TSO news

Update of capacities for Nordic Regional Coupling

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:01:50 +0200

Svk, together with the Nordic TSOs and NEMOs have updated the Nordic procedures for the Nordic Decoupling from SDAC, leading to a Nordic regional coupling. The update will allow for a greater optimization of the capacities for the Nordic regional coupling leading to an improved social economic welfare. The procedural update will only affect the Nordics in a Nordic decoupling and will not have any impact on other regions or decoupling situation in SDAC.

With the updated procedure, Svk will be able to update the capacities on Swedish internal and Swedish-Nordic borders (see all the borders in the table below) in case of a Nordic decoupling from SDAC. The update could only be performed after the Nordics gets decoupled from SDAC and will be performed before the Nordic regional coupling. An update is optional and not mandatory, if an update is performed the capacities on an updated border could only be raised by Svk (not lowered). Updated capacities will be published on Nord Pool webpage at least 30 minutes before the new gate closure time (GCT) of the Nordic Regional Coupling.

If no updated capacities have been published 30 minutes before the new GCT the same capacities published to SDAC will be used in the Nordic regional coupling. If no update is performed, no message will be sent to market participant. Meaning, if no message of an update is received 30 minutes before the new GCT no update has been performed.

The updated procedure is applied from Thursday 25/5 2023 with delivery date on Friday 26/5 2023. It will only be used in case the Nordic Region gets decoupled from SDAC. The procedural change will be applicable as long as the Nordics adapts NTC-domain for the Day ahead market.

For any question regarding the update please contact Svenska Kraftnät on SDAC@svk.se.

To demonstrate the updated procedure Market participants are welcome to participate in the SDAC decoupling training session on Thursday 11/5 2023 where the updated procedure will be tested.

Finnish and Swedish Peak Load Capacity for winter 2021-2022

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 11:01:47 +0100

Nord Pool has received the following information:

The total PLC production volume on the day-ahead market for the winter 2020-2021 is 1173 MW containing 562 MW in Sweden and 611 MW in Finland.

The Swedish PLC is available from the 16th of November 2021 – 15th of March 2022 and the Finnish PLC is available from the 1st of December 2021 – 28th of February 2022.

The activation price of PLC production in the power exchange will be the level of price cap of the day-ahead market.

Activation of peak load capacity for power exchange in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules published in Peak Load Capacity (“PLC”) in Sweden and Finland.

Due to national implementation of the European Clean Energy -package (CEP) in Finland, the national peak load capacity (PLC) law is being updated. Among others the CEP requires that PLC power plants should not be activated on day-ahead market anymore in the future. Thus, this will create changes in the way of activating PLC power plants in Finland. More information will be published as the implementation work proceeds.

For further information, please contact:

Fingrid:
Hanni Sonkeri +358 30 395 52 86, hanni.sonkeri@fingrid.fi

Svenska kraftnät:
Staffan Engström +46 10 475 82 94, staffan.engstrom@svk.se

Finnish and Swedish Peak Load Capacity for winter 2020-2021

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:45:00 +0100

Nord Pool has received the following information:

The total PLC production volume on the day-ahead market for the winter 2020-2021 is 1173 MW containing 562 MW in Sweden and 611 MW in Finland.

The Swedish PLC is available from the 16th of November 2020 – 15th of March 2021 and the Finnish PLC is available from the 1st of December 2020 – 28th of February 2021.

The activation price of PLC production in the power exchange will be the level of price cap of the day-ahead market.

Activation of peak load capacity for power exchange in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules published in Peak Load Capacity (“PLC”) in Sweden and Finland.

For further information, please contact:

Fingrid:
Hanni Sonkeri +358 30 395 52 86, hanni.sonkeri@fingrid.fi

Svenska kraftnät:
Staffan Engström +46 10 475 82 94, staffan.engstrom@svk.se

Finnish and Swedish Peak Load Capacity for winter 2019-2020

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 08:55:00 +0100

The total PLC production volume on the day-ahead market for the winter 2019-2020 is 1269 MW containing 562 MW in Sweden and 707 MW in Finland.

The Swedish PLC is available from the 16th of November 2019 – 15th of March 2020 and the Finnish PLC is available from the 1st of December 2019 – 28th of February 2020.

The activation price of PLC production in the power exchange will be the level of price cap of the day-ahead market.

Activation of peak load capacity for power exchange in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules published in Peak Load Capacity (“PLC”) in Sweden and Finland.

For further information, please contact:

Fingrid:
Mikko Heikkilä, +358 40 6374720, mikko.heikkila@fingrid.fi

Svenska kraftnät:
Zarah Andersson, +46 10 475 8015, zarah.andersson@svk.se

Finnish and Swedish Peak Load Capacity for winter 2018-2019

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 09:30:00 +0100

The total Peak Load Capacity (PLC) production volume on the day-ahead market for the winter 2018-2019 is 1269 MW containing 562 MW in Sweden and 707 MW in Finland.

