The Grid Working Group
The grid is experiencing far-reaching changes, more specifically the large-scale integration of renewable sources, the ongoing integration of European electricity markets and the shift towards more active demand management.
As such, the design of electricity markets must evolve to allow for the energy transition while guaranteeing accessibility and security of supply.
These regulations and transformations significantly impact the management of the grid, which must remain balanced and within operational limits. As a result, Elia needs to develop new skills, operational processes and digital tools to adapt to emerging challenges.
What aspects are covered by the Grid Working Group?
This working group aims to:
- proactively approach participants during the development of regulatory documents and concepts in order to exchange ideas/needs;
- gather participants' views in order to improve proposals, taking their needs into account;
- explain the principles of the TSO's processes, going into sufficient detail to enable constructive interaction;
- keep participants abreast of any relevant developments (transparency, no surprises);
- achieve all this while maintaining a cross-functional view of the organisation of activities through the governance of ENTSO-E, MCSC, Core CCR and Central CCR.
The working group covers the following topics:
- European Market: the development of the regulatory framework as well as the design and implementation of congestion management and market coupling solutions for the forward, day-ahead and intraday markets
- System Services Design: internal operational processes and the design of services provided by external parties to manage emergencies, grid losses, voltage and frequency stability, outage planning, scheduling and redispatching, including flexible connections
- Operations: the annual report from the National Control Centre, the seasonal forecasts and the revision thereof, as well as discussions on exceptional situations affecting the grid
Cooperation with market players
All energy market players (grid users, suppliers, balance responsible parties, aggregators, energy service providers, federations, as well as the Belgian authorities and regulators) are invited to take part in this working group.
Elia firmly believes that such cooperation will lead to a sound solution based on a common position that takes into account the needs and constraints of all energy market players.
Before requesting the necessary approvals, Elia will take into account the Grid Working Group's opinion when drawing up its final proposals.
Organisation
The Grid Working Group meets between four and seven times a year and reports directly to the plenary meeting.
In general, only some of the topics falling within the working group's remit will be discussed during the meetings. Participants will be given three weeks' notice of the planned topics and a tentative agenda so that they can organise their attendance based on their interests. The agenda will be organised by grouping topics together as efficiently as possible, taking into account the range of interests involved. Participants are encouraged to attend in person, though a hybrid option will be offered. Presentations and discussions will take place in English.
The group's administrative tasks are handled by:
- Co-chairs: Walter Geelen and Benjamin Genêt
- Secretary: Guillaume Valentin
