REMIT and wholesale market integrity
REMIT
REMIT is Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency. It is a mechanism for reporting and preventing wholesale energy market abuse, in force since 28 December 2011.
This page contains information about the REMIT regulation and how to register as a market participant, as well as details of existing market participants and contact details if you wish to report a suspicious activity.
If you want to see information on actions we have taken against individual companies due to breaches of REMIT, please see REMIT compliance updates and outcomes in our compliance and enforcement section.
Following the UK’s departure from the EU, REMIT is retained under national legislation by effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and amended by the Electricity and Gas (Market Integrity and Transparency) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/534).
REMIT provides a regulatory framework specific to wholesale energy markets that:
- defines market abuse, including market manipulation, attempted market manipulation or insider trading
- explicitly prohibits market abuse
- requires effective and timely public disclosure of inside information by market participants
- obliges firms professionally arranging transactions to report suspicious transactions.
This helps consumers, industry and other market participants have confidence that wholesale energy prices are open, fair and competitive.
Effective Publication of Inside Information
Under Article 4 REMIT, it is the Market Participants’ (MPs) responsibility to ensure that inside information is published in a timely and effective manner.
Ofgem strongly encourages the use of appropriate Inside Information Platforms (IIPs) for the effective publication of inside information relating to the GB wholesale energy market. We currently consider the Elexon Insights Solution platform (formerly BMRS) for electricity and National Grid’s GB REMIT Central Collection and Publication Service for gas to meet this requirement.
MPs considering using other IIPs for the publication of inside information relating to the GB wholesale energy market should consider whether those platforms will ensure that the inside information is as widely received by other relevant MPs operating in the GB market as that provided by Elexon or the service operated by National Grid.
Registering as a market participant under REMIT
Under REMIT, Market Participants (MPs) trading wholesale energy products for delivery in GB are required to register with Ofgem before entering into transactions.
As of 4 January 2021, this requirement does not apply to MPs who are registered with the NRA for Northern Ireland, or the NRA of an EU Member State.
Suspected market abuse or suspicious transactions under REMIT
As energy markets regulator, we take seriously any allegation of abuse in the wholesale energy market in GB.
Under REMIT, firms arranging transactions for wholesale energy products deliverable in GB must report ‘suspicious transactions’ to Ofgem without delay. We also welcome this information from anyone that suspects a breach of REMIT.
What’s a ‘suspicious transaction’?
This is where there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect the transaction might constitute ‘market abuse’, such as insider trading or market manipulation.
Firms should ensure staff responsible for managing market abuse risk have access to adequate training to identify potentially suspicious transactions.
You can find information on the types of behaviour that can amount to market abuse in ACER Guidance on REMIT application.
Since the key REMIT Article 2 definitions, including the definition of ‘Inside Information’, ‘Market Manipulation’, and ‘Attempt to Manipulate the Market’, shall remain the same in GB after 31 December 2020, until further notice, Ofgem will continue to interpret REMIT with regard to ACER’s guidance when carrying out its monitoring and enforcement responsibilities.
Want to report a suspicious transaction?
To report a suspicious transaction, please email market.conduct@ofgem.gov.uk
Use of exemptions and delaying publication of inside information under REMIT
Within the REMIT regulations, certain exemptions apply to insider trading. There are also rules recognising delays to publishing certain inside information. We explain these below.
Exemption to insider trading
Under Article 3(4)(b) of REMIT, the prohibition on insider trading does not apply to:
“transactions entered into by electricity and natural gas producers, operators of natural gas storage facilities or operators of LNG import facilities the sole purpose of which is to cover the immediate physical loss resulting from unplanned outages, where not to do so would result in the market participant not being able to meet existing contractual obligations or where such action is undertaken in agreement with the transmission system operator(s) concerned in order to ensure safe and secure operation of the system.”
If a market participant has used this exemption, they must report relevant information relating to the transactions to us without delay. This should be sent to market.conduct@ofgem.gov.uk.
Delay to disclosure of inside information
Under Article 4(2) of REMIT, a market participant:
“may under its own responsibility exceptionally delay the public disclosure of inside information so as not to prejudice its legitimate interests provided that such omission is not likely to mislead the public and provided that the market participant is able to ensure the confidentiality of that information and does not make decisions relating to trading in wholesale energy products based upon that information.”
In any situation where a market participant has delayed disclosure of inside information, they must notify us immediately. This should include a justification for the delay. This should be sent to market.conduct@ofgem.gov.uk. Ofgem will determine whether the exemption has been used appropriately following assessment of the information provided, but does not provide ex-ante approval for the use of exemptions.
Our role in REMIT
As the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for Great Britain, we have powers through the Electricity and Gas (Market Integrity and Transparency) (Enforcement etc) Regulations 2013 to monitor, investigate and enforce against breaches of REMIT.
This allows us to:
- oblige any regulated person to record and retain records, including relevant communications, for a period of at least six months from the date the record was created
- require that these records are kept for longer, until a specified date
- require those we regulate under REMIT to provide us with information in connection with monitoring the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy market
- investigate where circumstances suggest a failure to comply with REMIT. In this context, we can:
- require any person to provide information or documents relevant to an investigation.
- summon people to attend a meeting and answer questions, and to apply for a warrant to enter premises.