Joint Allocation Office
Joint Allocation Office (JAO) is a Luxembourg-based, non-commercial market infrastructure organization that operates the Single Allocation Platform for auctioning cross-border electricity transmission capacity rights across Europe on behalf of 26 Transmission System Operators and 500+ registered market participants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLuxembourg, Luxembourg
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Joint Allocation Office does
Joint Allocation Office (JAO) S.A. is a Luxembourg-domiciled, non-commercial market infrastructure organization that operates the single trading platform for auctioning cross-border electricity transmission capacity rights across Europe. It was formed on 1 September 2015 through the merger of CAO GmbH (Germany) and CASC.EU S.A. (Luxembourg), and on 1 October 2018 was formally designated as the Single Allocation Platform (SAP) for all European Transmission System Operators (TSOs) operating under EU legislation. JAO is jointly owned by 26 TSOs across 23 countries, which are simultaneously its primary customers; it additionally serves 500+ registered market participants including energy traders and power exchanges.
JAO's core technology is the eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool) platform, which supports long-term and short-term explicit capacity auctions across yearly, seasonal, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and intraday products, plus shadow auctions that act as backup to Single Day Ahead Coupling (SDAC). The platform is complemented by SOAP-based web services APIs for automated bidding, document submission, and data retrieval; a Publication Tool for market data dissemination; a Utility Tool for implicit allocation processes; integrated clearing and settlement services linked to ING InsideBusiness banking infrastructure; and interconnector-specific auction modules (Nemo Link, IFA/IFA2, Viking Link, ALEGrO, Eleclink). The firm operates 26,000+ auctions annually, trades 700 million MWh of capacity per year across 41 bidding zones, maintains ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001 certifications, and serves approximately 80 employees from its Luxembourg-Hamm headquarters.
JAO's business model is non-commercial: it operates as a neutral, regulated utility-like infrastructure provider funded through service-level agreements with TSO shareholders, rather than via disclosed market-rate fees. Its revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed and pricing is not transparently published; market participants satisfy financial obligations under a Financial Agreement with collateral requirements. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-counterparty via the eCAT platform (web UI and APIs), with supporting channels including LinkedIn, YouTube training videos, industry events (e.g., ETCSEE), and a Jira/Power Apps-based Service Desk.
Joint Allocation Office firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Joint Allocation Office
- Legal name
- Joint Allocation Office S.A.
- Website
- https://jao.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Joint Allocation Office (JAO) is a Luxembourg-based, non-commercial market infrastructure organization that operates the Single Allocation Platform for auctioning cross-border electricity transmission capacity rights across Europe on behalf of 26 Transmission System Operators and 500+ registered market participants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Joint Allocation Office industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electricity Transmission Capacity Auctions
- NAICS
- Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160)
- SIC
- Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Institutional Multi-Asset Trading Platforms (OTC/RFQ) (FSAFAEAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Commodity Market Data, Pricing & Benchmark Administrators (Commodity Indices/Assessments) (FSAFAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Joint Allocation Office is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Luxembourg
- HQ country
- Luxembourg
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Joint Allocation Office business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Auction Services for TSOs: JAO organizes long and short-term auctions of transmission capacity rights on behalf of Transmission System Operators. The company is a neutral, non-commercial market infrastructure organization providing services under service level agreements with TSOs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Joint Allocation Office product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Joint Allocation Office (JAO) operates the eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool), a single trading platform that auctions cross-border transmission capacity rights on behalf of European Transmission System Operators. JAO organises long and short-term auctions (yearly, seasonal, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and intraday), provides clearing and settlement, contracting, reporting, project support, and IT services across 41 bidding zones and 23 countries.
Product overview
Joint Allocation Office (JAO) operates a unified platform architecture centered on the eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool) for cross-border transmission capacity trading across the European electricity market. The core offering consists of the eCAT auction platform supporting yearly, seasonal, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and intraday products, supplemented by Shadow Auctions as SDAC backup mechanisms. JAO provides integrated clearing and settlement services, the Publication Tool for market data dissemination, and Utility Tool for implicit allocations. The portfolio extends across multiple interconnector-specific auction services (Nemo Link, IFA/IFA2, Viking Link, ALEGrO, Eleclink), regional capacity calculation projects (Core Flow-Based, CWE Flow-Based, LTFBA), and Italy North CCR reporting. Additional modules include the Message Board for market communications and Service Desk for participant support. JAO became the Single Allocation Platform (SAP) for European TSOs in October 2018 and serves 26 TSOs across 23 countries, facilitating over 700 million MWh of capacity trades annually.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- e-CAT: Electronic Capacity Auction Tool - JAO's single trading platform for auctioning cross-border transmission capacity rights, providing clearing and settlement, contracting, reporting, and IT services.
Products and services
- eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool)
Quantifiable outcome
- 41 bidding zones covered by auction services
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Joint Allocation Office
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Joint Allocation Office technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Joint Allocation Office partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
27 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- 50Hertz Transmission GmbHcoreGerman Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder. JAO is a joint service company owned by 26 TSOs from 23 countries, established through merger of CAO GmbH and CASC.EU S.A. in 2015.
