Who should pay for frequency-containment ancillary services? Making responsible units bear the cost to shape investment in generation and loads

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Badesa, Luis, Matamala, Carlos, Strbac, Goran
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Badesa, Luis
Matamala, Carlos
Strbac, Goran
author_facet Badesa, Luis
Matamala, Carlos
Strbac, Goran
contents While the operating cost of electricity grids based on thermal generation was largely driven by the cost of fuel, as renewable penetration increases, ancillary services represent an increasingly large proportion of the running costs. Electric frequency is an important magnitude in highly renewable grids, as it becomes more volatile and therefore the cost related to maintaining it within safe bounds has significantly increased. So far, costs for frequency-containment ancillary services have been socialised in most countries, but it has become relevant to rethink this regulatory arrangement. In this paper, we discuss the issue of cost allocation for these services, highlighting the need to evolve towards a causation-based regulatory framework. We argue that parties responsible for creating the need for ancillary services should bear these costs. However, this would imply an important change in electricity market policy, therefore it is necessary to understand the impact on current and future investments on generation, as well as on electricity tariffs. Here we provide a mostly qualitative analysis of this issue, defining guidelines for practical implementation and further study.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2308_10629
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Who should pay for frequency-containment ancillary services? Making responsible units bear the cost to shape investment in generation and loads
Badesa, Luis
Matamala, Carlos
Strbac, Goran
Systems and Control
While the operating cost of electricity grids based on thermal generation was largely driven by the cost of fuel, as renewable penetration increases, ancillary services represent an increasingly large proportion of the running costs. Electric frequency is an important magnitude in highly renewable grids, as it becomes more volatile and therefore the cost related to maintaining it within safe bounds has significantly increased. So far, costs for frequency-containment ancillary services have been socialised in most countries, but it has become relevant to rethink this regulatory arrangement. In this paper, we discuss the issue of cost allocation for these services, highlighting the need to evolve towards a causation-based regulatory framework. We argue that parties responsible for creating the need for ancillary services should bear these costs. However, this would imply an important change in electricity market policy, therefore it is necessary to understand the impact on current and future investments on generation, as well as on electricity tariffs. Here we provide a mostly qualitative analysis of this issue, defining guidelines for practical implementation and further study.
title Who should pay for frequency-containment ancillary services? Making responsible units bear the cost to shape investment in generation and loads
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.10629