The Swedish PLC is available from 16 November 2018 – 15 March 2019 and the Finnish PLC is available from 1 of December 2018 – 28 February 2019.

The activation price of PLC production in the power exchange will be the level of price cap of the day-ahead market.

Activation of peak load capacity for power exchange in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules published in Peak Load Capacity (“PLC”) in Sweden and Finland.

For further information, please contact:
Fingrid: Mikko Heikkilä, +358 40 6374720, mikko.heikkila@fingrid.fi
Svenska kraftnät: Linda Thell +46 10 475 8386, linda.thell@svk.se
Zarah Andersson +46 10 475 8015, zarah.andersson@svk.se

Market information regarding COBRAcable

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0100

COBRAcable will according to current plans go into operation in the end of Q1 2019. The
interconnector is 700 MW and connects The Netherlands and West Denmark (DK1).

Attached is the market setup for COBRAcable.

For further information, please contact:
Randi Kristiansen, rki@energinet.dk

New area definitions NO1-NO5 from 28 August 2017

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:30:00 +0100

Changes to the area definitions of NO3 and NO5.

Change is that 132 kVline Mel-Grindsdalen replaces 132 kV Mel-Sogndal. This change affects both NO3 and NO5.

Also, 420 kV Namsos-Tunnsjødal replaces 300 kV Namsos-Tunnsjødal which changes the areadefinition of NO3.

From 15 March 2010, Norway has been divided into five bidding areas. The current area definition is valid as of 28 August 2017:

NO2, a south-western Norway bidding area limited by the 420 kV line Rød-Hasle, the 420 kV line Rjukan-Sylling, the 300 kV line Vemork-Flesaker, the 300 kV line Tokke-Flesaker, the 300 kV line Hof-Flesaker, the 132 kV line Grønnvollfoss-Skollenborg, the 132 kV line Hof-Skollenborg and the 300 kV line Blåfalli-Mauranger, where the first node of each line is located in the south-western area (NO2).
NO5, a western Norway bidding area limited by the 420 kV line Sogndal-Høyanger, the 132 kV line Grindsdalen-Mel, the 300 kV line Mauranger-Blåfalli, the 420 kV line Dagali-Ringerike, the 420 kV line Nore 1-Sylling, the 420 kV line Usta-Ådal, the 300 kV line Nes-Sogn, the 300 kV line Hemsil 2 – Sogn and the 132 kV line Flå-Sandum, where the first node of each line is located in the western area (NO5).
NO1, a south-eastern Norway bidding area limited by the 420 kV line Rød-Hasle, the 420 kV line Rjukan-Sylling, the 300 kV line Vemork-Flesaker, the 300 kV line Tokke-Flesaker, the 300 kV line Hof-Flesaker the 132 kV line Grønnvollfoss-Skollenborg, the 132 kV line Hof-Skollenborg, the 420 kV line Dagali-Ringerike, the 420 kV line Nore 1-Sylling, the 420 kV line Usta-Ådal, the 300 kV line Nes-Sogn, the 300 kV line Hemsil 2-Sogn, the 132 kV line Flå-Sandum, the 300 kV line Vågåmo-Ø.Vinstra and the 132 kV line Ulset-Savalen, where the second node of each line is located in the south-eastern area (NO1).
NO3, a middle Norway bidding area (NO3) limited by the 300 kV line Vågåmo-Øvre Vinstra, the 132 kV line Ulset-Savalen, the 420 kV line Høyanger-Sogndal, the 132 kV line Mel-Grindsdalen, the 300 kV line Verdal-Tunnsjødal and the 420 kV line Namsos-Tunnsjødal, where the first node of each line is located in the area middle Norway (NO3).
NO4, a northern Norway bidding area, north of NO3.

An updated version of the document ‘Principles for determining the transfer capacities in the Nordic power market’ will be published on Nord Pool and entso-e websites in week 48/2017.

For further information, please contact
Statnett, Idar Gimmestad

Finnish and Swedish Peak Load Capacity for winter 2017-2018

Fri, 20 Oct 2017 08:00:00 +0200

Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät have made changes to the peak load capacity (PLC) market design during 2017. The new market design rules will come into operation from the winter 2017-2018. The activation price of PLC production in the power exchange will be changed to the level of price cap of the day-ahead market i.e. 3000€/MWh. The reason for the change is to reduce the market effect of PLC.

The total PLC production volume on the day-ahead market for the winter 2017-2018 is 1269 MW containing 562 MW in Sweden and 707 MW in Finland.

The Swedish PLC is available from the 16th of November 2017 – 15th of March 2018 and the Finnish PLC is available from the 1st of December 2017 – 28th of February 2018.

Activation of peak load capacity for power exchange in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules published in Peak Load Capacity (“PLC”) in Sweden and Finland.

