Becoming a Balancing Service Provider

Elia acquires balancing services by means of a general framework agreement covering both procurement and provision.

Elia procures balancing services via European public procurement procedures. Elia publishes all documents required by legislation on the relevant European sites and at the end of every year publishes a Periodic Indicative Notice (PIN) setting out the services to be bought the following year.

System qualification procedure

Products procured via a System Qualification procedure are governed by General Framework Agreements that can cover several years. Procurement (of any duration) is organised as per the applicable General Framework Agreement.
Any party wishing to provide a balancing service must become a qualified provider.

At present, Elia uses CIPU contracts to govern use of non-reserved flexibility for balancing services at generation units subject to CIPU contracts. These balancing services are currently excluded from the general framework discussed here.

graphic

1 Become a qualified provider


  • A party should apply to become a qualified provider before signing the General Framework. Potential providers can apply by sending Elia a completed application form and the sworn statement required for the service in question.
    Upon receipt of these documents, Elia will have two weeks to approve or reject the application.     
    Applicants can be excluded from the process on certain grounds, such as being bankrupt or having a criminal record. Elia will also ask that applicants undergo financial screening (generally involving a financial report compiled by an independent assessment firm taking into account balance sheets, liquidity ratios, solvency, and so on).

    Relevant documents for step 1

2 Sign the General Framework

3 Prequalify delivery points


  • Depending on the product, a prequalification procedure is required for every delivery point to ensure that the service will be delivered correctly. The respective General Framework documents outline the specific procedures to be followed for each product.

    Relevant technical documentation for step 3

4 Bid in short-term auctions

5 Deliver


  • A BSP must offer flexibility for Day D at least equal to the capacity contracted in the auction for the delivery period in question.  A BSP can also offer ‘free’ flexibility for balancing services.

    Grid Data - Balancing Activation page



This website uses cookies to provide you with an optimal browsing experience. Some cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of this website and cannot be rejected, while others are used for analytical/functional/targeting purposes and can be rejected. For more information, please consult ourCookie Policy . You can manage/change your cookie preferences at any time. If you do not manage your preferences, only the cookies which are strictly necessary will be accepted.