Public consultation on the Proposal for Amendment to the Balancing Rules in the context of the connection to the aFRR Platform

Context

Currently, the aFRR service is organized locally. In accordance with Article 21 of the Regulation 2017/2195 establishing a guideline on electricity balancing (EBGL), all European TSOs must develop a European platform for the exchange of aFRR balancing energy. 

In 2022, Elia identified a risk of frequent high prices and corresponding drastic cost increases following the adoption of marginal pricing and the relaxation of the general bid price limit for aFRR energy bids. To mitigate the identified risk, additional mitigation measures are required and have been extensively discussed with the stakeholders. 

Specifically, Elia proposes an effective mitigation of the identified risk via the combination of:

• an introduction of temporary bid price limits for contracted aFRR energy bids (which is part of the proposal for amendment to the T&C BSP aFRR); and
• the application of an elastic demand for aFRR balancing energy.
  
  

The possibility for TSOs to introduce -on a voluntary basis- an elastic aFRR demand has recently been proposed at European level via a proposal for amendment of the implementation framework for the European aFRR Platform (the aFRR IF). This proposal for amendment to the aFRR IF describes among others that the rules to define the volume and price thresholds for the elastic aFRR demand are to be determined at local level. 

In this context, this proposal for amendment to the Balancing Rules specifies that Elia intends to make use of the possibility of introducing an elastic aFRR demand and describes the rules for determining the volume and price thresholds for the aFRR elastic demand. The rules for determining the volume and price thresholds, as well as their impact in terms of both prices/costs and regulation quality have been presented in a dedicated workshop that has taken place on February 29th, 2024. 

Period

Elia invites all stakeholders to submit any comments and suggestions they may have on the documents submitted for consultation. 

The consultation period runs from 29 March 2024 to 29 April 2024.

After the consultation period, Elia will analyze and integrate in a consultation report the collected reactions from the market parties as well as Elia’s responses to them. Elia will publish on its website this consultation report together with the reactions of the market parties (including names) that are not explicitly indicated as confidential.