EPEX SPOT and ENTRNCE launch Direct+ platform to simplify wholesale power market access

EPEX SPOT, supported by ENTRNCE, launched Direct+©, a plug-and-trade wholesale power market access solution combining a single direct trading membership with integrated BRP services, simplified clearing and settlement via an E-Wallet pre-payment mechanism, and an adapted fee structure for smaller participants. The platform went live on 9 September 2026 in the Netherlands, first opening access to EPEX SPOT's Dutch Power Spot Auction and Continuous markets.

Direct+ lowers financial, operational and technical barriers to wholesale power market access for smaller participants by bundling trading membership, BRP services, clearing and settlement into a single integrated setup, reducing collateral requirements and onboarding effort. This could broaden market participation and liquidity in day-ahead and intraday markets by enabling new categories of smaller players (e.g., aggregators, smaller generators, flexibility providers) to trade directly rather than through intermediaries.

Direct+ represents a market-access design innovation rather than a regulatory rule change: it is a commercial/operational product launched jointly by an exchange (EPEX SPOT) and a technology platform provider (ENTRNCE, part of Alliander) to reduce structural barriers to direct wholesale market participation. Key design elements include a neutral pass-through BRP service operated by EPEX SPOT with lower collateral requirements, real-time imbalance visibility via an E-Wallet, centralised TSO communication, and a pre-payment settlement mechanism integrated into the same E-Wallet. This bundling addresses a long-standing market design friction point where smaller participants face high fixed costs of BRP contracting, collateral posting, and multi-party onboarding (exchange membership, clearing, BRP, TSO registration) before they can trade directly. By centralising these functions and lowering upfront fees, Direct+ could increase the number of active direct participants in EPEX SPOT's Dutch Power Spot Auction and Continuous (day-ahead and intraday) markets, with potential liquidity and price-formation effects at the margin. Because it is exchange/platform-led rather than TSO- or regulator-mandated, its expansion beyond the Netherlands to other EPEX SPOT markets (pan-European ambition stated by ENTRNCE's CEO) will depend on commercial uptake and possibly national regulatory/BRP framework compatibility, which is not detailed in this source.

EPEX SPOT market rules and BRP/TSO frameworks (Netherlands)

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Primary sources