Intraday market trading for congestion management during faults – continuation as a permanent practice
Fingrid makes it a permanent practice to trade on the intraday market to perform the congestion management measures required by cross-border interconnector faults. The increases in the volume of electricity transmission, transmission peaks and needed congestion management measures challenge the operation of the grid and the electricity markets. Congestion management must be carried out in a secure manner and with the most equitable, transparent, and cost-effective operating models possible. The operational model was trialed for two years. It does not impact the principles for capacity allocation to electricity markets and does not require system changes from the customers of Fingrid or the power exchanges.
Permanent usage of the operational model began on the 27th of November 2023. We also published a market message of the permanent establishing in the NUCS system.
Fingrid reserves the right to suspend the operational model in the unlikely event that the practice adversely affects operational safety.
Results of the trial period
The operational model was trialed for two years and was applied for the congestion management of one disturbance case. Analysis of the use case show that the procurement of energy from the intraday market enhanced the operational security, was fluent to execute by the grid control room operators, and the expenses were reduced by ca. 490 000 €* compared to procurements from the balancing market. Thus, the results are in favor of establishing the operational model as a permanent practice. Learnings of the trial have been shared among the Nordic and Baltic transmission system operators.
Description of the operational model
In the event of a disruption in the electricity network, Fingrid complete countertrades to maintain security of supply and to guarantee cross-border market transfers that have already been nominated**). Previously, commercial countertrades have been procured from the balancing electricity market as special regulations and between Fingrid and market participants as fixed trades.
In the model, that was trialed for two years, Fingrid can perform cross-border transmission management with intraday market trading for the coming operational hours and guarantee cross-border market transfers that have already taken place. In the model, the loss of an importing cross-border connection is corrected for future hours by the transmission system operator's purchases from the intraday market and the regional surplus resulting from the loss of the exporting connection is corrected with intraday market sales.
As is the case today also in the future the amount of adjustment to be traded is the difference between the amount of guaranteed market transfers before the disruption of the cross-border transmission link and the amount of transmission capacity updated after the disruption. In this way, the physical amount of electricity transmission is adjusted to match the updated transmission capacity.
Intraday market countertrades may be carried out for the management of interconnector disruptions, once the intraday market is open and no later than one hour before the delivery period. In the model, Fingrid solves the congestion management needs during delivery with the existing operating models, i.e., special regulation from the balancing electricity market and competitive bilateral trades.
Fingrid does not commit to procure the entire amount from the intraday market, and may procure the necessary remedial actions also from the balancing electricity market or through competitive bilateral trades. The practice does not impact the principles of capacity allocation to electricity markets and does not require system changes from Fingrid's or power exchange's customers as procurement for congestion management in the model happens the same way as other intraday market trading.
Additional information:
Maarit Uusitalo, Fingrid Oyj, tel. +358 40 511 7568
*)490 000 € cost savings are based on retroactive analyses of replacing the executed intraday market trades with special regulations from the balancing market on top of the realized special regulation procurement. The cost saving potential cannot be generalized for future cross-border disturbances due to numerous background factors that vary depending on the general circumstances.
Terminology
**) Countertrades and congestion management
Countertrades are special commercial adjustments made to the transmission management of the electricity system. Special regulations resolve network bottlenecks that can limit the transmission of electricity within the Finnish grid or between it and the grids of neighboring countries. Countertrades change the regional distribution of electricity production or consumption on both sides of the network component that is limiting electricity transmission. Fingrid guarantees the cross-border market transfers it has already confirmed.
Commercial countertrades used to manage interruptions of cross-border transmission connections have been ordered from the balancing electricity market maintained by the transmission system operators in the form of special regulations or competitive bilateral transactions between Fingrid and market participants. The costs of countertrades are covered by grid tariffs and congestion income. The permanently established model refers to the application of intraday market trading to cross-border transfer management in addition to the countertrading models described above.
Previous news on the topic:
Consultation >
Start of the trial >