Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/855 of 14 April 2026 on interoperability requ…
as it stood on 2026-04-14, permalink: /eu-eurlex/32026r0855/2026-04-14
Article 1
This Regulation lays down interoperability requirements and non-discriminatory and transparent procedures for access to and exchange of data required for customer switching in the electricity market. It also specifies the technical process for switching electricity supplier, which, in accordance with Article 12(1) of Directive (EU) 2019/944, shall, by no later than 2026, take no longer than 24 hours and be possible on any working day. This Regulation also sets out non-discriminatory and transparent procedures for access to data that require reporting and publication of national practices applying the reference model.
In order to ensure the application of the interoperability requirements referred to in paragraph 1, this Regulation establishes a reference model for data required for the final customer switching supplier process, that sets out the rules and procedures that enable interoperability. The reference model also lists the electricity market participants concerned and their individual or joint roles and responsibilities.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
| (1) | ‘electricity supplier’, or ‘supplier’, means a market participant engaged in electricity supply; |
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| (2) | ‘supply’ means supply as defined in point (12) of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/944; |
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| (3) | ‘reference model’ means reference model as defined in point (1) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (4) | ‘final customer’ means final customer as defined in point (3) of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/944; |
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| (5) | ‘metering point’ means a physical location where the withdrawal or injection of electrical quantities is measured or calculated; |
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| (6) | ‘metering point administrator’ means metering point administrator as defined in point (12) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (7) | ‘authentication’ means authentication as defined in point (16) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (8) | ‘accounting point’ means a metering point or a virtual metering point under the responsibility of a balance responsible party, where the energy supply is provided by an energy supplier, the settlement is performed, and the energy supplier switch can take place; |
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| (9) | ‘balance responsible party’ means balance responsible party as defined in point (14) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13); |
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| (10) | ‘permission’ means permission as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (11) | ‘electricity supply contract’ means a contract for the supply of electricity, but does not include electricity derivatives, as defined in point (13) of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/944; |
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| (12) | ‘metered data administrator’ means metered data administrator as defined in point (7) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (13) | ‘entitled party’ means a market participant that is to be informed about changes made in the metering point register by the metering point administrator, or the delegated entity where Member States have so provided, as a result of a process in the retail market or the cancellation of that process; |
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| (14) | ‘affected party’ means a market participant who gains or loses responsibility for the accounting point concerned as a direct result of a process in the retail market or the cancellation of that process; |
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| (15) | ‘permission administrator’ means permission administrator as defined in point (10) of Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162; |
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| (16) | ‘future supplier’ means a supplier that is already registered in the metering point register for an accounting point for a specified time period in the future. |
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Article 3
Electricity undertakings in the retail electricity market shall apply the provisions set out in this Chapter and the refence model set out in the Annex.
Article 4
Member States shall ensure the reporting of the national practices regarding the implementation of the interoperability requirements and procedures for access to data required for final customer switching, in accordance with Article 9, and shall ensure that such practices comply with the obligations set out in this Regulation.
Member States shall make the information on the organisation of the national market regarding specific roles and responsibilities, set out in Table I of the Annex, easily available to all market participants and final customers.
The information referred to in paragraph 2 shall include the identification of those parties acting in the national market as the new electricity supplier, the previous supplier, and the metering point administrator.
Member States may, where appropriate, assign some or all the customer-switching-specific responsibilities of the metering point administrator to an entity other than the one designated to perform that role pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162, provided that such arrangements are clearly indicated in the national role mapping in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation.
Article 5
The new electricity supplier shall:
| (a) | verify the identity of the final customer requesting the switch of supplier; |
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| (b) | identify the request-related accounting point or points registered to the final customer; |
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| (c) | ensure that a balance responsible party assumes balance responsibility for the identified accounting point or points at the start of supply; |
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| (d) | obtain permission from the final customer to perform the preparatory activities necessary for concluding an electricity supply contract with them; |
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| (e) | submit a registration request to the metering point administrator, or the delegated entity where Member States have so provided, to be recorded as the new supplier for the relevant accounting point or points on the date agreed upon and specified in the new supply contract with the final customer; |
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| (f) | receive metering data from the metered data administrator at the start of the supply to ensure accurate billing; |
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| (g) | without prejudice to contractual law, request the metering point administrator, or the delegated entity where Member States have so provided, to cancel any ongoing switching of supplier process in cases where the final customer cancels the new supply contract with the supplier concerned. |
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Article 6
The previous supplier shall provide the final customer with a final closure account, in accordance with Article 10(12) of Directive (EU) 2019/944, and receive metering data from the metered data administrator to ensure accurate billing, once their supply to the accounting point or points has ended.
