Balancing group

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A balancing group is a virtual energy quantity account for electricity and gas . The balancing group creates the connection between the virtual world of electricity and gas trading and the physical world of energy supply and grid stability. With the help of the balancing groups it is ensured that only exactly the energy can be sold or delivered that was produced or promoted and that each energy supplier has procured its exact quantities on the energy markets or through its own generation or promotion.

functionality

The balancing group account is managed for the balancing group manager (BKV) for the electricity market at the transmission system operator (TSO) and for the gas market at the market area manager (MGV). A standardized balancing group contract between these parties is required. A BRP is, for example, an energy supply company that supplies end customers, a power plant operator that markets the amounts of energy generated, or a gas importer. Suppliers and feeders are obliged under the framework supplier agreement with the distribution network operator to assign the consumers they supply and their feed-in points (e.g. their own power plants) to a balancing group. Each balancing group manager, in turn, is obliged to the TSO or MAM to keep his balancing group balanced. So that the balancing group is balanced for the following day, the following must apply on the basis of the forecasts for every quarter of an hour for electricity or for the gas day (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. of the following day):

Total feed-ins + total purchases = total sales + total feed-outs

In order to prove to the TSO that its own balancing group is balanced, the BRP must prepare a daily load forecast for all feed-in and withdrawal points assigned to its balancing group. On the basis of the forecast, he is obliged to report all withdrawals, feed-ins and deliveries from and to his balancing group to the transmission system operator / market area manager daily for the following day on a quarter-hourly basis (electricity) or on an hourly or daily basis (gas) in a data exchange process prescribed by regulations . For energy consumers and energy feeders assigned to the balancing group without registering performance measurement, reports and balancing of the balancing group are made on the basis of standard load profiles . Energy trading transactions represent deliveries from balancing group to balancing group. The transmission system operator / market area manager checks whether energy trading transactions are reported equally (mirrored) by both parties. In addition, the TSO checks whether all balancing groups are balanced on the basis of forecast data.

The balancing group continues to be the basis for the offsetting of balancing energy for the forecast deviation assigned to the balancing group.

A balancing group must be requested for each of the four control areas in the electricity market and for each market area in the gas market .

Under balancing group management refers to all the tasks associated with managing and managing such a balancing group.

Balancing group management

According to the relevant guidelines of the BDEW , the term balancing group management usually includes the following areas of responsibility:

  • The transmission of the load forecast from consumers, the operational schedule of power plants, feed-in from storage facilities, etc., as well as the quantity data from energy trading transactions in the form of so-called schedules to the transmission system operator. This activity usually takes place daily for the following day.
  • the determination of the actual consumption, divided into different consumer groups by the distribution network operator
  • the settlement of the expended to balance between actual consumption and feed- balancing by the TSO to the BKV.
  • The conclusion and management of contracts between the BRP, transmission system operators and distribution network operators.

The balancing group management service for a supplier by another company generally includes:

  • The transfer of the supplier's metering points to the balancing group (e.g. sub-balance account (gas)) of the service company
  • Carrying out the forecast for these metering points
  • Taking over the reporting processes to the TSO or MGV (schedule notification or nomination)
  • Checking the balancing group deviation and the balancing group billing

Legal and regulatory bases

In the German electricity market, rules that all market participants must follow are laid down in the market rules for carrying out balancing group accounting for electricity (MaBiS). The main requirements for balancing group management for gas are set out in the current version of the gas cooperation agreement with its numerous systems.

The organization of the electricity and gas markets is similar across Europe, and efforts are constantly being made to harmonize the market rules. The European guideline for the organization of balancing group management is the ENTSO's Network Code on Electricity Balancing (EB ) . The European network of transmission system operators (electricity) is the association of European transmission system operators.

Differences between electricity and gas accounting

Essentially, the roles of transmission system operator (TSO), distribution system operator (VNB) and balancing group manager (BKV) in the electricity industry correspond to the roles of market area manager (MGV), entry and exit network operator (ANB and ENB) and balancing group manager (BKV) in the gas industry.

The distribution network operators or the exit network operators are responsible for measuring consumption data, unless they have delegated this task to other parties. The actual values ​​to be used for balancing are called allocation in the gas industry. In the electricity industry, the actual values ​​for metering points without registering power measurement are specified for balancing by standard load profiles. In principle, this is also the case in the gas industry, but here the standard load profiles are temperature-dependent and the weather station to be used is part of the master data. Furthermore, the allocation value for standard gas load profiles for the following day is determined on the basis of the applicable temperature forecast by the ANB and reported to the balancing group manager.

Balancing group deviations are offset as balancing energy in both the electricity balance and the gas balance. In the electricity balancing market, symmetrical balancing energy prices apply. This means that a balancing group that was covered in a given quarter of an hour is paid exactly the same price (if it is positive) that another balancing group that was undercovered in the same quarter of an hour is charged. Balancing energy prices for gas are asymmetrical. However, balancing energy only arises here for deviations in the gas day granularity. In addition, an intraday incentive system using so-called flexibility costs applies to gas balancing . For measured exit points (RLM), a tolerance of 7.5% of the exit quantity for the gas day is granted. The collection of flexibility costs is linked to the condition that positive and negative control energy has been used for the corresponding gas day. This means that the market participant is rarely billed for flexibility costs.

In practice, gas balancing is significantly more complicated than electricity balancing. The reasons for this include:

  • strong temperature dependence of gas consumption, associated with temperature-dependent standard load profiles
  • The energy content of the gas consumed cannot be measured directly, the conversion of volume into MWh leads to a difference between the ex-ante specified calorific value and the calorific value calculated ex-post (see status figure )
  • Different gas qualities (H-gas and L-gas) with different calorific values ​​are converted in the balance sheet, with costs arising from the quality deviation being offset against conversion fees
  • Various levies are also billed to the balancing group manager for RLM exit, SLP exit and entry (RLM balancing levy, SLP balancing levy, conversion levy)

The balance of balancing energy across all balancing groups has an impact on the balancing energy requirement . The control energy requirement is covered by internal control energy (e.g. network buffer) and, if necessary, external control energy (purchases and sales of electricity and gas by the TSO / MGV). In the electricity industry in particular, the TSO's control needs can be greater than is evident from the balance of balancing energy, as network bottlenecks can mean that positive control energy is required in one part of the network and negative control energy in another.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. § 2 StromNZV
  2. § 2 GasNZV
  3. a b BDEW / VKU / GEODE - Guideline Market Processes Balancing Group Management Gas. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 3, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bdew.de  
  4. Market processes for balancing group accounting for electricity. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 23, 2016 ; accessed on August 23, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesnetzagentur.de
  5. § 4 StromNZV
  6. § 8 StromNZV
  7. Cooperation Agreement Gas , at www.bdew.de, accessed on December 28, 2018
  8. Electricity Balancing on www.entsoe.eu, accessed on 28 December 2018