(2) Transmission investment
The TSOs are responsible for transmission
planning and investment. Together, they draft a
framework that forecasts developments in the
German electricity market over the next decade
under different scenarios. After the federal network agency, Bundesnetzagentur, reviews and
approves the framework, the TSOs define their
transmission investment in line with the framework and draft a network development plan. If
the investment project is located in one state
only, it is submitted to the state government
concerned for approval. If the investment project
involves more than one state, the federal network
agency makes the final approval decision.
The TSOs coordinate their operation and
transmission planning with each other, with TSOs
in other European countries and with power
exchanges, in order to use existing generation and
transmission capacities efficiently. The European
TSOs participate in regional security coordination
initiatives (RSCIs) to harmonise their electricity
system operations. Developed voluntarily by the
TSOs, RSCIs are service providers with no live
system operation capabilities. They coordinate
security analysis, short- and medium-term adequacy forecasts, capacity calculations and outage
planning. The TSOs use services provided by
RSCIs as input alongside with national factors for
their final decision-making. Neighbouring TSOs
collaborate to develop regional RSCIs, but they
are currently working on a European-wide, central
verification platform. The European TSOs will
submit their planned energy exchange to this
single central platform that will compare and
coordinate the TSOs’ actions.
The TSOs make investments in transmission
assets. Merchants are involved in consortiums
that invest in interconnectors that link Germany
to its neighbours.
(3) Level of locational pricing
Germany does not have locational pricing on
transmission and faces rising redispatch costs as a
result. The federal network agency reported that in
2014 the TSOs intervened in generation and redispatched on 330 days. The intervention concerned
5,197 GWh of power and cost €186.7 million.
Redispatch costs are passed on to end consumers. In
2015, the costs increased to €402.5 million.
Transmission charges levied by the TSOs do
not have any temporal (time-of-use) or locational
component.
(4) Modernising network arrangements
Germany has an increasing share of intermittent
renewable energy in its electricity mix. It aims to
introduce flexible non-network services to integrate intermittency of renewable resources efficiently and thereby improve the reliability of its
electricity sector and supply security.
TSOs allow retail end customers to auction for
demand curtailment. The TSOs can enter into
contracts with end consumers to curtail their
demand at short notice when demand peaks. The
TSOs compensate end consumers whose demand
is curtailed with a fee. The level of the fee is set
in weekly auctions. The auctions are designed for
medium and large industrial end customers with
high power consumption, but residential customers can also participate in the auctions
through aggregators.
There are several pilot projects and public
funding available for battery storage. For example, Younicos built a battery park in Schwering
to assist the distribution grid with frequency
regulation and integration of wind energy. Similarly, ENERCON provides primary control services to Feldheim, whose energy mix is 100%
renewables. Since 2013 the German government
provides grants to incentivise battery storage of
energy generated by photovoltaic panels.
(5) Summary of arrangements
See Table 7.
(6) Australia
(1) Institutional arrangements
Before market reform, Australia’s power market
comprised vertically integrated state-owned
monopolies. Examples include the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and the Electricity
Commission of New South Wales. State governments appointed boards of commissioners
which were responsible for the operations of the
companies. This structure was also present in
Special Report 1: A Study of China’s Energy Supply Revolution
119
The TSOs are responsible for transmission
planning and investment. Together, they draft a
framework that forecasts developments in the
German electricity market over the next decade
under different scenarios. After the federal network agency, Bundesnetzagentur, reviews and
approves the framework, the TSOs define their
transmission investment in line with the framework and draft a network development plan. If
the investment project is located in one state
only, it is submitted to the state government
concerned for approval. If the investment project
involves more than one state, the federal network
agency makes the final approval decision.
The TSOs coordinate their operation and
transmission planning with each other, with TSOs
in other European countries and with power
exchanges, in order to use existing generation and
transmission capacities efficiently. The European
TSOs participate in regional security coordination
initiatives (RSCIs) to harmonise their electricity
system operations. Developed voluntarily by the
TSOs, RSCIs are service providers with no live
system operation capabilities. They coordinate
security analysis, short- and medium-term adequacy forecasts, capacity calculations and outage
planning. The TSOs use services provided by
RSCIs as input alongside with national factors for
their final decision-making. Neighbouring TSOs
collaborate to develop regional RSCIs, but they
are currently working on a European-wide, central
verification platform. The European TSOs will
submit their planned energy exchange to this
single central platform that will compare and
coordinate the TSOs’ actions.
The TSOs make investments in transmission
assets. Merchants are involved in consortiums
that invest in interconnectors that link Germany
to its neighbours.
(3) Level of locational pricing
Germany does not have locational pricing on
transmission and faces rising redispatch costs as a
result. The federal network agency reported that in
2014 the TSOs intervened in generation and redispatched on 330 days. The intervention concerned
5,197 GWh of power and cost €186.7 million.
Redispatch costs are passed on to end consumers. In
2015, the costs increased to €402.5 million.
Transmission charges levied by the TSOs do
not have any temporal (time-of-use) or locational
component.
(4) Modernising network arrangements
Germany has an increasing share of intermittent
renewable energy in its electricity mix. It aims to
introduce flexible non-network services to integrate intermittency of renewable resources efficiently and thereby improve the reliability of its
electricity sector and supply security.
TSOs allow retail end customers to auction for
demand curtailment. The TSOs can enter into
contracts with end consumers to curtail their
demand at short notice when demand peaks. The
TSOs compensate end consumers whose demand
is curtailed with a fee. The level of the fee is set
in weekly auctions. The auctions are designed for
medium and large industrial end customers with
high power consumption, but residential customers can also participate in the auctions
through aggregators.
There are several pilot projects and public
funding available for battery storage. For example, Younicos built a battery park in Schwering
to assist the distribution grid with frequency
regulation and integration of wind energy. Similarly, ENERCON provides primary control services to Feldheim, whose energy mix is 100%
renewables. Since 2013 the German government
provides grants to incentivise battery storage of
energy generated by photovoltaic panels.
(5) Summary of arrangements
See Table 7.
(6) Australia
(1) Institutional arrangements
Before market reform, Australia’s power market
comprised vertically integrated state-owned
monopolies. Examples include the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and the Electricity
Commission of New South Wales. State governments appointed boards of commissioners
which were responsible for the operations of the
companies. This structure was also present in
Special Report 1: A Study of China’s Energy Supply Revolution
119