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Project
Integration of Flexibility Procurement in the Sequence of Electricity Markets
Conflicts might arise between Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs) that both want to use Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) for grid services. On the one hand, flexible resources connected to the distribution network are entering TSOs’ balancing market. On the other hand, the same flexibility services can be used for congestion management by DSOs. To successfully activate large amounts of DERs for grid services of both system operators, improved coordination between TSOs and DSOs will be required. This problem is recognized by European stakeholders and addressed by the design of three possible configurations between the TSO balancing market and TSO & DSO congestion management. Two interaction schemes have a coordinated approach, where system operators organize their congestion management together or operate the three grid services as one integrated market. In the third configuration, which represents current practice, the balancing and congestion management of the system operators are organized separately and the activation of DERs is handled by the prequalification process. As described by the European System Operation Guideline (SOGL), prequalification gives DSOs the right to refuse the participation of DERs to the TSO balancing market based on technical constraints. However, this independent market design with prequalification rather creates a competitive interaction between system operators for DERs than a cooperative one, and will be the main focus of this doctoral dissertation. The aim of the first paper is to identify this competition between system operators for DERs and to analyze the role of penalties and compensations in the prequalification process. The scope of the second paper could be more long-term, such that the interplay between the prequalification process and the investment decisions of DERs by market parties can be examined. The third paper could study the influence of nodal pricing at transmission level on prequalification and the competitive interaction between system operators.
Date:1 Apr 2020 → 30 Mar 2024
Keywords:TSO-DSO coordination, Distributed Energy Resources, Flexibility mechanisms
Disciplines:Energy generation, conversion and storage engineering not elsewhere classified
Project type:PhD project