Exchange Domains for Cross-border Activation of Balancing Bids - Preventing Internal Congestion in an Integrated European Balancing Activation Optimization

Abstract

In the near future Europe's power markets and electric power system operation will undergo significant changes. A pan-European central balancing platform is under a development that is going to optimize the activation and exchange of balancing energy on behalf of all participating countries. In order for such a platform to operate efficiently, congestion due to balancing actions should be avoided as far as possible. Whereas cross-zonal transmission constraints are considered as part of the platform optimization, each Transmission System Operator (TSO) is responsible for preventing internal congestion within their area. The current proposal is for each TSO to submit to the platform, on a continuous basis, a list with all balancing bids that can safely be activated within its area without causing internal congestion. Yet, the methodology to evaluate balancing bids as safe or congesting is still a topic for discussion. This thesis presents a comprehensive method for identifying balancing bids whose activation could lead to internal congestion. A mathematical model was developed and has been implemented for the purpose of testing and analysis. The method demonstrates the potential complexity of evaluating whether bid activations lead to congestion, especially considering the uncertainty in balancing exchange flows decided by the platform. As a complement to making bids unavailable, this thesis therefore introduces a new concept of balancing energy exchange domains, enabling more bids to be made available for the platform optimization by reducing the uncertainty for the TSO.