Countertrade
Countertrade is the exchange of electricity between bidding zones initiated by one or more TSOs to bring physical system parameters — typically cross-border power flows — back inside permitted limits while still honouring already-cleared market trades. Defined in CACM Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 Article 2. In Estonia, most cross-border congestion at the Estonia-Finland boundary is resolved through SDAC day-ahead clearing rather than countertrade.
Countertrade (vastukaubandus) is the exchange of electricity between bidding zones initiated by one or more TSOs to bring physical system parameters — typically cross-border power flows — back inside permitted limits while still honouring already-cleared market trades. The mechanism is defined in CACM Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 Article 2.
When it activates
Countertrade is one of two main TSO tools to relieve cross-border congestion that the day-ahead market did not foresee — the other is redispatching (ümberjaotamine). The TSO buys energy in the constrained-import zone and sells in the constrained-export zone, paying the price difference. The activated trades do not change the day-ahead clearing prices already paid to market participants; they are settled separately at the TSO's regulated socialised cost.
Estonia / Baltic context
Most cross-border congestion in the Estonian market is the Estonia-Finland boundary (Estlink 1 + 2). When that interconnector is constrained or out of service, EE prices diverge from FI prices — the situation typically resolves through the SDAC day-ahead clearing rather than countertrade. Countertrade is more commonly used at the Continental European synchronous-area boundaries where mesh-network flows are harder to predict than HVDC capacity.