What is Ex-Post Conversion?
Overview
A conversion lets a shipper use unbundled capacity it bought earlier as new bundled capacity. It saves paying twice: where a shipper holds one side of a network point and needs the other, but the Transmission System Operator (TSO) sells that capacity as a bundle only, the shipper buys the bundle and converts the side it already holds.
An ex-post conversion is one requested after the bundled auction has closed and the capacity has been allocated, rather than during bidding. It is available at the network points of TSOs using the Capacity Management module.
Ex-post conversion is not a Capacity Upgrade. An upgrade changes the quality of capacity, for example from interruptible to firm. A conversion changes unbundled capacity into bundled capacity and leaves the quality alone.
The Two Deadlines
| Clock | Who it binds | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Submission window | The shipper, to raise the request |
3 working days (Monday to Friday) after the auction closes |
| Decision window | The TSO, to approve or reject | 72 working hours from submission, shown as the request's expiry date |
For example, an auction closing on Thursday at 18:00 leaves the shipper until the following Tuesday at 18:00. A request that reaches its expiry without a decision is rejected automatically.
A request is binding and cannot be withdrawn, and a rejection does not reopen the submission window. Until the TSO approves, both bookings stay exactly as they were.
Requesting or Managing One
Both sides have to qualify: a long-term primary bundled booking with a firm capacity category, meaning FZK or DZK, and an unbundled firm booking the shipper already holds at the same network point.
Shippers raise requests from My Transactions. For further information, please consult: How Do I Create an Ex-Post Conversion Request?
TSOs approve or reject them from Shipper Transactions, covered in the TSO Hub article How to Create and Manage an Ex-Post Capacity Conversion Request, which requires a TSO login.
Conversion requested during bidding is a separate feature that TSOs configure per auction type. For further information, please consult: Enable Conversion of Unbundled to Bundled Contracts