Cross-Border Marginal Price (CBMP)
Cross-Border Marginal Price (CBMP) is the marginal balancing-energy price the EU activation platforms (MARI for mFRR, PICASSO for aFRR) publish per direction per area for each Market Time Unit. CBMP is what the cheapest activated bid had to clear at after taking cross-zonal capacity into account; it flows directly into imbalance-price settlement under EBGL Article 55 single pricing. Plus or minus the monthly neutrality component (sign depending on DSB), CBMP equals the realised imbalance reference price for Estonian BRPs.
Cross-Border Marginal Price (CBMP) is the marginal balancing-energy price the EU activation platforms (MARI for mFRR, PICASSO for aFRR) publish per direction per area for each Market Time Unit. CBMP is the price the cheapest activated bid had to clear at after taking cross-zonal capacity into account; it is the reference that flows directly into imbalance-price settlement under EBGL Article 55 single pricing.
How CBMP is set
Every 15-minute MTU, MARI runs a pan-European optimisation: each connected TSO submits its area-specific demand and merit-order bids, and the algorithm picks the cheapest combination of bids that meets aggregate demand respecting cross-zonal capacity (CZCBT). When capacity is plentiful, every connected area shares the same CBMP — the cheapest bid in any country sets the price. When CZCBT binds, the area splits and each segment clears at its own local marginal price. PICASSO runs an analogous process for aFRR every 4 seconds, settled per MTU.
CBMP vs local marginal price
When the Baltic CoBA is fully connected to MARI/PICASSO via cross-zonal capacity, CBMP and the area-specific local marginal price are the same number. When CZCBT binds — for example when EstLink is saturated — the Estonian area-specific marginal price diverges from the wider CBMP, and the area-specific number is what feeds the Estonian imbalance price that day. Both numbers are published per MTU on the Baltic Transparency Dashboard.
Where you see this in Baltic data
BTD publishes a dedicated "Cross border marginal price" report (one per Baltic country, separated by direction and product) — this is the per-MTU CBMP. For Estonian BRPs, the realised CBMP minus or plus the monthly neutrality component (sign depending on DSB) equals the realised imbalance reference price. Live Estonian mFRR clearing prices, derived from CBMP, are at the mFRR clearing-price chart.
Sources
EBGL Articles 30 (price floor/ceiling), 55 (single pricing) · ENTSO-E: MARI methodology · BTD: Cross border marginal price report
Frequently asked
- What is the Cross-Border Marginal Price (CBMP)?
- CBMP is the marginal balancing-energy price the EU activation platforms publish per direction per area for each Market Time Unit. MARI clears mFRR every 15 minutes; PICASSO clears aFRR every 4 seconds and settles per MTU. The cheapest activated bid in the connected area sets the price for everyone — until cross-zonal capacity binds, at which point each area clears at its own local marginal price.
- How does CBMP flow into the imbalance price?
- Per EBGL Article 55 single pricing, the imbalance reference price for an MTU is the area-specific marginal balancing-energy price plus or minus the monthly neutrality component, with the sign determined by Direction of System Balancing. So CBMP (or the local marginal price when CZCBT binds) is the load-bearing input. Subtract the neutrality component when DSB is +1 and add it when DSB is −1.
- What's the difference between CBMP and a local marginal price?
- When the Baltic CoBA is fully connected to MARI / PICASSO via available cross-zonal capacity, CBMP and the area-specific local marginal price are the same number. When CZCBT binds — for example when EstLink is saturated — the Estonian area-specific marginal price diverges from the wider CBMP, and the area-specific number is what feeds the Estonian imbalance price. Both are published per MTU on BTD.
- Where can I see CBMP data?
- BTD publishes a dedicated "Cross border marginal price" report (one per Baltic country, separated by direction and product). Volton publishes the live Estonian mFRR clearing prices derived from CBMP at /data/mfrr-clearing-price, refreshed every 15 minutes.