Atypical network use
The Atypical network user is a consumer-side discharge of the electrical energy demand at certain peak hours of powerful consumers, so a reduced network charges can claim.
It exists in accordance with Section 19 of the Electricity Network Charges Ordinance (StromNEV) if the maximum load contribution of an end consumer deviates significantly from the simultaneous annual maximum load of all withdrawals from this network or transformer level.
background
As part of the energy transition , there are fundamental changes within the energy market. The challenge here is to integrate renewable energies while maintaining the necessary network stability . Due to the costs of network expansion, solutions to optimize network utilization are increasingly becoming the focus of energy policy.
Legal framework
The Electricity Network Charges Ordinance, which came into force on July 29, 2005, regulates the method for determining the respective network usage charges in the liberalized energy market . Any special forms of network use are described in Section 19 of the StromNEV, which provides for an individual network fee for consumers who act to reduce the load on the network. The individual fee is to be offered by the network operator and has to take account of behavior that is particularly beneficial for the network in an appropriate manner. It must not be less than 20 percent of the published network charge. An agreement of individual network charges always requires approval by the responsible regulatory authority .
Use of the grid at special times
The main prerequisite for a consumer claim to individual network charges is the foreseeable significant deviation of the maximum load contribution from the respective annual maximum load within the network level . Atypical consumption behavior is therefore present if the times of maximum energy consumption (maximum load) of a network customer are outside the high-load time window published by the network operator (period of maximum network load). The actual annual peak load can only be determined ex post . With regard to the calculation of individual network charges, the high-load time windows play a central role.
High load window
High-load time windows must always be determined by the network operator. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) specifies a uniform calculation method for this. The high-load time windows must be determined separately for each network operator and each network and substation level. The level from which the end consumer draws electrical energy is always relevant. The database for determining the high-load time windows is the period September to December of the year before and the months of January to August of the calendar year preceding the approval period (reference period). With regard to the formation of a high-load time window, two curves must be determined according to the specifications of the BNetzA.
The first thing to do is to create a maximum value curve for the day for different seasons. Here, the periods of the seasons to be considered are as follows.
| season | Period |
|---|---|
| spring | March 1st to May 31st |
| summer | June 1st to August 31st |
| autumn | September 1st to November 30th |
| winter | December 1 to 28/29 February |
The maximum value curve results from the quarter-hour maximum values of the season in question. To do this, all daily maximum load values of a quarter-hour observation period are compared with one another. The resulting maximum value is included in the maximum value curve for the period under consideration. This has to be done for all 96 time windows of a day. For the final determination of the high load time window, an annual peak load reduced by 5% must be determined. This value is valid for the whole year regardless of the season and acts as a dividing line for the high-load time windows. The respective high-load time windows result from the intersection of the dividing line with the season-specific maximum value curves, which are to be published by the network operator by 31 October each year at the latest. The high-load time windows are only valid on working days . Weekends, public holidays and a maximum of one bridging day as well as the time between Christmas and New Year are considered to be off-peak times, since the simultaneous annual peak load is unlikely to occur on these days.
Materiality threshold
In order to be able to claim reduced charges as a result of atypical network use, the maximum load of the end consumer within the high-load time window must be at a sufficient distance from its absolute annual maximum load. This ensures that the consumer-side maximum load contribution deviates significantly from the forecast annual maximum load for other withdrawals. Thus, depending on the respective network level, corresponding minimum distances (relevance thresholds) must be observed. Another basic requirement is a minimum displacement potential of 100 kW. This so-called significance distance reflects the difference between the highest load of the end consumer in the high load time window and his absolute annual peak load.
Significance threshold of an end consumer
With an annual peak load of 700 kW and a peak load in the high load window of 500 kW, the relevance results as follows:
Likewise, an application for approval of individual network charges in accordance with Section 19 (2) sentence 1 StromNEV can only be approved if the forecast reduction in charges amounts to at least 500 euros (so-called minor limit). This prevents the transaction costs for processing the application from exceeding the cost reduction.
| Network / substation level | Materiality threshold |
|---|---|
| HöS | 5% |
| HöS / HS | 10% |
| HS | 10% |
| HS / MS | 20% |
| MS | 20% |
| MS / NS | 30% |
| NS | 30% |
Determination of the individual network charge
Atypical network users are to be granted an individual fee by the network operator, which is generally based on the published, general network usage fee. This can be found in the network operator's price sheets for the relevant period. The calculation of the individual remuneration is based on the same work or service price as that used to calculate the general remuneration. A reduction in the fee results from the fact that for the calculation of the performance fee, not the absolute annual maximum performance, but the lower performance value within the high-load time window is assessed. The reduced value is multiplied by the service price and then added to the unchanged wage. This can result in a maximum reduction in pay of 80 percent compared to the general pay.
