PEGAS has launched Congestion Management Products (CMP) on the French Nord and TRS delivery zones, to help the Transmission System Operators GRTgaz and TIGF manage potential congestions on their grids.
The Nord and TRS zones are scheduled to merge in 2018 but bottlenecks could still occur in some specific flow configurations. Some can be observed already today, such as during last winter when grids witnessed periods of high tensions. To avoid these situations, physical mechanisms, such as forced renomination instructions, already exist. However GRTgaz and TIGF, following network code directions, have expressed the need for market- based solutions to complete the set of available tools. The CMP were designed for that purpose, in close cooperation with the market participants and the French regulator CRE (Commission de Régulation de l’Energie). They will be introduced as additional products on the existing PEGAS locational balancing platform.
Thierry Trouvé, CEO of GRTgaz, says: “The new spot contracts are a significant step forward in solving potential congestion issues on the grid as they will give a clear priority to the flexibilities that are already available in the market. Powernext, who has been supporting our balancing needs in many innovative ways since 2007, is our natural partner, through its PEGAS platform, for this new project.”
Dominique Mockly, CEO of TIGF, says: “Being able to use this solution before the upcoming winter is very satisfying. Prior to the Nord/TRS merger (TRF) planned for 1st November 2018, it was important to test this mechanism in order to train the market and make any required adjustments. We are pleased that PEGAS was able to adapt to our needs and match this challenging deadline.”
Dr Egbert Laege (pictured), President of Powernext, adds: “PEGAS is determined to continue supporting the TSOs in their balancing needs as it has done for the past decade. These CMP were designed, using our spread technology, to facilitate TSOs’ and members’ trading experience. Market participants showed a strong support to this mechanism.”
