e3GRID - Efficiency of European Electricity GRIDs Regulatory benchmarking of European Electricity Transmission System Operators (TSO) on behalf of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) Workstream Incentive Regulation and Efficiency benchmarking (WS EFB) 2008 This page contains open information about the objectives, methodology and types of results from the e3GRID project. The project e3GRID 2008 on European benchmarking of electricity transmission system operators for the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) Workstream on Incentive regulation and efficiency benchmarking, made possible thanks to the active participation of 19 national regulatory authorities (NRAs) from Austria, Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Hungary Iceland Italy Lithuania Luxemburg the Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom and 22 transmission system operators (TSOs), i.e. Verbund APG Cyprus TSO CEPS Energinet.dk Fingrid Eon EnBW RWE Vattenfall Landsnet Terna Lietuvos Energija CEGEDEL NET TenneT Statnett PSE REN REE Svenska Kraftnät National Grid Electricity SHETL SPTL The project (e3GRID) has been conducted intensively during the last eleven months of 2008, and this final reporting has been preceded by monthly meetings and two intermediate reports. In addition to the open general results, a confidential report is issued for a subset of NRAs agreeing mutually to disclose results. All project participants have also received detailed individual confidential summaries of the data used, intermediate steps in the calculations and the individual final results. The efficiency analysis for the TSOs is based on a combination of system science, engineering and econometrics. The overall objective of the project has been to deliver static and dynamic cost efficiency estimates that are robust and comprehensible and can be used in a variety of regulatory applications, from informing a comprehensive performance assessment to parameters in structured periodic rate reviews, e.g. setting of X-factors. The X-factor is, according to internationally accepted best practice, divided into a general productivity improvement factor (X) and an individual efficiency catch-up factor (Xi). The first corresponds to the real cost changes for structurally comparable operations by efficient operators during the period 2003-2006. The latter is based on a cautious estimate of the incumbent inefficiency in the controllable cost for the reference year 2006 and a period of adjustment to efficient operations. The analysis is based on submitted data from the operators, including detailed cost and asset data, data for physical outputs and staffing, data for the physical, economic and technical context of the operators, statements of operator specific costs, quality indicators and data related to the use of infrastructure for transport and regional transmission. The data have been consolidated by comparing them with annual public or regulated accounts, and out of scope items not subject to benchmarking have been audited by external auditors or NRAs. Submitted data from TSOs and NRAs have been validated in several rounds based on technical and economic validation processes and pre-run and post-run analyses by both consultants, NRAs and TSOs. SUMICSID administers the e3GRID project on this website that will be enhanced continuously. The e3GRID project team from SUMICSID was lead by: Senior associate Per J. AGRELL, prof. dr. pja@sumicsid.com Senior associate Peter BOGETOFT, prof. dr. pb@sumicsid.com Publications Final report e3GRID 2008, public Appendix to Final report e3GRID 2008, public e3GRID Contact All general questions regarding the projects may to be posed to e3grid@sumicsid.com , which assures forwarding to the correct person in the team.