enlarge the network of market participants and increase trading opportunities for the Danish gas market." Since January 2015, Gaspoint Nordic has been 50-50 owned by Energinet.dk and EEX.
Energinet.dk now has signed an agreement to sell its 50% shareholding in Gaspoint Nordic, making the company a full member of EEX Group. The shares will be held by the French company Powernext, the affiliate which operates the Pegas platform within EEX.
Gaspoint Nordic offers short-term trading from within-day to month ahead, for delivery at Danish trading hub Exchange Transfer Facility. After the transaction, these products will be listed under the Powernext rulebook and accessible via the Powernext system. They will continue to be cleared through the European Commodity Clearing (ECC).
The CEO of Gaspoint Nordic, Jacob Pedersen, said: “We are very pleased to join the Pegas platform. It is a major step towards further integrating the Nordic gas market into continental Europe and very much in line with the needs of our members and stakeholders in general. This will allow for an accelerated market development and an extended product offering.”
Powernext CEO Egbert Laege welcomed the expansion of the geographical coverage and said that cooperation between Gaspoint Nordic and Pegas would help to further develop the Danish market for the benefit of their customers.
Austria’s Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) is also to migrate its spot and futures contracts to the Pegas platform and to further develop the Austrian and central and eastern European gas markets, following an agreement announced June 20. As the basis for this cooperation, Powernext and CEGH will establish a joint company in Vienna with a 51% Powernext shareholding and a 49% CEGH shareholding. Its managing director will be Gottfried Steiner, who is also the CEO of CEGH.
The cooperation is subject to competition and regulatory approvals and the deal is expected to close this quarter.
William Powell