ENTSO-E Balancing Report 2026

ENTSO-E’s biennial overview of progress implementing the EU balancing-market design (EB Regulation, EU 2017/2195), covering developments from June 2025–May 2026 (with national executive summaries per TSO covering May 2024–May 2026 and performance indicators for January–December 2025).

Scope: June 2025 – May 2026.

Key findings

Network Code on Demand Response (NC DR) — revised timeline: ACER submitted its NC DR recommendation to the European Commission in March 2025; the Commission ran a public consultation July–September 2025. The report states: “Adoption of the NC DR by the European Commission is expected in Q4 2026–Q1 2027 through the comitology process.” Following adoption and entry into force, TSOs are expected to develop and amend relevant terms and conditions (T&Cs) and methodologies at both Union-wide and national level. This is later than the “summer 2026” draft-implementing-regulation timeline assumed in earlier Swedish preparatory materials (e.g. Ei’s ställningstagande and Energiföretagen webinar framing).

aFRR/mFRR harmonization (PICASSO/MARI): TSOs submitted amended aFRRIF and mFRRIF implementation frameworks to ACER in December 2025, addressing six prioritized harmonization needs (English-language T&C publication, English TSO–BSP communication, FRR prequalification topics, IT standards harmonization). ACER is expected to adopt its decision in July 2026.

Cross-zonal balancing capacity (HCZCAM): methodology approved by ACER 29 January 2025 after TSOs submitted amendments in July 2024; the market-based cross-zonal allocation process (HCZCAOF) is being developed via the COBRA project, involving Baltic and Nordic TSOs (already using the market-based method) plus the ALPACA initiative TSOs (Austria, Czechia, Germany).

Co-optimisation R&D: NEMOs and TSOs delivered an updated R1 report to ACER at end of November 2025 (public-consultation feedback, bid design for storage and demand response); the R2 report, covering technical feasibility and initial simulation results, is expected in Q1 2027.

Relevance to existing wiki topics

• Network Code on Demand Response — corrects the page’s NC DR adoption timeline from “summer 2026 draft implementing regulation / 2026 entry into force” to “Commission adoption via comitology Q4 2026–Q1 2027”
• Svenska kraftnät / Nordic balancing markets — HCZCAOF/COBRA project context for Nordic cross-zonal balancing capacity allocation

Data gaps

• R2 co-optimisation report results (expected Q1 2027) — technical feasibility conclusions for storage/demand-response bid design not yet available