ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ЕНЕРГЕТИЧНИХ БІРЖ КРАЇН ЄВРОПИ

Trade in energy resources is a pillar of sustainable development and economic prosperity. One of the top places in the structure of energy markets is occupied by the trade in electronic energy. Electricity provides humanity with light and heat, one of the leading consumer goods and an element of any industrial activity. It can be bought or sold on deregulated electricity markets and traded like any other commodity. On the other hand, historically, the electricity and gas industries worldwide have typically been government regulated and often operate as natural monopolies.

Technological progress in generation and energy networks made it possible to move away from the unequivocal interpretation of electricity as a natural monopoly. As a result, the reform of electricity liberalization in the EU implemented in recent years remains one of the most extensive compared to other large world regions.

The article offers a study of current conditions of functioning and prospective directions of development of European energy exchanges. On the example of European energy exchanges operating in the electricity market, the main components of the exchange market are considered - the spot and futures market of electricity contracts. It is emphasized that the establishment and development of European energy exchanges are connected with the liberalization and decentralization of the energy sector in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the European Union (EU). Energy exchanges in Europe create a competitive environment for the benefit of consumers and provide greater liquidity by shaping the market price according to the law of supply and demand. Other advantages of the functioning of energy exchanges are trading based on standardized characteristics, formation of neutrality, reduction of transaction costs, elimination of counterparty risk, price orientation, and provision of clearing and settlement services. The prospects for developing European energy exchanges in light of technological progress, in particular, the spread of blockchain technology, have been studied.