Glossary

All important terms and definitions within the energy market in one place.

ACM

The Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) is a government agency that ensures that grid operators’ investments are made as efficiently as possible. Thus, consumers and businesses pay no more than is strictly necessary for the transportation of electricity and gas.

Aggregators

An aggregator collects flexibility from companies or households and offers it collectively to a grid operator or supplier on behalf of these parties for a fee. With the flexible power collected by the aggregator, the grid operator can reduce peaks in the power grid and prevent power outages.

These peaks are increasing as more and more energy is generated from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The aggregator thus plays an important role in resolving congestion in the electricity grid. Since the new June 2022 Grid Code, aggregators must be licensed CSP to submit flex bids through GOPACS.

Balance enforcement

As the national grid operator for electricity, TenneT is responsible for continuously balancing supply and demand for electricity on the Dutch grid. If this balance is upset, it can lead to a power outage or even a blackout. This depends on the duration and severity of the imbalance.

To ensure a continuous supply of electricity, the demand for and supply of power must be balanced 24/7. We call that balance maintenance.

Bid duty contract

With a bid obligation contract, you agree in writing with the grid operator to regulate or adjust through your CSP at a specified location against a forecast for that location. With a bid duty contract, this gives you a duty to make redispatch bids via GOPACS at the request of the grid operator.

A mandatory bid contract provides more security for both grid operator and connected parties than redispatch via free market bids. This way, the grid operator has the assurance that the congestion problem will be solved and you have the assurance of the pre-agreed terms and fees.

The principle of the bid obligation contract is similar to redispatch via free market bids.

Does the CSP bid on an order for a specific congestion situation and GOPACS can match it with a counter bid? Then the CSP will receive the requested price for this. This financial settlement takes place through the energy trading platform linked to GOPACS. Parties with a bid obligation contract may additionally receive possible compensation for their availability to place a bid on a GOPACS affiliated trading platform. Check with your grid operator for fees applicable to your situation.

Capacity Limitation contract

With a capacity limitation contract, you contractually agree with your system operator that you will limit the requested transmission capacity if your system operator requests it. So you mutually agree on a capacity limit where conditions and fees are also agreed upon in advance.

Under a capacity reduction contract, you may be represented by a CSP, but it is not required. Even if you are not an authorized CSP yourself, you can negotiate a capacity reduction contract directly with the grid operator. Exceptions are customers larger than 60MW. For this group of customers, according to the Grid Code, they are required by law to always designate a CSP.

Congestion

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. Congestion is also called transportation scarcity or shortage of transportation capacity.

Als dit structureel, is zal denetbeheerderde capaciteit van het elektriciteitsnet verzwaren of het net uitbreiden. This process takes several years. In the meantime, through innovative methods to prevent and/or reduce congestion in the grid, the grid operator is trying to. Eén van die innovatieve methodes isGOPACS.

Congestion Area

Een congestiegebied is een gebied waar een tijdelijk of structureel tekort is aantransportcapaciteit.Thus, in a congestion area, the maximum transmission capacity of the power grid has been reached. Er is dus meer behoefte van klanten in een regio aanelektriciteitsvermogenom te kunnen opwekken of verbruiken dan het elektriciteitsnet kan leveren.

In a congestion area, there is no more room to allocate electricity transmission rights to customers (both new connections and increases in contracted transmission capacity with existing customers). The power grid must first be expanded or additional space must be made available through, for example, applying congestion management.

De actuele congestiegebieden kunt u vinden op:https://capaciteitskaart.netherlands.en/

Congestion Management

With congestion management, grid operators allocate limited space on the electricity grid. This happens at times when the demand for transmission of electricity is higher than the grid can handle. Is this question at any given time too big? Then, through GOPACS, grid operators ask wholesale customers if they can temporarily use or generate less electricity for a market-based fee. The space thus freed up is distributed to other users of the power grid. This creates more space on the power grid and at the same time the customer receives compensation for the capacity he did not need anyway. A nice win-win situation.

Since the new Grid Code is in effect (June 2022), only licensed Congestion Service Providers (CSP) can still submit bids through GOPACS. Submit flex bids through GOPACS and are not or do not yet have a CSP? Then register as or through a CSP.

CSP – Congestion Service Provider

Since the new June 2022 Grid Code is in effect, only licensed Congestion Service Providers (CSP) can still submit bids through GOPACS. A CSP’s main task is to handle local power surpluses and shortages when a grid operator expects congestion somewhere in the power grid. Demand then exceeds grid capacity. This absorption of shortages or surpluses can be done in a variety of ways, such as turning wind turbines or solar panels on or off, temporarily reducing electricity demand somewhere, or using a battery in which electricity is temporarily stored.

