Wholesale trade fears in the UK

New arrangements for the wholesale trading of electricity are unlikely to find much favour among renewable electricity generators. A new report produced and published jointly by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) and the Department of Trade and Industry confirms the blueprint of how the new system will operate and set out in a previous consultation document on the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA). NETA will provide the electricity system framework in which renewable energy producers will have to operate. Trading under the new system is scheduled to begin in autumn 2000. OFGEM claims it has taken note of the concerns voiced by renewable electricity generators -- particularly about exposure to imbalance prices. But it remains to be seen whether the tweaking of some measures in the new arrangements is enough to satisfy the renewables community.