New aggregators help stabilise the Czech power system

Czech transmission system operator ČEPS has, according to its press release, signed contracts for the provision of balancing services (SVR) with two new integrated aggregators. The entry of the new entities was made possible by an amendment to the transmission system code, which came into effect at the beginning of this year.

Last year, ČEPS amended Part II of the transmission system code. The most significant changes included the introduction of the concept of an integrated aggregator, i.e. an entity using flexibility from a larger number of generators and/or consumers; further use of battery energy storage technology (stand-alone mode); and the reduction of code minimums for providing SVR from 3 and 10 MW to 1 MW, as well as the submission of uncontracted bids. We wrote more here.

The new integrated aggregators are innogy Energo and Nano Energies. The former has already obtained certification to provide the 15-minute reserve service (MZ15), while the latter is at a very advanced stage of meeting the requirements for certification measurements. As an existing participant in the SVR market, E.ON has expanded the volume of services it offers.

The above-mentioned companies will offer generation-side aggregation, which they can now provide thanks to the reduction of the code minimum for providing SVR to 1 MW.

“I am very pleased that we can welcome new participants to the SVR market, and I believe that others will gradually join them, as will further services in their offering. This should put downward pressure on SVR prices, which could have a positive impact on consumers in the future,” comments Pavel Šolc, a member of ČEPS’s Board of Directors.

“We have been operating our CHP units in virtual power plant mode for several years. With the opening of the ancillary services market to smaller providers, using them as an aggregation block is the next logical step and an effective link between the gas and power sectors,” says Jiří Šimek, COO of innogy Energo.

CHP units can continuously adjust their output between 50% and 100% of their nominal capacity and can therefore, depending on their operating mode, offer both upward and downward regulation.

“Certification opens up entirely new opportunities for us. Through flexible control, we can increase customers’ revenues by up to tens of percent. Experience from Western markets also shows that flexibility aggregators are replacing fossil-fuel power plants and enabling the transition to a digital and sustainable energy sector,” says Nano Energies CEO Stanislav Chvála.