For further information, please contact:

Fingrid:

Mikko Heikkilä, +358 40 6374720, mikko.heikkila@fingrid.fi

Laura Ihamäki, +358 40 708 1838, laura.ihamaki@fingrid.fi

Svenska kraftnät:

Linda Thell +46 72 724 0091, linda.thell@svk.se

Zarah Andersson +46 70 539 7931, zarah.andersson@svk.se

4.August/2017 – Update on Exchange Information No. 25/2016 (aFRR contracting)

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 10:02:01 +0200

Procurement of aFRR (automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve) in the second half of 2017

The Nordic TSOs have decided to procure a total volume up to 300 MW during weekdays (Monday to Friday) in the second half of 2017. The TSOs will procure aFRR in the morning and evening hours where the frequency variations are most challenging.

The procurement will contain following hours:

week 26-33, no procurement

week 34-43, morning hours 5:00-8:00 (CET), evening hours 17:00-20:00 (CET)

week 44-46, morning hours 5:00-8:00 (CET), evening hours 19:00-22:00 (CET)

week 47-51, morning hours 5:00-8:00 (CET), evening hours 17:00-21:00 (CET)

week 52, no procurement

Information about the procurement in 2018 will follow later.

For further information, please contact:

Kaj Christensen, Energinet.dk, +45 23 33 85 03

Vesa Vänskä, Fingrid, +358 30 395 5185

Gunnar Nilssen, Statnett, +47 23 90 32 38

Mikael Winai, Svenska kraftnät, +46 10 475 87 97

DAY-AHEAD: SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update by activation of Polish optimization area (PLA)

Mon, 29 May 2017 15:10:00 +0200

Taking into account overall positive feedback from various stakeholders from Nordic and Baltic regions on planned SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update (previous market information message may be found here) Polish, Swedish and Lithuanian TSOs shall continue with planned implementations and would launch SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update (activation of Polish optimization area PLA) starting July 1^st, 2017.

The contact persons of respective TSOs for this topic:

Polish TSO contact: Kamil Smolira, e-mail: kamil.smolira@pse.pl; tel +48 22 242 23 07
Swedish TSO contact: Rebecca Nilsson, e-mail: rebecca.nilsson@svk.se ; tel +4610 475 81 88
Lithuanian TSO contact: Paulius Butkus, e-mail: paulius.butkus@litgrid.eu; tel.: +370 5 278 2735

DAY-AHEAD: SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update by activation of Polish optimization area (PLA)

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 10:00:00 +0200

In order to benefit the markets from increase in utilisation of the available infrastructure of SwePol Link (HVDC link between Poland and Swedish SE4 bidding area) and LitPol Link (HVDC link between Poland and Lithuanian bidding area) Polish, Swedish and Lithuanian TSOs in coordination with respective power exchanges plan to implement Polish, Swedish and Lithuanian market coupling arrangements update by activation of Polish optimization area (PLA) between Poland and both SE4 and LT bidding areas. The PL-PLA (capacities between Polish power system and Polish optimisation area) will represent “Capacity Allocation Constraints” as a result of Polish power system constraints, while capacities between PLA-SE4 and PLA-LT will represent available cross-border capacities.

Regulation 1222/2015 establishing guidelines on Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management defines “Capacity Allocation Constraints” as constraints to be respected during capacity allocation to maintain the transmission system within operational security limits and have not been translated into cross-zonal capacity or that are needed to increase the efficiency of capacity allocation.

“Capacity Allocation Constraints” and PLA optimization area were implemented together with market coupling process on LitPol link, and are currently visible on TGE and NordPool systems, however they have not been actively used so far. Currently, in order to satisfy security requirements related to availability of sufficient generation and generation reserves in Poland, Polish TSO needs to incorporate the “Capacity Allocation Constraints” into the available transfer capacities, thereby limiting the total flow on connections between Poland - Swedish SE4 bidding area (PL-SE4) and Poland – Lithuanian bidding area (PL–LT). However, given the fact that the currently applied approach did not allow for efficient use of available resources, the concerned TSOs decided to activate the possibility to use “Capacity Allocation Constraints” via PLA optimization area. “Capacity Allocation Constraints” are bidirectional, with independent values for directions into Poland and from Poland.

Bidding zones structure and market coupling update

Biding Zones configuration, taking into account-foreseen market coupling arrangements update, is depicted on the Figure 1.

The following bidding areas configuration are planned to be used:

PLA     – Polish optimization area used to implement allocation constraints for PL
PL       – Polish bidding area, to which Polish power exchange TGE is connected
SE4     – Swedish bidding area 4, to which Swedish power exchange NordPool is connected
LT       – Lithuanian bidding area, to which Lithuanian power exchange NordPool is connected

Timeline for SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update

Polish, Swedish and Lithuanian TSOs foresee the following timeline for SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update:

Markets participants are welcome to provide feedback on planned SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update to the corresponding TSOs by May 1^st, 2017. In case no significant objections are raised by market participants, preventing from implementing planned SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update, TSOs shall continue with planned implementations and would launch SE4-PL-LT market coupling arrangements update (activation of Polish optimization area PLA) starting July 1^st, 2017.

