Amendments in relation to the introduction of the 15-minute imbalance settlement period submitted for approval

Fingrid has submitted its proposed amendments to the terms and conditions for balance responsible parties (BRPs) and balancing service providers (BSPs) in relation to the introduction of the 15-minute imbalance settlement period to the Energy Authority for approval. At the same time, other amendments that are unrelated to the introduction of the 15-minute imbalance settlement period have been proposed for approval. The planned entry into force of the amended terms and conditions is 22 May 2023.

Fingrid has drafted proposed amendments to the terms and conditions for balance responsible parties and balancing service providers. The proposed amendments enable the transition to a 15-minute imbalance settlement period in May 2023 in line with the European Guideline on Electricity Balancing* and an exemption granted by the Energy Authority. A public consultation on the proposed amendments was held in April 2022. The opinions given during the consultation were taken into consideration when the amendments were finalised and submitted to the Energy Authority for approval.

Key amendments to the terms and conditions for balance responsible parties

When the 15-minute imbalance settlement period is implemented, production plans will be reported for each 15-minute imbalance settlement period 45 minutes before the turn of the hour. The production plans can be updated 25 minutes before the start of each imbalance settlement period if the balance responsible party has made trades on the intraday market after the 45-minute deadline.

The proposals call for an extension to the reporting time for fixed deliveries to the energy that balance responsible parties must report on fixed deliveries to the imbalance settlement unit by the start of the imbalance settlement period, whereas the current requirement is to report 20 minutes before the imbalance settlement period. According to the proposal, the volume fee for imbalances will continue to apply to the net imbalance per hour instead of the imbalance in each specific 15-minute imbalance settlement period. The pricing of imbalances will continue to be based on the hourly price of balancing power.

Key amendments to the terms and conditions for balancing service providers

The proposals call for the balancing energy caused by the activation of reserves to be calculated in 15-minute periods following the transition to a 15-minute imbalance settlement period. However, the trading period in the reserve market will continue to be one hour. At the same, other amendments to the terms and conditions for balancing service providers are proposed in relation to matters such as the automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) permitted by independent aggregators, the harmonisation of sanctions in reserve products, and a new division of transmission areas in the balancing energy market. Also, amendments concerning implementation of Nordic market for automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) were made.

Drafts of the new terms and conditions submitted to the Energy Authority (in Finnish):

Opinions given during the public consultation and Fingrid’s responses (in Finnish):

Further information:

BRP terms and conditions for imbalance settlement: Jani Piipponen, Fingrid

BRP terms and conditions for balancing: Anders Lundberg, Fingrid

BSP terms and conditions: Laura Ihamäki, Fingrid

The e-mail addresses: forename.surname@fingrid.fi

Previous bulletin on the topic: Consultation on the terms and conditions for balance responsible parties and balancing service providers with respect to the change to a 15-minute imbalance settlement period

*) The Guideline on Electricity Balancing became EU legislation on 18 December 2017.