In 2023, the balancing market remained a crucial source of revenue for electricity producers, contributing approximately 21% of their total income, a trend expected to continue in 2024. Financially, the market generated €410 million last year, making up around 5% of the overall short-term electricity market.
The balancing market consists of three main components: the balancing capacity market, the balancing energy market, and the imbalance settlement system. Among these, the balancing energy market was the largest contributor, generating €385 million. The balancing capacity market followed with €109 million, while imbalance settlements, which include penalties for overproduction and rewards for demand flexibility, accounted for €84 million. Outside of the balancing framework, an additional €248 million was earned from energy supplied for other purposes.
For conventional energy producers, the bulk of their income came from day-ahead and intraday trading, amounting to approximately €2.8 billion in 2023. When combined with €490 million from balancing operations and €248 million from other energy-related activities, the total supplementary earnings reached €738 million. At the same time, charges related to imbalances amounted to €85 million.
For traditional energy generators, day-ahead and intraday markets formed the backbone of their earnings, representing 81% of their total revenue. This made up 74% of PPC’s income and an even higher 94% for independent producers.