The contact persons of respective TSOs:

No. 33/2016 - Updated Routine for Congestion Management for the West Coast Corridor in Sweden

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 10:05:00 +0100

The West Coast corridor is a section in the Swedish national grid, close to Gothenburg in SE3, which might be congested in normal operation. This typically occurs during night and weekends with a large northbound transfer of power over the West Coast Corridor. The reason is often related with low consumption in Gothenburg and Malmoe, export to Norway (NO1) and import from Denmark (DK1 and DK2), Germany (DE-TenneT), Poland (PL), and/or Lithuania (LT).

Internal congestion management methods, such as counter trade, have proven to be inefficient to handle these situations. Thus, in order to avoid congestion on the West Coast Corridor and to ensure a secure operation of the electrical power system, it is required to limit either import or export capacity on suitable interconnectors.

Svenska kraftnät announce hereby that NordBalt, which previously has been ignored, will also be considered as a suitable interconnector. The cable has frequently contributed to the northbound load flow of late, which motivates this decision. Hence, beginning December 15, 2016, the capacity on the following interconnectors may be limited due to expected congestion on the West Coast Corridor:

The Hasle link between SE3 – NO1
Konti-Skan (1 and 2) between DK1 – SE3
The Zealand Cables between DK2 – SE4
Baltic Cable between DE-TenneT – SE4
SwePol Link between PL – SE4
NordBalt between LT – SE4

Allocated trading capacity for each interconnector will be reduced in proportion to maximum net transfer capacity (NTC) in relation to the expected load flow over the West Coast Corridor. The final allocation for each interconnector for the following day will be declared to Nord Pool every morning by 10:00 CET.

Lysaker, 13 December 2016

For further information, please contact Svenska kraftnät:
Pontus de Maré, phone: +46 10 475 82 38

No. 25/2016 – Update on Exchange Information No. 48/2015 (FRR-A contracting)

Wed, 29 Jun 2016 16:00:00 +0200

Nord Pool has received the following information from the Nordic transmission system operators:

Information on contracting hours of aFRR (automatic frequency restoration reserve) for 2016. The TSOs will contract a total Nordic volume of 300 MW in the following hours:

Morning hours:
For weeks 35-51 the TSOs will contract aFRR capacity for 05:00-08:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).

Evening hours:
For week 35-36 the TSOs will contract aFRR capacity for 18:00-22:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

For week 37-41 the TSOs will contract aFRR capacity for 17:00-21:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

For week 42-45 the TSOs will contract aFRR capacity for 16:00-20:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

For week 46-51 the TSOs will contract aFRR capacity for 17:00-21:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

TSOs will inform about the adjustments of the national procurement that are needed.

Lysaker, 29 June 2016

For further information, please contact:

Martin Fahlvik, Svenska kraftnät, +46 10 475 80 36

Gunnar Nilssen, Statnett, +47 23903238

Vesa Vänskä, Fingrid, +358 30 395 5185

Kaj Christensen, Energinet.dk, +45 76224203

No. 14/2016 - New connection between NO3 and NO5 and change in area configuration

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 13:45:00 +0100

Nord Pool has received the following information from Statnett:

On March 7th 2016 there will be a new connection between NO3-NO5 as well as area changes be-tween the bidding areas NO3-NO5 and NO3-NO1. Reference is made to Exchange Information 15/2015 and related UMMs.

Area changes
Elspot area interface NO3-NO5 and NO3-NO1 needs to be adjusted prior to introduction of Nordic Balance Settlement (NBS). During the autumn of 2016 Norway will join the harmonized Nordic Bal-ance Settlement. As bidding zones then will consist of settlement entities called Metering Grid Areas, Elspot interfaces can no longer be located at substation busbars. Accordingly, changes will be made to the borders between the bidding areas NO3-NO5 and NO3-NO1. The adjustment of NO3-NO5 also takes into account the commissioning of the new 420 kV line Ørskog-Sogndal.

New connection between NO3-NO5
Given the need to adjust the area interface caused by NBS, the new configuration should also rec-ognize the upcoming commissioning of the new 420 kV line Ørskog-Sogndal. In a transitional period, the interface will consist of only the existing 132 kV line Mel-Sogndal, and the maximum transfer capacity available will be 200 MW in both directions. The capacities are valid until completion of the new 420 kV line Ørskog-Sogndal. The new connection will be included in both the Day Ahead and Intraday market. Available transfer capacities for the first day of operation will be published together with all other capacities on March 6th 2016.

NO3-NO1 interface will be moved from 132 kV busbar Litjfossen and 300 kV Vågåmo-Ø.Vinstra to 132 kV line Ulset-Savalen and 300 kV Vågåmo-Ø.Vinstra. NO3-NO5 interface will be moved from 132 kV busbar Åskåra to 420 kV Høyanger-Sogndal and 132 kV Mel-Sogndal.

