Europe-wide balancing platform delayed

National Grid has requested a year-long delay to its implementation of a new pan-European balancing platform.

The Trans European Replacement Reserve Exchange (Project TERRE) will allow transmission system operators (TSOs) to procure replacement reserves from interconnected neighbours.

It was due to launch in December 2019, but the French transmission system operator, RTE, has requested a 12-month derogation because of difficulties in implementing the platform.

RTE said it now expects to be ready for go live in June 2020.

As France acts as a gateway to the exchange for Great Britain, the electricity system operator (ESO) at National Grid has therefore requested a matching derogation.

Nearly all of the TSOs participating in the project have also decided to delay, with the only exception being the TSO in the Czech Republic.

In a letter to stakeholders, the ESO said it had not taken the decision lightly but explained that joining the platform before others are ready would only add to costs without achieving any benefits.

“This does not mean that we are pausing work on our IT systems,” added National Grid ESO’s head of commercial, Richard Smith.

“We will continue to focus on the implementation of wider balancing market access for go-live in 2019 which is expected to deliver benefits of over £100 million per annum.”

Replacement reserves are used to maintain the frequency of the power grid once a deviation from the correct level has already been contained and reversed by faster responding reserves.

Not all transmission system operators in the EU use or will use replacement reserves, but as one of the ones that does, National Grid is legally required to participate in TERRE under new EU regulations.

In August last year, Ofgem approved a series of changes to industry codes being introduced in preparation for Project TERRE. Among the reforms was the creation of the new role of virtual lead party, giving direct access to the balancing mechanism for aggregators.