Flow-based market coupling in the Central Western European region - on the eve of implementation

摘要

The European target model for the Electricity market in 2014 is a single European price coupling for the day-ahead market. At the core of this single European price coupling, is the targeted coordinated capacity calculation by the TSOs. The coordinated capacity calculation process shall encompass the following steps: 1) Setting up individual TSO's base cases (grid models), 2) Merging of these individual files into a European-wide common grid model, 3) Capacity calculation, on a regional basis, 4) Validation of the results, to ensure the feasibility of the calculated capacities. By optimizing the capacity calculation and allocation, the target model aims at promoting market integration, facilitating the European market functioning and efficiency, and improving the European social welfare while guaranteeing the Security of Supply. In Central Western Europe (CWE) - a region consisting of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Germany - a single price coupling was launched successfully as of November 9, 2010. At the origin of this market coupling (MC) process lies a coordinated ATC capacity calculation method that was designed and implemented by the CWE TSOs. For several years now, the CWE TSOs have been working on the 'next-step' coordinated capacity calculation method, the 'flow-based methodology' (FB), and reported on their work in 2008. The methodology, that was still in a theoretical stage at that time, has evolved by extensive experimentation and some theoretical improvements, and is now 'operationalized'. This means that the implementation of a flow-based market coupling (FBMC) in CWE, as a next (r)evolutionary step in the European market integration, is now envisaged.