For more information see the following UMM’s and Exchange Information:

New connection NO3-NO5
NO3-NO5 area change
NO3-NO1 area change
Exchange Information 15/2015

Lysaker, 15 February 2016

For further information, please contact Statnett:
Tom Tellefsen, Senior Vice president, System operation, + 47 90 53 68 27

No. 48/2015 - Update on Exchange Information No. 36/2015 (FRR-A contracting)

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:00:00 +0100

Information on 2016 FRR-A contracting (automatic frequency restoration reserve).

Svenska kraftnät has decided not to procure FRR-A in 2016 until a permanent Nordic solution is agreed between the TSOs. This process will also include further system security analysis. The consequences of this decision for the procurement in other countries are under evaluation by the other TSOs. Until further notice there will be no volumes procured in the Nordic area. As earlier informed (No.36/2015) the procurement will be stopped from week 52 2015.

TSOs will inform their market participants when the contracting will be resumed.

The Nordic TSOs will continue their work as planned on development of a Nordic FRR-A market design.

Lysaker, 21 December 2015

For further information, please contact:

Christer Bäck, Svenska kraftnät, +46 10 4750 80 43

Gunnar Nilssen, Statnett, +47 23903238

Vesa Vänskä, Fingrid, +358 40 526 5050

Kaj Christensen, Energinet.dk, +45 76224203

No. 40/2015 - Finnish peak load capacity information for the winter period 2015-2016

Wed, 11 Nov 2015 09:00:00 +0100

As the winter period begins 1 December, the units participating in the maintaining of peak load capacity will be shifted over to the starting readiness of a maximum of 12 hours. The starting readiness of a maximum of 12 hours will stand to 28 February, 2016.

The system includes following units:

Naistenlahti 1 power plant: 129 MW (natural gas) owned by Tampereen Energiantuotanto Oy
Haapavesi power plant: 160 MW (heavy fuel oil) owned by Kanteleen Voima Oy
Suomenoja heat pump: 10 MW (demand response consumption unit) owned by Fortum Power and Heat Oy

After the winter period starting readiness for power plants will be maximum of one month. Demand response consumption unit participates to the peak load arrangement via balancing power market during the winter period.

For the power plants these peak load capacity agreements will be valid until 30 June 2017. For the demand response consumption unit the agreement is applied during winter periods 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.

Activation of peak load production capacity for Elspot in Finland and Sweden will be based on the activation rules equal to the winter 2011/2012. The activation rules were published in Exchange Information No. 61/2011- Activation of peak load capacity for Elspot in Finland and Sweden during winter 2011/2012.

For more information, please contact Fingrid:
Mikko Heikkilä, Specialist, Market Design, tel. +358 30 395 5113
Laura Ihamäki, Specialist, Systems Operations Development +358 30 395 5166

No. 39/2015 - Swedish Peak Load Capacity information for the winter period 2015– 2016

Wed, 11 Nov 2015 09:00:00 +0100

The Swedish Peak Load Capacity consists of both generation and load reduction with a total capacity of 1000 MW. The winter period starts 16 November 2015 and ends 15 March 2016.

Readiness of the generation units are 16 hours. Load reduction can start within 15 minutes.

Activation of peak load capacity for Elspot in Sweden and Finland are based on the same activation rules as last winter. The activation rules were published in Exchange Information No. 61/2011 Activation of peak load capacity for Elspot in Finland and Sweden during winter 2011/2012.

Specification of included capacity, see table below.

Generation	Unit		Bidding area	Power [MW]
E.ON Värmekraft Sverige AB		Karlshamn	SE4	660
Sum generation				660

Load reduction
Holmens Bruk AB			SE3	290
Stora Enso AB			SE3, SE4	50
Sum load reduction				340
Sum total				1000

For further information, please contact Svenska Kraftnät:
Olof Klingvall, Press contact, +46 10 475 8010
Zarah Andersson, Senior Advisor, +46 10 475 8015

No.38/2015 - Change of gate closure Elbas NorNed

Tue, 03 Nov 2015 10:00:00 +0100

Statnett has decided to change gate closure for the Elbas market between Norway and the Netherlands on the NorNed cable from 2 hours before operating hour to 1 hour before operating hour from delivery day 11 November 2015.

Lysaker, 3 November 2015

For further information, please contact Statnett:
Idar Gimmestad, Department manager, National Control Center, +47 23 90 32 89
Tom Tellefsen, Vice president System Operation, +47 23 90 36 78

No. 27/2015 - Update on Exchange Information No. 11/2015 (FRR-A contracting)

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 11:55:00 +0200

Information on 2015 FRR-A contracting (automatically frequency restoration reserve). The TSOs will contract a total Nordic volume of 300 MW in the following hours:

Morning hours:
For weeks 32-45 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 05:00-08:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).

Sunset hours:
For week 32-36 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 18:00-22:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).
For week 37-41 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 17:00-21:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).
For week 42-45 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 16:00-20:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

TSOs will inform about the adjustments of the national procurement that are needed.