Network users with less than 2,500 hours of use (quotient of annual consumption and annual maximum output) are given a choice. You can use the generally applicable service or labor price for more than 2,500 hours of use for the calculation. The network user must always make a decision about this before the validity of the agreement.
Calculation example
Calculation example with the following data assumptions:
- Annual peak load end consumer: 800 kW
- Maximum load of the end consumer in high load time windows: 500 kW
- Annual work end consumer: 3 GWh
- Performance price: 70 € / kW
- Labor price: 0.50 cents / kWh
| Network charge | Performance fee | Wages | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| general | 800 kW × 70 € / kW | 3,000,000 kWh × € 0.005 / kWh | € 71,000 |
| individually | 500 kW × 70 € / kW | 3,000,000 kWh × € 0.005 / kWh | € 50,000 |
Significance threshold results at network level low voltage (30%)
The materiality threshold has thus been exceeded.
Approval of individual network charges
Applications must be submitted to the competent regulatory authority no later than September 30 of the year for which approval is first applied for. Retroactive applications for previous calendar years are not permitted. In order to enable an assessment of the predictability of the respective deviations from the maximum load, the application may be submitted at the earliest in the calendar year before the approval period. A final analysis of user behavior is only possible after the corresponding period has ended. If it turns out that there is no “actual” atypical use of the network, a reduction in the network fee will not be implemented. Approvals are generally only granted for an unlimited period by the competent ruling chamber.
Due to the assumption of the loss of revenue by the upstream transmission system operator, the previous regulation that the fees of all other network users of affected and downstream levels may not increase insignificantly is no longer applicable.
Checklist of consumption data in accordance with Section 19 (2) sentence 1 StromNEV for the reasons for the application
- Maximum annual peak performance of the previous year
- Highest annual output of the previous year within the high-load time window
- Annual work used in the previous year
- Maximum annual peak output forecast for the first year of approval
- For the first approval year, the highest annual output forecast within the high-load time window
- Annual work forecast for the first year of approval
- Amount of the general labor and service prices published for the relevant withdrawal level
Call or shutdown regulations
As a result of the call or shutdown regulation, the end user can undertake to reduce his output during a certain period in the high-load time window. The network operator is granted the right to reduce the end user's consumption by remote control. This makes the high-load time windows more flexible in the peripheral areas without abandoning the principle of determining high-load time windows. It is also conceivable that the end user will be obliged to permanently reduce performance within the high-load time window. In exceptional cases, the network operator can grant authorization to temporarily refrain from such throttling.
However, it is not possible to make the necessary forecast decisions solely on the basis of existing contractual or technical conditions. As a result, the decision would no longer be made on the basis of uniform criteria that are binding for all end users by the Federal Network Agency, but on the basis of the network operators' own criteria.
Regulations that cannot be approved
An individual network tariff agreement cannot be approved if
- High-load time windows of downstream network and substation levels always include periods of upstream levels (top-down coverage),
- the withdrawal by night storage heating is not taken into account when determining high-load time windows,
- wages are also reduced,
- several, spatially unconnected delivery points of a final consumer can be combined into a virtual delivery point
- or it concerns seasonal operations (e.g. construction sites, folk festivals) that can claim a monthly service price.
Web links
- StromNEV guidelines. (PDF; 103 kB) Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
- StromNEV. Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
- Acteno energy press release. Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
- BDEW statement. (PDF; 88 kB) Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ StromNEV § 19 . Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e StromNEV guidelines ( Memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). StromNEV guidelines p. 7 ff. (PDF file; 103 kB). Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ↑ a b Acteno energy press release ( Memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved October 20, 2013.
- ↑ Energy glossary . Retrieved October 22, 2013.