Baltic electricity market adopts 15-minute trading intervals in the intraday market to support growing renewable energy integration in the energy system
The Baltic region has transitioned to 15-minute trading intervals in the intraday electricity market. The shift was successfully implemented with the first intraday market auctions on December 16 and continuous trading transactions on December 17. This transition from 60-minute to 15-minute trading intervals aims to improve market efficiency and better integrate renewable energy sources.
The transition was implemented by the Nord Pool electricity exchange in collaboration with transmission system operators of the three Baltic countries: Estonia’s Elering, Latvia’s JSC Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST), and Lithuania’s Litgrid. It enables electricity producers, traders, and balancing service providers to trade electricity in shorter time intervals, allowing for more accurate alignment between planned production or consumption and real-time system needs.
“By transitioning to 15-minute trading, we are improving system management to accommodate the growing share of solar and wind generation, which can vary significantly within an hour and pose challenges for system balancing. The shorter trading interval creates commercial opportunities for flexible resources, such as hydroelectric plants and large-scale batteries, to provide short-term balancing supply. This helps stabilize the energy system, enhances operational efficiency, and lowers electricity supply costs. The implementation of 15-minute trading intervals will be gradual and comprehensive. By 2025, this resolution will also be extended to day-ahead market auctions, all balancing markets, and electricity metering systems. These changes are expected to drive the development of new services, creating additional opportunities for both consumers and producers,” said Gatis Junghāns, Member of the Management Board of AST.
Currently, the transition has been introduced in the intraday market, with plans to expand it to balancing and day-ahead markets. In the day-ahead market, prices are used to settle costs for consumers on exchange-based tariffs. Electricity prices in each trading zone are determined by supply offers, forecasted consumption, and potential cross-border flows. Moving to 15-minute intervals will allow for more precise balancing of supply and demand, mitigating imbalance risks, such as those caused by sudden weather changes impacting renewable energy generation.
The shift to 15-minute trading intervals is being implemented progressively across Europe. With the Baltic states joining this phase, the transition to 15-minute trading intervals in the day-ahead market is expected around mid-2025, following the completion of the Europe-wide transition to 15-minute intraday trading intervals.
About JSC "Augstsprieguma tīkls"
AST, the Latvian electrical power transmission system operator, ensures uninterrupted and secure transmission of electricity throughout Latvia. Its vision is to become the leading transmission system operator in the region through the efficient and successful implementation of development-oriented changes. AST has 68.46% shareholding in the capital of the operator of the natural gas transmission and storage system AS “Conexus Baltic Grid”.
Further information:
Līva Jēgere
Head of Communications
Ph: +371 26151344
Email: liva.jegere@ast.lv
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