A new market message for FRR-A capacity contracting from week 46 2015 and onwards will follow later.

Lysaker, 2 July 2015

For further information, please contact:
Karolina Näsholm, Svenska Kraftnät, +46 10 4758201
Gunnar Nilssen, Statnett, +47 23903238
Vesa Vänskä, Fingrid, +358 40 526 5050
Kaj Christensen, Energinet.dk, +45 76224203

No. 26/2015 - Finnish peak load capacity arrangement period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2017

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 09:15:00 +0200

The Finnish Energy Authority arranged competitive bidding and confirmed the power plants selected for the peak load capacity arrangement for the period of 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2017. The arrangement covers the following power plants:

Kanteleen Voima Oy’s power plant unit Haapavesi
Tampereen Energiantuotanto Oy’s power plant unit Naistenlahti 1

The total volume of the power plant capacity is 289 megawatts (MW).

In addition, a load reduction agreement was signed with:

Fortum Power and Heat Oy’s Suomenoja Heat Pump

The total volume of load reduction capacity is 10 megawatts (MW). Load reduction agreement concerns two winter periods, 1.12.2015-28.2.2016 and 1.12.2016-28.2.2017. Load reduction is activated only on Finnish regulating power market.

In accordance with the act on the peak load capacity, the power plants will be in a starting readiness of a maximum of 12 hours in the winter period of 1 December to 28 February, and in a starting readiness of a maximum of one month at other times.

Fingrid Oyj’s fully-owned subsidiary Finextra Oy administers the peak load capacity. Finextra Oy has today signed operating agreements for the above-mentioned periods.

UMMs published by the power plants:

http://umm.nordpoolspot.com/messages/55530

http://umm.nordpoolspot.com/messages/55534

Lysaker, 30 June 2015

For further information, please contact Fingrid:
Laura Laitinen, laura.laitinen@fingrid.fi, +358 30 395 5166
Mikko Heikkilä, mikko.heikkila@fingrid.fi, +358 40 637 4720

No. 15/2015 - Prognosis for future Elspot/Elbas bidding areas in Norway

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 10:00:00 +0200

Background

According to provisions for system responsibility in the power system (FoS), Statnett shall define Elspot/Elbas areas (§5) as part of managing:

Major and long-term operational congestions occurring in the regional and central grid system.
Foreseen energy deficit situations in defined geographical areas.

We expect that both physical grid framework and market design factors will undergo significant development in the coming years. Statnett has to see all changes as a whole in order to:

Always have a suitable area division on short and long term.
Minimize the number of area changes in each geographical area. This has also been an important feedback from the market participants.

Statnett has found that the best way to provide predictability on this issue is to make a prognosis on how we foresee the area division for the next years. The prognosis will be updated when needed. The detailed information about individual changes will be published in separate Exchange Informations.

This prognosis will cover the expected changes from 2015 to approximately 2020. Failures, energy deficit situations, changes in commissioning dates or other new information could change the prognosis or lead to area divisions that are not mentioned in the prognosis.

The changes in the Norwegian power system that are taken into account in this prognosis are^{^[1]}:

New 420 kV Ørskog-Høyanger and Høyanger-Sogndal (NO3-NO5)
New 420 KV Namsos-Storheia and large scale wind on the coast of Trøndelag (NO3, NO4)
Southern Norway with new HVDC-connections (NO2)
Potential increase in industrial consumption in Sunnhordland (NO2) and Finnmark (NO4)
Nordic Balance Settlement and introduction of Metering Grid Areas
Flow Based Capacity Management

1. New 420 kV Ørskog-Høyanger and Høyanger-Sogndal

In Exchange Information 24/2013 Statnett published the following:

"Due to the planned commissioning of the new 420 kV line between Ørskog and Høyanger in the North-Western part of Norway, a change in the Norwegian Elspot/Elbas area definitions will take place during 2015. The current interface between areas NO3 and NO5 will be moved from the 132 kV double busbar at Åskåra to the 132 kV lines Mel-Fardal and Høyanger-Fardal."

As of March 2015, the matter of legal access to the construction site of a section of Ørskog-Høyanger is still in litigation, and the completion date of both Ørskog-Høyanger and Høyanger-Sogndal depends on the progress of the legal proceedings. The triggering factor for moving the area interface is, as stated in the Exchange Information, the completion of 420 kV Ørskog-Høyanger. As a result, the consequential adjustment of the interface between NO3 and NO5 will be equally postponed. This interface configuration remains the most likely also after the commissioning of 420 kV Sogndal-Høyanger.

2. New 420 KV Namsos-Storheia and large scale wind on the coast of Trøndelag

The coast of the Trøndelag region has been identified as an important geographical centre for investment in large-scale wind power in Norway, and approximately 1000 MW of production capacity is under development. Construction of a new 420 kV connection will be necessary in order to receive any significant new production in the Fosen and Snillfjord area.