- Amprion GmbHcoreGerman Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Austrian Power Grid AGcoreAustrian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- CEPScoreCzech Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Creos LuxembourgcoreLuxembourg Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- EirGridcoreIrish Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Eles Ltd.coreSlovenian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Elia System Operator S.A.coreBelgian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- EMS Elektromreza Srbije ADcoreSerbian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Energinet.dkcoreDanish Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- ESO Elektroenergien Sistemen Operator EADcoreBulgarian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- HOPS Croatian Transmission System Operator Ltd.coreCroatian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO/Admie)coreGreek Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- MAVIR Hungarian Independent Transmission Operator CompanycoreHungarian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Moyle Interconnector LimitedcoreNorthern Ireland Interconnector operator and JAO shareholder
- National Power Grid Company TranselectricacoreRomanian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A.corePolish Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Réseau de Transport d'ÉlectricitécoreFrench Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, a.s. (SEPS)coreSlovak Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Statnett SFcoreNorwegian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Swissgrid AGcoreSwiss Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- TenneT TSO BVcoreDutch Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- TenneT TSO GmbHcoreGerman Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale Società per AzionicoreItalian Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- TransnetBW GmbHcoreGerman Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- Svenska kraftnätcoreSwedish Transmission System Operator and JAO shareholder
- ING BankcoreBanking partner for financial services related to auction participation. ING InsideBusiness platform provides read-only access to accounts for market participants. JAO shares bank account details with this partner.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Joint Allocation Office competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EPEX SPOT: European power exchange for day-ahead and intraday electricity markets, operating implicit capacity allocation alongside JAO's explicit auctions. Highly comparable as a European electricity market infrastructure provider serving the same TSOs and market participants.
- Nord Pool: Nordic and Baltic power exchange providing day-ahead and intraday markets with integrated capacity allocation. Comparable to JAO as a regional electricity market infrastructure operator serving multiple TSOs.
Broad incumbents
- European Energy Exchange (EEX): Part of Deutsche Börse Group, EEX operates European energy spot and derivatives markets across power, gas, and emissions. Comparable as a broad European energy exchange operator but with a much wider asset-class portfolio than JAO.
- ICE Endex: Intercontinental Exchange's European energy exchange for power and natural gas derivatives and spot. Comparable as an exchange-like platform for European energy trading infrastructure, though with a derivatives focus rather than transmission capacity.
Regional players
- SEMOpx: Operator of the Single Electricity Market for Ireland and Northern Ireland. Comparable as a regional electricity market infrastructure provider integrated with cross-border capacity allocation in its geography.
- OPCOM: Romanian electricity and gas market operator running spot and ancillary services. Comparable as a regional European electricity market operator, though JAO handles the cross-border allocation layer that sits above national operators like OPCOM.
- TGE (Towarowa Giełda Energii): Polish energy exchange operating electricity, gas, and CO2 markets with property rights and capacity products. Comparable as a Central European electricity market operator whose auctions sit alongside JAO's cross-border allocation services.
- Gestore Mercati Energetici (GME): Italian energy market operator for power, gas, and environmental markets. Comparable as a national European electricity market infrastructure provider that interacts with JAO for cross-border capacity between Italy and its neighbors.
Others
- Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs): Collective body of European power exchanges designated as NEMOs under the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) regulation. Adjacent to JAO as counterparties in the Single Day-Ahead and Intraday Coupling processes where JAO provides shadow-auction backup.
- EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders): Industry association representing energy traders and market participants in European wholesale markets. Adjacent to JAO as the trade body representing many of the 500+ market participants active on JAO's auction platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Joint Allocation Office social profiles
Digital presenceJoint Allocation Office compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Joint Allocation Office financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Joint Allocation Office leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Joint Allocation Office funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Joint Allocation Office M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Joint Allocation Office
What does Joint Allocation Office do?
Joint Allocation Office (JAO) operates the eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool), a single trading platform that auctions cross-border transmission capacity rights on behalf of European Transmission System Operators. JAO organises long and short-term auctions (yearly, seasonal, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and intraday), provides clearing and settlement, contracting, reporting, project support, and IT services across 41 bidding zones and 23 countries.
Is Joint Allocation Office a public or private company?
Joint Allocation Office is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Joint Allocation Office founded?
Joint Allocation Office was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Joint Allocation Office based?
Joint Allocation Office is headquartered in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, in the Europe region.
How does Joint Allocation Office make money?
One revenue line is on record: auction Services for TSOs.
Who are Joint Allocation Office's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EPEX SPOT and Nord Pool. Broad incumbents are European Energy Exchange (EEX) and ICE Endex. Regional players are SEMOpx, OPCOM, TGE (Towarowa Giełda Energii) and Gestore Mercati Energetici (GME). Others are Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) and EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders).
Does Joint Allocation Office have an API?
Yes. JAO provides SOAP-based web services for eCAT (electronic Capacity Auction Tool) operations. The APIs support: (1) put operation for document submission, (2) list operation for retrieving message lists with filtering criteria, (3) get operation for downloading documents by ID, (4) listOpenauctions for viewing currently open auctions, and (5) getOfferedCapacityForAuction for retrieving offered capacity by auction ID. Authentication requires HTTPS protocol, client certificate authentication, and username/password credentials. SOAP version 1.1 is used for put, list, and get operations; SOAP version 1.2 for listOpenauctions and getOfferedCapacityForAuction. Supported document types include allocation results (AR), approved transfers (A_TR), capacity usage authorizations (D_CUA, I_CUA, LT_CUA), bid submissions (BID), and return/transfer requests. The API also supports Market Data web services and Utility tool web services. WSDL endpoints available at https://ecat.jao.eu/ecat/soap/messageStoreService?wsdl and https://ecat.jao.eu/ca/services/TraderService?wsdl. Developer documentation is at www.jao.eu/page-api.
What industry is Joint Allocation Office in?
Joint Allocation Office's product category is Electricity Transmission Capacity Auctions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAFAEAB, Institutional Multi-Asset Trading Platforms (OTC/RFQ), with a secondary code of FSAFAMAJ, Commodity Market Data, Pricing & Benchmark Administrators (Commodity Indices/Assessments). Its NAICS code is 52321 and its SIC code is 6221.