How to get a quick grasp of the world of renewable electricity trading? The rise of renewables in electricity supply is rapidly changing the nature of the grid infrastructure and how we buy, sell, and trade electricity. From Transmission Service Operators (TSOs), ancillary services, and aggregators to intraday spot markets, it can be hard to keep up (or even begin to understand) the terminology and the web of activity taking place in this electricity grid-market interface.
This glossary, forming part of a larger upcoming publication on renewable electricity trading, is the first step to familiarizing yourself with the key terms, players, markets, and services in this exciting field. We'll make it as easy and comprehensible as A-B-C!
A
- aFRR: stands for Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve. It is a type of grid balancing service that is employed by TSOs automatically during deviations from the regular grid frequency of 50 or 60 Hertz (depending on the country). This reserve of electricity is procured from balancing service providers (energy suppliers) and should be used within 5 minutes after receiving an imbalance signal from the grid.
- Aggregator: A type of energy provider that acts as a broker between consumers and energy suppliers. Essentially, they are responsible for coordinating Distributed Energy Sources (DES) and smaller generating power units and then trading their electricity to optimally supply the grid. Aggregators can take different forms: operators of virtual power plants, coordinators of peer-to-peer platforms, or managers of the distribution and trading of electricity from larger energy suppliers.
- Ancillary services: ensuring proper functioning of the grid. Under this also fall balancing services.
B
- Balancing Mechanism: ...
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