site.btaCompany Penalized by BGN 165,000 for Manipulating Wholesale Electricity Market

Bulgaria's Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) has imposed a pecuniary sanction of BGN 165,238 on Energy Supply EOOD for wholesale electricity market manipulation. By a decision adopted on March 23, the regulator determined that between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, the company committed layering and spoofing on the intra-day market segment of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX), thus violating Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency ('REMIT').

Layering consists of issuing multiple non-genuine orders to trade at different price levels (layers) on one side of the order book, in order to enter into one or multiple transactions on the other side of the order book. Spoofing consists of issuing a single large or multiple non-genuine orders at the same price level on one side of the order book, in order to enter into one or multiple transactions on the other side of the order book.

This is the second occasion on which EWRC has imposed a pecuniary sanction on energy companies for wholesale energy market manipulation under that REMIT provision, after November 25, 2022, when the Commission penalized six energy companies by BGN 1,258,419 in aggregate.  

EWRC highly appreciates the role and support of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators in the process of investigation.