Brussels, November 19, 2025 — The EFTA Surveillance Authority has launched a public consultation on commitments offered by Norway to address concerns over an exclusive mandate granted to Nord Pool Group to run day-ahead power trading on the capacity of the North Sea Link interconnector to the United Kingdom.
ESA’s Concerns Over Exclusive Mandate
The case stems from a July 2022 complaint alleging that decisions by the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (RME) granting Nord Pool, the former incumbent, an exclusive right to organise the day-ahead auction, including North Sea Link (NSL) capacity, infringed EEA rules.
In a Letter of Preliminary Objections issued in March 2024, ESA took the preliminary view that the exclusivity distorted the Norwegian market for electricity trading services by creating an inequality of opportunity for rival power exchanges. ESA found that the arrangement appeared to maintain or strengthen Nord Pool’s dominant position, potentially producing anti-competitive effects.
Norway disputes ESA’s assessment but has nonetheless offered commitments aimed at resolving the concerns.
Norway’s Commitments and Implementation Timetable
On 14 November 2025, Norway submitted a package of commitments focused on opening access to trading on the Norwegian side of NSL:
- New multi-exchange trading solution: RME’s decision of 6 March 2024 already requires Statnett, Norway’s transmission system operator and co-owner of NSL, to implement a solution that allows competition among power exchanges for NSL capacity on the Norwegian side.
- Completion deadline: The new set-up must be fully in place by May 2026.
- Monitoring and reporting: Norway commits to regular progress reporting to ESA on key implementation milestones up to May 2026, giving ESA visibility over design, roll-out and go-live of the new trading model.
ESA considers that, if properly implemented, the commitments could remove the exclusivity and open access to NSL-related trading infrastructure for rival platforms, addressing concerns about the long-term entrenchment of Nord Pool’s market position.
Market test and next steps
ESA has now invited interested parties to comment on Norway’s proposal. A market-test notice summarising the commitments and calling for feedback, as well as the full text of the commitments and ESA’s underlying decision documents, are available on ESA’s website.
Stakeholders have three weeks from publication of the notice to submit views on whether the proposed measures are sufficient and workable in practice. Comments should be sent by email to registry@eftasurv.int.
