Gestore dei Mercati Energetici S.p.A (GME) was set up by Gestore dei Servizi Energetici S.p.A. (GSE), a company wholly owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. GME carries out its activities in accordance with the guidelines given by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and the regulatory provisions issued by the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA).

GME operates power, gas, fuel and environmental markets. As part of the liberalisation process of the electricity sector, GME was initially vested with the organisation and economic management of the wholesale power market under the principles of neutrality, transparency, objectivity and competition.

GME plays a specific role in market monitoring towards the Italian NRA, in accordance with the Italian NRA regulations 115/2008 and 631/2018/R/Gas, setting up specific provisions for the monitoring of the power and gas market in Italy and in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT).

Power markets

On the power market platform managed by GME (also known as Italian Power Exchange, IPEX), producers and purchasers sell and buy wholesale electricity. Regarding power, GME operates a forward physical market (MTE), a day-ahead auction market (MGP), a daily products market (MPEG) – the venue for trading daily products with delivery obligation – and an intraday market (MI).

Referring to MI, in the European context, the CACM Regulation 2015/1222 established the Target Model for the European integrated electricity market in the intraday timeframe, providing that the European Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) should be based on energy trading under a continuous trading mechanism, in which the interconnection capacity available between the different zones of the SIDC is implicitly allocated simultaneously with the matching of buy and sell orders submitted in different zones. The European SIDC solution is based on a centralised IT platform, called XBID. The platform integrates the continuous-trading intraday markets of 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

In addition to the continuous trading mechanism, the European Target Model also provides that intraday interzonal transmission capacity should be allocated via three pan-European implicit auctions (Intraday Auctions – IDAs). With ACER’s Decision n. 01/2019 of 24 January 2019, in application of art. 55 of CACM Regulation, the IDA methodology entered into force for the pricing of cross border capacity allocated in the intraday markets of the different EU Countries. In the context of interest for Italy, ARERA’s Decision 212/2024/R/eel established that, starting from 13 June 2024, the continuous trading mechanism of XBID should be integrated with the three IDAs on the Italian borders with Austria, France, Slovenia, and Greece, replacing CRIDAs with Greece and Slovenia.

GME also operates, on behalf of Terna, the Italian TSO, a platform for ancillary services (MSD), which collects the bids and communicates the results as well as a platform for the registration of OTC transactions (PCE). On this platform, parties that have concluded contracts outside IPEX record their commercial obligations and nominate the related electricity injection and withdrawal schedules that they undertake to execute under the same contracts.

GME is also entrusted with the management of the Bulletin Board of long-term renewable energy electricity purchase and sale contracts (PPA BULLETIN BOARD).

GME manages also the Local Flexibility Market (MLF).

Gas Markets

GME was also entrusted with the organisation and economic management, on an exclusive basis, of natural-gas markets and associated services in Italy. GME’s gas markets are the Gas Spot Market (MP-GAS), including the day-ahead market (MGP-GAS), intraday market (MI-GAS), locational products market (MPL), the regulated market for the trading of stored gas (MGS), and the forward gas market (MT-GAS). Moreover, GME organises and manages a platform for the allocation of regasification capacity (PAR).

 Environmental Markets

GME is also directly involved in the implementation of environmental policies in Italy, by organising and managing environmental markets, such as the energy efficiency certificates market (TEE), the Guarantees of Origin (GO) market and the certificates of release to consumption of biofuels market (CIC).

 Fuel Markets

GME manages the Italian market platform for the trading of mineral oil logistics services (P-LOGISTICA), as well as the platform for collecting mineral oil storage and transit capacity data (PDC-OIL).