Third Party providing access to the Polish Balancing Market for prequalified Flexibility Service Providers

Cluster/ Demo area
Eastern Cluster/ Polish demonstration area

Type of service:

This scenario is for Third Parties, which:

  1. have an agreement with TSO, have the status of an active Balancing Market Participant and have an appropriate Scheduling Unit in which resources located in the distribution network can be mapped, offering balancing services for TSO (balancing capacity and / or balancing energy) via the Flexibility Platform,

and:

  1. have an agreement with TSO, have the status of an active Balancing Market Participant and have an appropriate Balancing Unit in which resources located in the distribution network can be mapped, offering balancing services for TSO (balancing capacity and / or balancing energy) via the Flexibility Platform.

Explanation:

In order to effectively conduct a demonstration in the Polish East Cluster demonstrator, in the scope of providing balancing services to TSO on the Balancing Market in Poland by resources located in the distribution network (in the DSO’s grid), it is necessary to represent these resources on the Balancing Market by an active Balancing Market Participant. These resources may be represented within the existing or newly created Scheduling Unit. The Balancing Market Participant will submit offers for balancing capacity and / or balancing energy to the Balancing Market, as well as submit work schedules for these resources and provide settlements with TSO and Flexibility Service Providers. Additionally, for such a Scheduling Unit it is necessary to ensure balancing by an active Balancing Market Participant within the Balancing Unit corresponding to the Scheduling Unit.

Representation of flexibility resources connected to the DSO network on the Balancing Market by a Balancing Market Participant requires an active contract with TSO and compliance with a number of formal requirements including, for example, set up a financial guarantee for the proper performance of the contract in the field of settlements (currently in the amount not lower than PLN 500,000.00), and undergo an appropriate qualification test process as well as incurring expenses for the creation or appropriate adjustment of the appropriate Scheduling Unit and the Balancing Unit, and incurring the costs of its maintenance.

Such a Balancing Market Participant – the Balancing Service Provider takes full responsibility for submitting offers for balancing services (capacity and/or energy) and reporting work schedules made for such resources under a given Scheduling Unit to TSO, in particular is obliged to make appropriate settlements with TSO, including penalties for non-performance or improper performance of the contract for a given scheduling unit. The Balancing Market Participant is also responsible for any possible imbalance of such a Scheduling Unit, therefore it should ensure its balancing within the corresponding Balancing Unit.

Concluding, a contract with TSO and obtaining the status of a Balancing Market Participant by every FSP located in the DSO network, which intends to provide balancing services to TSO is too expensive and time-consuming and would lead to an unjustified increase in the number of Market Participants.

“Terms and Conditions related to Balancing” in Poland and unbundling rules make it impossible for DSO to play such a role of intermediation, and even more so by TSO, it is therefore necessary for the demonstration to acquire a Third Party, which is currently a Balancing Market Participant.

It is reasonable to select an entity, preferably one that already has the status of a Balancing Market Participant, who would be responsible for submitting balancing service offers (in terms of balancing power and energy) for appropriate remuneration under the existing or newly created Scheduling Unit on the Balancing Market, submitting work schedules for resources located in the DSO network and ensuring the balancing of such a Scheduling Unit within the corresponding Balancing Unit.

Since participation in the Balancing Market in Poland is associated with the need to use dedicated IT systems specified by TSO, a large part of the Balancing Market Participants use the services of Scheduling Agent who maintain appropriate systems for communication with TSO and on behalf of the Balancing Market Participants send notifications and schedules on the Balancing Market. Therefore, if a Balancing Market Participant who undertakes to submit to the Balancing Market offers of flexibility  service providers (FSPs) located in the distribution network or for balancing a Scheduling Unit, in which the above-mentioned suppliers, will not have the appropriate ICT infrastructure, such Balancing Market Participant will have to have an appropriate contract with the Scheduling Agent, and any possible costs of using the services of the Scheduling Agent will be covered in the remuneration.

Therefore, in order to enable the actual submission of offers for balancing services (balancing capacity and/or balancing energy) to the Balancing Market in Poland, it is necessary to obtain the following types of services through the resources located in the distribution network:

  1. services for the submission of offers for balancing services and balancing energy and submission of work schedules for resources located in the DSO network within a given Scheduling Unit, as well as conducting settlements on this account by an active Balancing Market Participant (Balancing Service Provider) with an active contract for the provision of services transfer from TSO and
  2. balancing services of the Scheduling Unit referred to in point 1) above by an active Balancing Market Participant (Balancing Responsibility Party) with an active contract with TSO.

The purchase of the services described in point above is required to demonstrate the possibility of providing balancing services to TSO by prequalified FSP located in the DSO network, described in BUC Balancing (EACL-PL-02).

Explanation:

The above results from the specificity of the Balancing Market in Poland, in particular from the need to meet a number of formal and technical requirements by the entities submitting offers for balancing services used by TSO under the rules described in the Terms and Conditions related to Balancing.

The above rules require intermediation in the transfer of the original Flexibility Service Providers’ offers for balancing services to the Balancing Market. There are two possible solutions:

  1. each FSP prequalified for balancing services selects its Balancing Market Participant, which has a concluded and active relevant agreement (contract) with TSO and is equipped with an appropriate IT system for communication with the TSO or uses the services of an appropriate Scheduling Agent,
  2. for all FSPs prequalified for balancing services and submitting offers for balancing services through the Flexibility Platform, one Balancing Market Participant is selected, which has a concluded and active relevant agreement (contract) with TSO and is equipped an appropriate IT system for communication with the TSO or uses the services of appropriate Scheduling Agent.

Technical details:

The FSPs prequalified for balancing services will submit their bids on the Flexibility Platform.

