Our electricity grid is under pressure. Demand for power is growing rapidly, and renewable generation doesn’t always match consumption. As a result, bottlenecks on the grid are occurring more often. While grid operators are working on expansion, we are also looking for ways to use the existing grid more intelligently.
Flexible power use—temporarily consuming or generating more or less—helps to utilise the grid more smartly and prevent overload. It’s a solution for today, and a lasting part of the electricity system of the future. Read more here about flexible power use
At peak moments, the demand for transport capacity can exceed what the local grid can handle. To prevent this, grid operators ask large business users to temporarily reduce their consumption or limit their feed-in. This flexibility is laid down in various contract forms, also known as flex products.
Participation is voluntary and, in addition to financial compensation, offers businesses certainty for the future. Through GOPACS, we ensure flexibility is deployed efficiently and companies contribute to a reliable, future-proof energy system. Read more here about congestion management
GOPACS is the joint platform of the grid operators through which flexible capacity is used smartly and transparently to prevent grid congestion. This is done via redispatch bids and capacity limitation contracts.
With up-to-date data, GOPACS shows where congestion is looming and what flexibility is needed. Market parties align their bids accordingly, while grid operators gain insight into effectiveness and availability. In this way, GOPACS helps businesses make use of their flexibility and contribute to a reliable, future-proof energy system. Read more here about the role of GOPACS
Congestion is the situation where the demand for transmission of electricity exceeds the available transmission capacity. So there is a shortage of transmission capacity on the power grid.
If this is structural, the grid operator will increase the capacity of the electricity grid or expand the grid. However, this is a multi-year process. In the meantime, by shifting locations where electricity is used and delivered, the grid operator is trying to reduce demand for transmission.
This is done with the help from the market such as wholesale customers, aggregators and energy suppliers.
They can help if they can shift their consumption or generation of electricity to another time. Energy can also be temporarily stored. This creates the desired flexibility and can prevent or reduce peaks in the power grid.
When a grid operator expects a shortage of transport capacity (congestion) in the grid, we ask the market to help resolve this by adjusting their energy consumption—the flexibility bid.
This steering creates flexibility. For example, a cold store can turn off its freezer cells for two hours at the time of peak demand without affecting the temperature. This makes additional capacity available for another customer.
For more information on congestion, see the ‘About congestion management‘ page.
Congestion management is the set of measures deployed by network operators to mitigate the effects of congestion and prevent the network from becoming overloaded. Whereas congestion indicates the problem of capacity shortage, congestion management focuses on the practical solutions to deal with these bottlenecks. Congestion management is crucial for a stable, affordable and sustainable energy supply in the Netherlands. It will become increasingly important as power demand and the share of renewables continue to grow. Read more about congestion management here.
GOPACS is the tool by and for grid operators to reduce capacity shortages on the electricity grid, or congestion, to keep the grid resilient and affordable. Hiervoor is regelbaar, flexibel vermogen nodig van marktpartijenengroot zakelijke gebruikers.
GOPACS is a partnership of the Dutch grid operators to engage in joint congestion management. This form of cooperation is unique within Europe. Cooperation ensures that solving a problem in one part of the network does not create a problem in another part of the network.
The amount of electricity transmitted through the grid varies from moment to moment. The more capacity used, the sooner a spike in usage can cause the power grid to overload. By shifting times when electricity is used or fed back, grid operators can better match supply and demand to avoid overloading the electricity grid.
To avoid those peaks on the grid, grid operators ask the market to temporarily defer or reduce their electricity consumption (or generation) for a market-based fee. We call this a flex bid.
The CSP provides congestion management services on behalf of one or more connected parties, in accordance with the conditions of the Netcode. This is what a CSP does for affiliates with a GTV of 01 MW or higher. Read more about the role of CSP’s here.