The first step of a development process will be the commissioning of a radial 420 kV connection from a new substation Storheia to existing substation Namsos. With a substantial production infeed in Namsos the predominant bottleneck between NO4 and NO3 will move southwards compared with today. Namsos is currently the northernmost substation in NO3, with a connection to Tunnsjødal in NO4. In order to reflect the planned shift in local power balance in Namsos, and to allow a controlled flow in the Namsos-cut, our assessment is that Namsos substation and the radial connection to Storheia have to be moved to NO4.

As such, and according to the current time schedule, the interface between NO4 and NO3 will from 2018 be 300 (420) kV Namsos-Ogndal^{^[2]} and 300 kV Tunnsjødal-Verdal. We emphasize the aspect that the triggering factor for moving the area interface is the commissioning of large-scale wind power connected to a new 420 kV line Storheia-Namsos, and that delays in these projects will equally postpone an area adjustment.

3. Southern Norway towards new HVDC-connections

By 2020, new HVDC-connections to Germany and Great Britain are expected to be in commercial operation. The landing site on the Norwegian side of both cables will be in present-day NO2, in Tonstad (Ertsmyra) and Kvilldal respectively. The plan to upgrade the domestic AC-grid schedule completion prior to the HVDC-connections. With an upgraded 420 kV grid in all corridors in southern Norway, there is limited need for capacity reductions in a state of normal operations.

Years 2015 to 2020 will however be characterized by regular reductions in trade capacity, as extensive outage periods related to grid upgrade will cause bottlenecks to occur. Given the need for a restrained power flow towards the existing HVDC-cables, we are considering three possible alternatives aimed at managing the expected bottlenecks:

       a. The current practice, including reductions directly on the HVDC-connections.
       b. Splitting NO2 into two sub-areas, defined by the most dominant limitation scenario.
       c. Introduction of a sum limitation valid for the HVDC-connections, inspired by the NO1A and DK1A
           concept.

Further analysis is necessary before a decision can be made. The result will eventually be published to the market via UMM.

4. Potential increase in industrial consumption in Sunnhordland and Finnmark

Depending on the financial circumstances, significant new industrial consumption could be realized in the regions of Sunnhordland in the western part of Norway (NO2), and Finnmark in the north (NO4). Timelines for potential investment and commissioning are still subject to some uncertainty, but it is clear that completion of a majority of the projects will lead to capacity shortage in the regional grids in question.

We believe that the long-term solution to grid capacity issues in both regions is grid reinforcement. However, due to considerable lead times in grid development, it might be necessary to investigate other means of facilitating a more rapid growth in consumption. A customized Elspot area structure could theoretically serve as one of several temporary solutions.

To determine the feasibility of an Elspot area, we have to consider a number of factors. A functioning area must:

       a. Have a good balance between consumption, production and exchange capacity. In other words, an area
           with a lot of production and very little consumption has to have a reasonably high exchange capacity.
       b. Be able to solve the given bottleneck issue. There is no point in establishing an area if it has no real
           influence on the issue at hand.
       c. Have production distributed among a number of independent market participants. No single production
           unit or market participant should be able to control pricing of an area.
       d. Have a sufficient amount of flexible production. An area largely comprised of production capacity from
           wind, solar or run-of-river will not be able to distribute resources corresponding with the variation in daily
           and yearly consumption.
       e. As far as practically possible, Elspot areas should not divide river systems. Two hydro-related generating
          units divided between two different Elspot areas run the risk of facing contradictory price signals causing
          impossible production schedules.

The areas in question meet criteria a., b. and e. fairly well, but both have a limited amount of flexible production, causing price formation to depend on just a couple of market participants.

The majority of production capacity in Sunnhordland is divided between a CCGT power plant and a wind farm facility. In this case, one producer in effect controls the entire flexibility. In Finnmark, inflexible wind and run-of-river hydro constitutes a large share of the production capacity, although distributed among a handful of market participants. In addition, the demand and supply situation varies greatly depending on the hourly, daily and seasonal changes in temperature, wind and inflow.

In both cases, it is reasonable to believe that the absence of flexibility would lead to very volatile prices.

Based on these considerations it is our conclusion that establishing local Elspot areas will not be a suitable short-term solution to potential grid capacity issues in the discussed regions.

5. Nordic Balance Settlement and introduction of Metering Grid Areas

Norway is set to implement the harmonized Nordic balance settlement model in April 2016. The metering methodology of this model requires the introduction of Metering Grid Areas that cannot be divided between two Elspot areas. As a direct consequence, Elspot interfaces can no longer be located to busbars. In the existing area structure both NO1-NO3 and NO5-NO3interfaces are partly defined by busbars, and have to be relocated^{^[3]}. Information about new locations will be published separately.