Article 7
- The metering point administrator, or the delegated entity entrusted with customer-switching-specific responsibilities where Member States have so provided, shall, without undue delay:
| (a) | make available, in a non-discriminatory way, to the new supplier, on their request and with permission of the final customer, the characteristics of the associated accounting point or points, through an online interface or through another appropriate interface; |
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| (b) | process the validated switch request of the final customer, submitted by the new supplier; |
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| (c) | notify the entitled parties and affected parties of any changes of supplier and balance responsible party assigned to the associated accounting point or points. |
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- Metering point administrators, or delegated entities where Member States have so provided, shall give the suppliers access to testing facilities so that the suppliers can test the compatibility of their systems with the systems of the metering point administrators, or delegated entities where Member States have so provided, implementing the procedures in this Regulation. The testing facility shall be available before the procedures are implemented and while they are in operation.
Article 8
Member States shall apply Procedures 1 and 2 set out in the Annex to access and exchange data required for the customer switching process.
Article 9
- For the purposes of reporting national practices regarding the implementation of the reference model, Member States shall:
| (a) | appoint a competent authority or another entity to fulfil the reporting obligations outlined in this Article. The mandate and arrangements for its appointment shall be clearly detailed in the national implementation framework and communicated to the Commission; |
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| (b) | require the appointed authority or entity to produce and keep up to date a detailed mapping of national practices, which includes a comprehensive description and explanation of how the procedural steps set out in Tables III.1 and III.2 of the Annex are performed. This mapping should indicate any combined steps and the sequence in which they are executed; |
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| (c) | ensure the mapping of national practices, as mentioned in point (b), is submitted by the appointed authority or entity to the ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity, who shall publish it in a publicly accessible repository, as referred to in Article 10. |
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The reporting of national practices shall include information on the national implementation of the reference model, including of the various roles involved, information exchanges, and procedures.
The reporting of national practices shall adhere to the guidance developed by the ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity referred to in Article 11.
The competent authority or other entity appointed in accordance with paragraph 1(a) shall provide the reporting of national practices to the ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity and ensure the Commission is duly informed by no later than 1 July 2027.
Article 10
- For the purposes of their cooperation on data transparency the ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity shall perform the following tasks:
| (a) | develop and publish the guidance to assist Member States in the reporting of national practices referred to in Article 11; |
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| (b) | collect the reports of national practices provided by the competent authorities or entities appointed by Member States regarding the implementation of the reference model in accordance with Article 9; |
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| (c) | publish and keep up to date the reports of national practices in a publicly available repository, expanding on the repository developed for access to metering and consumption data pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162. |
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- The ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity shall also collaborate with the Commission, in accordance with Article 11 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162, to monitor the implementation of the reference model set out in this Regulation, accommodating further development due to regulatory, market or technological changes.
Article 11
By no later than 1 July 2026, the ENTSO-E and the EU DSO entity shall develop and publish guidance on the reporting of national practices on customer switching. This guidance shall be made publicly available, ensuring accessibility and transparency for all relevant stakeholders.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 3 shall apply from 31 December 2026.
Provenance and validity dates, identifier, hash
| as of | 2026-04-14 → this version applied |
| valid | 2026-04-14 → open publisher-asserted |
| type | REG_IMPL Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/855 of 14 April 2026 on interoperability requirements and non-discriminatory and transparent procedures for access to data required for customer switching |
| language | en |
| published | 2026-04-14 |
| lex_id | eu-eurlex:32026r0855:2026-04-14 |
| record sha256 | 04b310d4781535e4f694a3369a0d53cab23999ccfb889ffa95bea51224c64dfe |
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