Prisma (trading platform)

Prisma European Capacity Platform GmbH
legal form	GmbH
founding	March 2005
Seat	Leipzig
management	Götz Lincke
Branch	Energy industry
Website	www.prisma-capacity.eu

The prism European Capacity Platform GmbH (formerly Trac-x Transport Capacity Exchange ), based in Leipzig operates a European online platform for trading of capacity rights. This platform is used to auction the connection capacity of the networks of 36 European transmission system operators, which are responsible for the transport of more than 70% of natural gas in Europe, to gas traders (primary capacity trading). Gas traders can also use the platform to market unneeded transport capacities to other gas traders (secondary capacity trading). The establishment of this platform is intended to serve the competitive cross-border integration of the natural gas markets, a goal of the European Commission for energy supply.

history

In 2006, the German Gas Network Access Ordinance required the German gas network operators to create a uniform electronic trading platform for secondary trading in gas transport capacities. With the entry into force of the German rules at the time, the entire secondary market for these transport capacities was only allowed to be handled via the Trac-x platform at the time. This meant that gas traders were only allowed to sell unused transport capacity rights to third parties via Trac-x. Secondary trade in capacity should help to avoid contractual capacity bottlenecks in European networks, which should encourage liberalization of the gas market and improve competition.

In the course of the new gas network access ordinance of September 2010, the then Trac-x received the order from the German transmission system operators to set up and operate a platform for the allocation of primary capacities in Germany. Until then, primary capacities had been marketed individually by each German network operator via their own portals, but the new gas network access regulation stipulated that from August 2011 all primary capacities of the German transmission network operators should be marketed exclusively via a platform operated jointly by the transmission network operators. With the start of Trac-x primary in August 2011, gas traders were able to purchase all firm capacities at German border and market area interconnection points in auctions on Trac-x primary for the first time. From then on, interruptible capacities and capacities at all other German network points were allocated on Trac-x primary on the basis of the “first come, first served” principle. Trac-x primary thus replaced the previous online booking systems of the German transmission system operators.

In January 2013, Trac-x changed its name to Prisma European Capacity Platform GmbH . Since April 1st, 2013, transmission system operators from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria have been marketing primary capacities at European network points for the first time via the common European Prisma platform.

Shareholder

The former Trac-x Transport Capacity Exchange (today Prisma European Capacity Platform, Prisma for short) was founded in March 2005 by VNG - Verbundnetz Gas . In October 2007 the Federal Cartel Office approved the participation of Thyssengas , Open Grid Europe , and EWE Netz as part of a merger project. In April 2008 the Federal Network Agency named Trac-x as the common electronic platform for secondary trading with capacity rights in Germany . In December 2008, the European Energy Exchange became a further shareholder in what was then Trac-x. In July 2010 the company again expanded its group of shareholders. A total of six other shareholders - Bayernets , Eni Gas Transport Deutschland , Erdgas Münster Transport, Gasunie Deutschland , GRTgaz Deutschland and Wingas Transport - joined the company.

In January 2013 the Trac-x renamed the Prisma European Capacity Platform and further European transmission system operators were added as shareholders. The following transmission system operators are currently involved in Prisma:

Furthermore, the following transmission system operators market capacities via the PRISMA European Capacity Platform, but without being involved as shareholders:

Creos Luxembourg SA
Enagas Transporte SAU
eustream as
Ferngas Netzgesellschaft mbH
Fluxys Germany GmbH
Gas Networks Ireland Limited
jordgasTransport GmbH
Lubmin-Brandov Gastransport GmbH
NEL Gastransport GmbH
NET4GAS sro
OPAL Gastransport GmbH & Co. KG
Plinacro doo
REN Gasodutos SA
SWISSGAS AG
Trans Tunisian Pipeline Company SpA

Gas storage capacity has also been marketed via the PRISMA European Capacity Platform since January 2017. The following storage operators market capacity via the platform: