Power volumes traded on N2EX, the UK power market jointly operated by Nord Pool Spot and NASDAQ OMX Commodities, reached an all-time high in 2012, end of year figures have revealed.

The year saw 94.8 TWh of power traded on the N2EX day-ahead market, an unprecedented increase on 2011’s figure of 18.7 TWh. The end-of-year total for all volumes traded on the N2EX platform - prompt, spot and day-ahead auction- was an impressive 133.3 TWh.

Welcoming the new N2EX record Mikael Lundin, CEO of Nord Pool Spot, said: “2012 was a challenging year for N2EX but our determination to work closely with our UK members to develop the market and innovate in the products we offer, has ensured robust results. Achieving strong day-ahead auction volume in a relatively short time has been an important goal milestone for N2EX and the wider UK power market.”

Geir Reigstad, Head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities, added: “NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool Spot have worked hard to remove barriers to entry and to encourage new participants from across the UK power sector to trade their power in the robust, transparent and expanding GB wholesale market. Today N2EX is proud to deliver the trustworthy reference market for UK power that the UK energy sector has long been seeking and NASDAQ OMX Commodities’ focus in the UK is to continue to develop a more liquid futures market based on the robust N2EX reference price.”

Mikael Lundin concluded: “The strong volume achieved by N2EX is a result of our dedication to building liquidity, producing reliable prices and providing innovative products throughout 2012. We will continue to build further position to prove ourselves as the preferred power market in the UK.”

The steady increase in volume being traded on N2EX during 2012 has been attributed to members increasing their trading activity due to the greater liquidity in the N2EX market. The use of Gross Bidding – committing a minimum 30% of buy and sell volume to trade on N2EX – by major UK utilities has also created confidence in market depth among day-ahead auction participants, encouraging increased trading. 

For further information, please contact N2EX:

Media contacts:
Stuart Disbrey, Communications Manager UK, phone: +44 207 065 7042/+44 7887 409 044, sd@npspot.com     

Sara Aadnesen, Director Corporate Communications, NASDAQ OMX Commodities and N2EX, phone: +47 6752 8080/+47 9060 0759, sara.aadnesen@nasdaqomx.com

About N2EX
N2EX is the name of the UK power market offering from Nord Pool Spot and NASDAQ OMX Commodities. NASDAQ OMX Clearing is the authorized clearinghouse.

The web site www.n2ex.com provides market information and documentation for the UK power market.
 

About Nord Pool Spot
Nord Pool Spot runs the leading power market in Europe and offers both day-ahead and intraday markets to its members. 350 companies from 20 countries trade on the market. The Nord Pool Spot group has offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Tallinn and London. In 2011 the group had a total turnover of                       316 TWh, which includes the auction volume in the UK market N2EX.

For more information, visit www.nordpoolspot.com.

About NASDAQ OMX Commodities
NASDAQ OMX Commodities is the brand name for the NASDAQ OMX Group’s worldwide suite of commodity related products and services. The NASDAQ OMX Commodities offerings include power, natural gas and carbon emission markets and clearing services. NASDAQ OMX Commodities is a trademark of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe is the trade name of NASDAQ OMX Oslo ASA which is authorized as a commodity derivatives exchange by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and supervised by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority. All trades with NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe are subject to clearing with NASDAQ OMX Clearing.

NASDAQ OMX Clearing is the trade name of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB which is authorized and supervised as a multi-asset clearinghouse by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in Sweden as well as authorized to conduct clearing operation in Norway by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.

NASDAQ OMX Commodities has nearly 350 members from over 15 countries covering a wide range of energy producers, consumers and financial institutions.

For more information, please visit www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities

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