Back-up disclosure channels would help enable energy firms manage risk effectively.
Eurogas and cosignatories welcome that the disclosure of inside information through IIPs (Inside Information Platforms) will be regulated by the new REMIT II framework. IIPs are an essential infrastructure and service provider for market participants.
However, we believe that, in case of an IIP outage, this centralised approach exposes energy firms to a risk of non-compliance with the REMIT II market integrity and transparency regime, since they cannot anymore publish their inside information and need to avoid to breach the insider dealing prohibition. A breach of this prohibition can lead to the imposition of substantial administrative and criminal sanctions for firms and their staff.
Consequently, this centralised disclosure approach forces energy firms to immediately stop their risk management and balancing activities on the wholesale energy markets for the duration of the IIP outage, meaning that they are not able to manage their energy price risks and cannot balance their production and supply portfolio. This will have unintended material adverse effects on energy firms and end consumers and will ultimately endanger the security of supply and increase energy costs.