After the verification and optimization of the offers, the Flexibility Platform will forward the offers to the Balancing Market Participant (or Participants) in the form of a flat file in a predefined format (e.g. csv). The Balancing Market Participant will provide (independently or through a cooperating Scheduling Agent) data for a dedicated Scheduling Unit / Balancing Unit using dedicated TSO systems.

Data will be exchanged also between the FSPs prequalified for balancing services and the Balancing Market Participant outside the Flexibility Platform (on the set-points and appropriate instructions in the event of using the balancing services by TSO).

Addressed to:

The scenario is for parties being Balancing Market Participants active on the Balancing Market in Poland, who are able to handle additional balancing services offers from prequalified FSPs (submitted via the flexibility platform), including taking financial responsibility for settlements in this respect.

Therefore, these entities should have appropriate competences, experience and financial strength to be able to handle additional balancing services offers from prequalified FSPs located in the DSO network.

Explanation:

The answer to the Call for the provision of services described above may theoretically be submitted by any entity that is able to obtain the status of an active Balancing Market Participant by the date of the beginning of the demonstration period, create an appropriate Scheduling Unit and Balancing Unit and set up IT systems allowing for the submission of offers and work schedules on Balancing Market or conclude a service contract with the relevant Scheduling Agent.

However, due to the quite demanding process of obtaining the status of a Balancing Market Participant, including in particular: the need to have an appropriate license issued by the NRA, the need to conclude a contract with TSO for the provision of balancing services, including the need to establish a financial guarantee for the proper performance of the contract , the necessity to incur the costs of establishing the appropriate Scheduling and Balancing Units, and the need to set up IT systems necessary for their proper operation, it is advisable that potential contractors who respond to this scenario are already active Balancing Market Participants.

Description of the scenario

Initiative:

The potential service provider (Balancing Market Participant) will undertake to submit, on his behalf and under his own responsibility for balancing offers and work schedules for individual prequalified FSPs represented in a proper Scheduling unit and to make settlements on this account with TSO and individual FSPs as well as for balancing any possible imbalances on such Unit in the corresponding Balancing Unit.

Workflow:

  • FSPs being prequalified balancing service providers whose resources are located in the DSO network will be able to submit their offers to the Flexibility Platform,
  • on the Flexibility Platform, the offers of balancing services will be verified in terms of their technical feasibility and optimized,
  • bids that are not rejected will be forwarded to the selected Balancing Market Participant which, as a part of the Scheduling Unit served, will submit them to the Balancing Market, taking full responsibility for them towards TSO,
  • if Balancing Market Participant does not have appropriate IT systems, the offers will be forwarded to Scheduling Agent (chosen and paid by Balancing Market Participant), which will submit them to the Balancing Market on its behalf,
  • the selection of offers will be made on the Balancing Market according to the rules described in the Terms and Conditions related to Balancing ,
  • if the offer of a given FSP, submitted via the Balancing Market Participant, is selected on the Balancing Market, there will be settlements between TSO and a given Balancing Market Participant according to the rules specified in the Terms and Conditions related to Balancing,
  • the settlements between TSO and Balancing Market Participant will imply settlements between Balancing Market Participant and a given FSP, whose offer made via the Flexibility Platform and Balancing Market Participant was selected on Balancing Market.

Expected outcome:

Offers for balancing services, submitted by prequalified FSPs participating in the Polish Demo / East cluster through the Flexibility Platform, after their verification and optimization on the Flexibility Platform, will be effectively transferred by the Balancing Market Participant (directly or through the cooperating Scheduling Agent) to the Balancing Market, where they can be selected for implementation on the terms specified in the Terms and Conditions related to Balancing.

Any imbalance on the Scheduling Unit, in which flexibility resources will be reflected, will be balanced within the corresponding Balancing Unit operated by the same or by a cooperating Balancing Market Participant.

Important information for applicants

Potential contractors should in particular:

  1. hold a relevant license issued by the PL NRA,
  2. have a contract concluded with PL TSO and have the status of an active Polish Balancing Market Participant,
  3. have appropriate technical resources,
  4. have financial resources to handle notifications,
  5. be aware of the risk of additional settlements with TSO for non-performance of services by FSP and/or any imbalance on the Scheduling Unit,
  6. register on Flexibility Platform (after being selected) and should proceed according to BUCs EACL-PL-02 and EACL-PL-04.
  7. represent all prequalified FSP submitting offers for balancing services via the Flexibility Platform
  8. offer the services for at least 6 months within the Polish demonstration period.

Third Parties benefit from getting involved in the scenario

Third Parties (Balancing Market Participants) will be entitled to remuneration for the provision their services.

The remuneration due to Balancing Market Participant should cover all costs related to the submission of offers to the Balancing Market (including costs, if any, Scheduling Agent, covering imbalance, etc.).

The Balancing Market Participant will have an opportunity to test new solutions and explore the potential of a new customer segment for which it may become a frontier on the Balancing Market.

Incorporation of Third Parties for network operators and household consumers

The involvement of a third party Balancing Market Participant in the OneNet project may create an opportunity to test a new segment of activity for this type of entities.

Ultimately, a Balancing Market Participants may attract a significant number of new users, such as service providers, aggregators including SMEs and Start-ups, etc., which is in line with the call expectations. For this purpose, a cascading funding mechanism is used, which reduces the barriers to participate in EU projects.

Testing such solutions may attract other Balancing Market Participants to searching for FSPs and / or their aggregators and including them in the operated Scheduling Unit for offering balancing services (balancing capacity and balancing energy). That may cause expansion the Balancing Market area.

Added value on OneNet project

Without the participation of Balancing Market Participant it will not be possible to extend a demonstration under the East Cluster regarding the provision of balancing services by prequalified FSP to Balancing Market (under the Terms and Conditions related to Balancing).