he European Power Exchange EPEX SPOT and National Grid Electricity System Operator are joining forces to develop and operate a platform which will host a brand-new firm frequency response auction trial in Great Britain in 2019.
Frequency response is an essential service provided by National Grid ESO. It ensures that in cases of interruption to supply, the frequency of the electricity system is kept stable at all times.
Colm Murphy, Head of Electricity Market Change Delivery for National Grid ESO, said “We are very excited to be embarking on this ground-breaking project with EPEX SPOT; this project is one of the key commitments in our Product Roadmap, and will unlock the potential of new technologies to provide frequency response. This is a big step on our journey to reform Great Britain’s balancing services and markets.”
EPEX SPOT contributes its expertise in providing and operating the auction platform. Ralph Danielski, Chief Executive Officer of EPEX SPOT, comments: “We are proud to partner with National Grid on this exciting project. It’s a brand-new and innovative market design that we are thrilled to develop jointly with National Grid. This is a new phase in the long-standing history of our company in Great Britain, where we have been operating markets for over 15 years.”
Compared to current procurement setup, in which market participants offer frequency response on a longer-term basis, the frequency response auction trial will be run every week for service delivery starting the same day. This new and improved frequency response platform will therefore open this particular market segment to more players than ever before, encouraging renewable generation and industrial as well as commercial sites to participate along with traditional providers.