Would you like to participate in GOPACS? Then first register as or through a CSP.

EAN Code

Since the new June 2022 Grid Code is in effect, only licensed Congestion Service Providers (CSP) can still submit bids through GOPACS. A CSP’s main task is to handle local power surpluses and shortages when a grid operator expects congestion somewhere in the electricity grid. Demand then exceeds grid capacity. Dit opvangen van tekorten of overschotten kan op verschillende manieren, bijvoorbeeld door windmolens of zonnepanelen aan of uit te zetten, ergens de elektriciteitsvraag tijdelijk te verlagen of door een batterij te gebruiken waarin de elektriciteit tijdelijk wordt opgeslagen.

Would you like to participate in GOPACS with redispatch? Then first register as or through a CSP.

Energy Platform

Large consumers and suppliers of electricity (or gas) can buy or sell their own energy on a staggered basis through energy trading platforms. In this way, they can avoid risks or, on the contrary, take full advantage of market developments. GOPACS collaborates with energy trading platforms ETPA and EPEX SPOT to take advantage of flex bids available there that help reduce congestion in the power grid.

GOPACS itself is not an Energy Trading Platform.

Other names are energy trading platform or trading platform.

Flexibility Bid

When the supply of or demand for electricity is greater than the electricity network in a particular region can handle (congestion), the grid operator issues a market message calling on the market (such as energy suppliers, CSPs, and large consumers) to place bids to use or generate more or less electricity compared to previously planned production or consumption.

If these companies can temporarily reduce (or increase, depending on the grid operator’s request) their consumption or production of electricity, they then indicate how much flexible capacity they have available and at what price they are willing to sell it. We call this a flexibility bid.

Flexible Capacity

Flexible capacity is the ability of market participants to supply less electricity back to the grid or consume less during peak congestion periods on the network. GOPACS aims to secure all flexible capacity in contracts that can be used to resolve congestion situations.

Grid Operator

A grid operator is a government-appointed party that registers all connections and is responsible for building the grids and transporting electricity or gas. For each region, there is one regional grid operator for electricity or gas. A grid operator lays power lines and gas lines.

The grid operator makes sure you get a connection to the energy grid. In addition, grid operators provide maintenance to the energy network.

Location Component

A flex bid (flex offer) for GOPACS must always be linked to a particular location. The location is determined by the connection (EAN).

Network operators can determine the location of a bid by the EAN code of the connection. Therefore, for each flex offer, the location should be specified by adding the location component, or EAN code of the connection that the flex offer resides on.

Redispatch

In redispatch, the grid operator attempts to reduce demand for transmission capacity using intraday bids from the market, or on-the-day bids. Its purpose is to reduce congestion in the power grid. With a redispatch bid, the CSP offers on behalf of a connected party to consume less or more than agreed upon at a specific location.

If there is congestion, the grid operator sends a market message to connected market participants. The market report will state where the congestion situation is expected to occur, in what periods and how much transmission capacity is involved. Connected market participants can respond by placing a flex order on a GOPACS affiliated energy trading platform (ETPA and EPEX SPOT).

However, the balance of the power grid at the national level should not be disturbed by this. Therefore, placing an order in the congestion area is always combined with a counter-order outside the congestion area. This will solve congestion without upsetting the balance on the energy grid.

Transport Capacity

Transmission capacity is the available capacity expressed in terms of power to move electricity or gas through the electricity grid or gas grid at a single point in time, for example, from a production site such as a wind farm to an industrial site. Electricity is transported through cables and natural gas through pipes. This transportation is provided by the grid operators.

When the transportation demand for electricity and/or gas is greater than the capacity of the grid can handle, we speak of transportation scarcity or congestion.

Transport Restriction

Due to the energy transition, the demand for electricity has grown rapidly. Demand is increasingly greater than the power grid can handle. If demand is structurally too high, grid operators will expand and/or reinforce the electricity grid. However, this cannot be achieved in the short term.

If there is a structural shortage, grid operators are sometimes forced to impose transmission constraints on major electricity consumers.

The affected customers may have a connection for electricity, but they temporarily cannot use the full capacity of this connection. Also, large consumers wishing to expand may not be able to obtain the desired maximum electricity capacity normally associated with their connection.

This transport restriction will continue until space on the network becomes available again.