Procurement of frequency containment reserves from yearly market 2026
Fingrid has made a procurement decision on the yearly market reserve quantities of frequency containment reserves for the year 2026. Decision is based on the public tender held in September. The growing needs of electricity system reserves and the changed market situation have been reflected in the volumes and prices of the reserve market.
The selected yearly market volumes and prices will decrease in all FCR reserves. In relative terms, the change will be greatest in frequency containment reserve for normal operation (FCR-N), where Fingrid decided not to procure FCR-N reserves from the yearly market, i.e. next year FCR-N will be procured from the hourly FCR-N market and from abroad.
The procurement has been carried out by minimizing total costs, but in such a way that the total procurement covers the reserve obligations of Fingrid. The lower FCR yearly market volume in 2026 combined with the increasing total FCR procurement in 2026 means higher procurement volumes from the FCR hourly market. In addition, Fingrid has been able to increase FCR cross-border trade, which also means increased business opportunities for Finnish Reserve providers. Fingrid asks all parties to review their possibilities to offer reserves during all hours with all their available capacity.
As a result of this year's tender, Fingrid will have at most the following amounts of yearly market capacity available for 2026:
- No (0 MW) frequency containment reserve for normal operation (FCR-N)
- 237,0 MW of the up-regulation product of the frequency containment reserve for disturbances (FCR-D up).
- 163,0 MW of the down-regulation product of the frequency containment reserve for disturbances (FCR-D down).
The yearly market prices for 2026 are:
- Frequency containment reserve for normal operation (FCR-N): no procurement
- Up-regulation product of the frequency containment reserve for disturbances (FCR-D up): 3,50 €/MW,h
- Down-regulation product of the frequency containment reserve for disturbances: 6,00 €/MW,h.
The yearly market capacity compensation to be paid to reserve suppliers is determined on the basis of a tender according to the most expensive accepted offer (marginal price) separately for each reserve product.
Reserve suppliers who were not selected in the FCR yearly market competition can sell their reserve capacity on the hourly market. Participation in the hourly market is possible at any time of the year. The market information for frequency containement reserves can be found here: link and the contractual terms of reserve suppliers here: link.
More information:
Taneli Leiskamo, Fingrid Oyj, tel. +358 30 395 5240.
Email addresses are in the format firstname.surname@fingrid.fi.