physics

Nord Pool

Nord Pool is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nord Pool rather than just read about it. In short: Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has its main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and London.

Key takeaways

Nord Pool belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nord Pool to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nord Pool from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has its main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and London. The company is owned by the European exchange operator Euronext as well as TSO Holding, which represents the continental Nordic and Baltic countries' transmission system operators (TSOs: Fingrid, Energinet, Statnett, Svenska Kraftnät, and Litgrid). Nord Pool has two subsidiaries, Nord Pool AB and Nord Pool Finland Oy.

History

1932–1991: Norwegian origins

Nord Pool traces its origin to Foreningen Samkjøringen (lit. the Coordination Association), a power exchange formed by eastern Norwegian electricity companies in 1932 on the initiative of Augustin Paus, and which soon came to encompass all the electricity companies in eastern Norway. In 1971, the exchange merged with the regional exchanges in other parts of Norway and became Samkjøringen av kraftverkene i Norge (literally the Coordination of Power Stations in Norway). As of 1988, it had 118 power companies as members.

1991–2000: Nordic deregulation and integration In 1991 the Norwegian parliament decided to deregulate the market for power trading. In 1993 Statnett Marked AS was established as an independent company.

In 1996, the Swedish electricity market was also deregulated. Statnett Marked AS was subsequently replaced by Nord Pool ASA, owned in equal parts by the Swedish and Norwegian transmission system operators (TSOs), Svenska Kraftnät and Statnett. This contributed to the unification of the two countries' electricity markets. Finland as well as western and eastern Denmark joined Nord Pool ASA in 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively.

2000–present: Expansion in Europe

In 2000, Nord Pool ASA participated in establishing the Leipzig Power Exchange (now part of the European Energy Exchange). Nord Pool also supplied its technology to France's Powernext exchange.

On 27 December 2001, Nord Pool ASA's spot market (derivatives and physical energy markets) activities were spun off into a new company, Nord Pool Spot AS. The remaining parts of Nord Pool ASA were later acquired by Nasdaq, and are presently known as Nasdaq Commodities. In 2005, Nord Pool Spot AS started trading and clearing of European Union (EU) emission allowances, becoming the first exchange to expand its activities into this area. The company expanded its activities to Germany by opening the KONTEK bidding area. On 12 January 2010, Nord Pool Spot AS in cooperation with Nasdaq Commodities launched the N2EX power market in the United Kingdom. On 2 February 2010, Nord Pool Spot signed an agreement with the Estonian national grid company Elering to create the Nord Pool Spot Estlink bidding area starting from 1 April 2010. Nord Pool Spot also delivered the technical solution for the Lithuanian market place Baltpool. On 9 June 2010, APX-ENDEX, Belpex and Nord Pool Spot agreed to create a cross-border intraday electricity market based on Nord Pool Spot's Elbas technology. The common intraday market then included the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In 2012, Nord Pool Spot opened a bidding area in Lithuania, and in 2013 the Latvian market was opened. On 20 January 2016, Nord Pool Spot AS was rebranded to Nord Pool AS. On 27 August 2019, Nord Pool started trading in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, the result of a European Union decision to allow several power exchanges to operate in the same markets, increasing competition. On 5 December 2019, Euronext announced that it would acquire 66% of Nord Pool. The acquisition was completed on 15 January 2020. In 2021, Nord Pool launched day-ahead trading in Poland. In 2022, a new mechanism was launched for hourly renewable energy certificates in Great Britain. In 2025, Euronext acquired Nasdaq's Nordic power futures business.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nord Pool

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nord Pool claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nord Pool before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nord Pool ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nord Pool

In research: Nord Pool appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nord Pool in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nord Pool is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2002 establishments in Norway, Companies based in Oslo, Companies established in 2002, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nord Pool outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Nord Pool” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Nord Pool in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nord Pool means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nord Pool out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nord Pool in simple terms?

Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has its main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and London.

Why does Nord Pool matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nord Pool?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nord Pool.