Italy is scheduled to join MARI, the European platform for manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR), on 25 November 2026. Terna will use the platform alongside its national balancing market, Mercato di Bilanciamento (MB).

MARI changes how batteries compete for balancing activations. Accepted offers receive the clearing price rather than their own bid. Batteries can therefore bid lower to increase their chances of activation without necessarily reducing their payment.

The revenue impact depends on clearing prices, activation volumes and how much activity Terna retains in its national market.

MARI is a shared European merit order for manual reserve

Each transmission system operator (TSO) sends MARI its balancing need and the eligible offers of its balancing service providers (BSPs). For scheduled activations, the platform selects the cheapest offers that cover all needs in one auction per quarter-hour. Accepted offers are paid the clearing price.

Italy's national balancing market, MB, pays accepted offers their own bid. Terna will retain MB for local grid constraints and activations outside MARI. At launch, Italy will participate only in MARI's scheduled auctions.

Cross-border capacity limits which offers MARI can use. The platform uses capacity remaining after day-ahead and intraday trading. When that capacity is exhausted, prices can diverge between connected areas.

Germany and Czechia launched MARI in October 2022. Other TSOs have joined since, including Belgium in May 2025, the Netherlands in December 2025, France in April 2026, Slovenia in July 2026 and Hungary in October 2026.

Terna stays an active dispatcher and decides what reaches the platform

In Italy, Terna dispatches centrally and sends individual instructions to each unit. Balancing service providers keep offering on GME's platform, as today.