Day-ahead Market

On the day-ahead market, participants can sell and buy electricity in a pan-European auction for the 24h of the next day in (hourly) blocks. The day-ahead market is cleared at 12:00 o'clock noon each day of the year. At this time, the intersection of demand and quantity offered determines the electricity price and volume for each hour. This price is then either paid or received by all market participants who were successful in the auction.

Because the day-ahead market is organized shortly before delivery and has a single clearing price (per hour), it best reflects the value of electricity during different hours. The clearing price of the day-ahead market is therefore often referred to as "the electricity price." The price is determined per bidding zone, which in Europe mostly corresponds to the borders of a country.