6. Flow Based Capacity Management

The European network code Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) states that Flow Based Capacity Management should be the preferred method for capacity calculations, and Statnett is working to realize the outline of the code within the specified timeframe. Studies to identify the most efficient area structure within the Flow Based framework have not yet been conducted, but it is possible that the introduction of Flow Based methodology will lead to changes in the Elspot area structure.

Maintaining an equivalent or improved level of transparency and market information is an important purpose of the network code. As NTC capacity values no longer will be available in the existing form, creating a new context for sharing and interpreting market information will be a major task in the Flow Based implementation process. Examining the Elspot area structure and constructing a method for communicating its characteristics could be a part of this process. Conclusions will be presented to the market as soon as a decision is made.

Lysaker, 8 April 2015

For further information, please contact Statnett:
Tom Tellefsen, Senior Vice president, System operation, + 47 90 53 68 27
Idar Gimmestad, Department Manager, National Control centre, + 47 99 54 88 19

[1] Visit project websites for more information, http://www.statnett.no/en/Projects/.

[2] Scheduled for upgrading to 420 kV by 2017.

[3] NO5-NO3 will be changed in advance of NBS due to commissioning of 420 kV Ørskog-Høyanger, as described in section 1.

No. 11/2015 - Update on Exchange Information No. 52/2014 (FRR-A contracting)

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 11:50:00 +0100

Information on 2015 FRR-A contracting (automatically frequency restoration reserve). The TSOs will contract a total Nordic volume of 300 MW in the following hours:

Morning hours:
For weeks 14-26 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 05:00-08:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).

Sunset hours:
For week 14-22 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 19:00-21:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)
For week 23-26 no FRR-A capacity will be contracted in the sunset hours.

No FRR-A capacity will be contracted in week 27-31.

TSOs will inform about the adjustments of the national procurement that are needed.

A new market message for FRR-A capacity contracting from week 32 2015 and onwards will follow later.

Lysaker, 16 March 2015

No. 10/2015 - Information regarding the Nordic TSOs’ handling of the solar eclipse on 20 March, 2015

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:35:00 +0100

The Nordic TSOs are, in cooperation with the continental TSOs, preparing to handle the solar eclipse on 20 March, 2015. Possible measures to be used during the event are being evaluated.

The Nordic TSOs will jointly prepare the Nordic system to manage any imbalances originating from shifts in the infeed from solar panel power production. This includes evaluation of the impact of the solar eclipse on the continental market and the associated effect on the Nordic system.

The impact on the market will depend on the actual solar radiation infeed during the event and the Nordic TSOs will inform the market of any potential measures taken to maintain security of supply before or during the event.

Lysaker, 11 March 2015

For more information please contact:
Energinet.dk: Lars Fogt Andersen
Statnett: Pål Kristian Myhrer Vormedal
Svenska Kraftnåt: Christer Back
Fingrid: Timo Kaukonen

More information can be found on the ENTSO-E website:

https://www.entsoe.eu/news-events/announcements/announcements-archive/Pages/News/20-March-Solar-Eclipse.aspx

No. 52/2014 - Update on Exchange Information No. 08/2014 (2014 FRR-A contracting)

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:52:00 +0100

Information on the contracting of FRR-A (automatically frequency restoration reserve) in 2015. The TSOs will contract a total Nordic volume of 300 MW in the following hours:

Morning hours:
For weeks 3-13 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 05:00-08:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday).

Sunset hours:
For week 3-11 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 17:00-19:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)
For week 12-13 the TSOs will contract FRR-A capacity for 19:00-21:00 CET for week days (Monday to Friday)

No FRR-A capacity will be contracted in week 1-2.

TSOs will inform about the adjustments of the national procurement that are needed.

A new market message for FRR-A capacity contracting from week 14 2015 and onwards will follow later.

Lysaker, 9 December 2014

No. 48/2014 - Two-way trading and ramping rules on the Finland - Russia 400 kV interconnection

Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:25:00 +0100

On 7 November 2014, Fingrid and the Russian grid parties signed agreements enabling two-way trading of electricity between Finland and Russia. Until this, cross-country transit of electricity via the 400 kV interconnectors was only possible from Russia to Finland, but now electricity can be transmitted in the other direction, as well. The technical export capacity from Finland to Russia is 350 MW and import capacity from Russia to Finland is 1400 MW, whereas the maximum trading capacities are respectively 320 MW and 1300 MW.

Fingrid and Russian parties, Federal Grid Company of the Unifield Energy System and System Operator of the United Power System, have also updated Operation Agreement concerning 400 kV cross-border connections between the countries including ramping rules at the hour shifts. After the change 600 MW ramping restriction from one hour to the other will be applied between Finland - Russia in the same manner, which is applied between Nordic synchronous system and Continental Europe as well as with Estonia.

Information concerning ramping rules in the energy markets is published in http://www.nordpoolspot.com/TAS/Day-ahead-market-Elspot/Ramping/

For more information, please contact Fingrid:
Jonne Jäppinen, Development Manager, +358 30 395 4225
Timo Kaukonen, Operational Planning Manager, +358 30 395 4228