The TTF (Title Transfer Facility) is the virtual gas trading point in the Netherlands and the price reference for Europe. An Italian business meets it in two ways: directly, if the contract is indexed to the TTF, and indirectly, because the Italian PSV follows its trend and because fixed-price offers are built on forward quotations.
What it is and who runs it
Gasunie Transport Services (GTS), the Dutch transmission system operator, describes the TTF as a virtual transfer point within its national network: whoever has already brought gas into the system can transfer it to another party. GTS registers the transfers of ownership through "nominations", electronic messages stating the volumes transferred. The TTF was set up in 2003.
Why it drives European prices
The reason is liquidity. GTS states that the volume traded at the TTF is the largest in Europe and exceeds by more than eighty times the gas consumed in the Netherlands. ARERA, in its Annual Report published in July 2026, notes that in 2025 the TTF captured over 80% of the volumes traded overall at European hubs. This is why, as GTS writes, gas prices in the Dutch market area have become important reference prices in Europe.
The price formed at the TTF reflects the balance of supply and demand across the continent: pipeline flows, arrivals of LNG, storage levels, weather. For the first quarter of 2026, ARERA links the sharp rise in prices to the tensions in the Persian Gulf area and along the Strait of Hormuz, with storage levels seasonally low.
Where and how it is quoted
The reference contracts are the "Dutch TTF Natural Gas" futures traded on ICE Endex. The price is expressed in euros per MWh, the unit of trading is 1 MW and delivery is physical, through the transfer of rights to gas at the TTF. Up to 156 consecutive monthly contracts can be traded, as well as quarters, seasons and calendar years.
There are therefore two families of prices: spot prices (day-ahead, for delivery the next day) and forward prices (month ahead, quarters, years). The former say what gas costs today; the latter at what price the market trades today the gas of future months and years.
TTF and PSV: relationship and differential
The Italian PSV follows the TTF with a differential. In 2025, according to ARERA, the PSV moved substantially in line with the TTF with slightly higher average values: the annual average PSV-TTF spread was about 2.8 EUR/MWh. ARERA attributes it to structural factors of the Italian market: dependence on imports from Northern Europe through Passo Gries, transport costs and lower liquidity than the TTF. The differential is not constant: it is a historical figure, not a rule.
In Italy, TTF-indexed contracts are a minority: in 2025 they concerned 6.7% of non-household customers on a variable price, against 75.4% indexed to the PSV (ARERA data).
For a business: what to look at
- In the contract: which TTF is referred to (day-ahead or month ahead), with which average and for which month, published by which source, and with which calorific value EUR/MWh is converted into EUR/Smc.
- A spread over the TTF is not comparable with a spread over the PSV: in the first case the supplier must also cover the differential between the two hubs. At 2025 average values that differential was worth about 3 cents per Smc (2.8 EUR/MWh converted with the ARERA reference calorific value of 0.038520 GJ/Smc).
- In fixed-price offers: the price proposed derives from the forward quotations of the day the offer is made. This is why validity is short and the same request, repeated a week later, can return a different number.
- On the invoice: the value of the index applied in the month should be compared with the one published by the source named in the contract. For points below 200,000 Smc a year the bill must show it (ARERA rules, resolution 315/2024/R/com); above that threshold it is worth providing for it in the contract.
- The decisions it affects: when to fix, for which volumes and for which period. Following forward quotations helps to build the budget and to decide on any fixing in tranches, within a price risk management policy.
- Typical mistakes: confusing spot and forward prices; fixing the whole volume at a single moment on the back of a news item; reading the TTF and forgetting that spread, transport, levies and taxes are added on the invoice.
Updated TTF and PSV quotations are on the Market indices page; comparing price formulas is part of our gas consulting for businesses.
To understand which indexation best suits your consumption, IPGS ENERGY is available: Request a conversation.
Sources
- Gasunie Transport Services — TTF (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ICE Endex — Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Relazione Annuale, Stato dei servizi 2025, volume 1 (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — Valore CMEMm - Servizio di tutela della vulnerabilità (accessed 10 October 2026)
- ARERA — La bolletta dei clienti finali di energia (Allegato A alla deliberazione 315/2024/R/com) (accessed 10 October 2026)
Informational content by IPGS ENERGY. Information is reviewed as of the stated update date and does not replace a contractual, tax or regulatory assessment specific to an individual business.
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