GME convenes MLT-Flex local flexibility trading session for DSO Unareti on 25 August 2026

GME published a notice under Article 23, paragraph 23.2 of the Local Flexibility Market (MLF) Regulation announcing that, following an activation request from DSO Unareti S.p.A., an MLT-Flex trading session will be held on 25 August 2026. Preliminary session information will be made available in the MLF IT system by 24 August 2026; the bid submission window opens at 10:00 and closes at 15:00 on 25 August 2026; preliminary results will be communicated and published by 14:00 on 26 August 2026; and definitive results, following technical validation of bids by the DSO, will be published by 12:00 on 27 August 2026.

The notice operationalises Italy's distribution-level local flexibility market: a DSO can trigger a procurement session on the GME-operated MLF platform, and the published timetable defines the concrete gate closure and results-publication sequence that flexibility providers must plan against. The two-stage results process — preliminary outcomes followed by definitive outcomes after DSO technical validation — shows that network-feasibility screening sits between market clearing and firm obligations, a design feature that distinguishes local flexibility procurement from conventional wholesale sessions.

This is an operational activation of an existing market design rather than a design change, but it is informative about how the Italian MLF framework functions in practice. Three design features are visible in the source. First, sessions are demand-driven: Article 23.2 allows GME to convene an MLT-Flex session at the request of a DSO, meaning session frequency and location follow distribution network needs rather than a fixed calendar — this creates episodic liquidity that participants must monitor, since the source shows only about three weeks' notice between the 3 August 2026 communication and the 25 August session. Second, the timetable is compressed into a single day for bidding (10:00–15:00) with preliminary information released the day before, implying that providers need standing prequalification and rapid internal decision cycles rather than sustained order-book presence. Third, the separation between preliminary results (by 14:00 on 26 August) and definitive results after DSO technical validation (by 12:00 on 27 August) means market outcomes are provisional until the network operator confirms bid feasibility — allocation risk sits with providers for roughly 22 hours after preliminary publication. For flexibility aggregators and DER portfolios in the Unareti area, the practical implication is that MLF revenue is opportunistic and event-driven; portfolio valuation should treat these sessions as call options on DSO need rather than as a predictable revenue stream. The source does not state volumes, products, locational granularity or price caps, so the depth and materiality of this particular session cannot be assessed from the notice alone.

Article 23, paragraph 23.2 of the GME Regulation of the Local Flexibility Market (Regolamento del Mercato locale della flessibilità)

MLT-Flex bid submission window opens 10:00 on 25 August 2026 · 25 Aug 2026

Primary sources