Energy providers hail “new era” for flexibility as Europe moves to quarter-hourly electricity trading
Clean Energy Wire
The upcoming change to 15-minute-trading intervals on Europe’s electricity market on 1 October has been hailed by energy companies as a leap forward in the region’s efforts to transition towards renewable energy supply. Energy provider Vattenfall said the change on the day-ahead-market from one hour to quarter-hourly pricing shifts would herald “a new era” that better reflects weather dynamics shaping renewable energy output, thereby allowing more flexibility and a market design that truly integrates wind and solar power production.
“The reform opens an opportunity to make the integration of electricity from wind and solar power installations even more efficient,” said Jörg Seidel, head of short-term output optimisation at Vattenfall. The “rigid” structure of hourly trading so far had led to inefficiencies and re-adjustments, which should become a thing of the past with the new and more granular system in place.
“Supply and demand can now be reflected much more accurately,” which would allow for a more efficient use of batteries or pumped-storage systems, Seidel added. Power customers could benefit from this by combining smart meters and dynamic power tariffs to receive electricity when it is cheapest. “Flexibility more and more is becoming the energy transition’s currency,” Seidel said.
Energy provider 1Komma5° also lauded the electricity trading reform that is linked to the EU’s Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC) effort as a step towards more efficient electricity trading across borders. Traders now had 96 instead of only 24 intervals available every day to reflect power generation, which would “reflect reality much more accurately,” said company co-founder Jannik Schall.
“Price differences become more clearly visible,” Schall said, which would incentivise investments in flexibility. More price peaks and dips throughout the day also allowed higher earnings for traders and increase the demand for even better forecasts, trading systems, and financial instruments to cover the more detailed pricing scheme.
Schall said smart metering and systems that launch electric appliances such as heat pumps, batteries or wallboxes for charging electric vehicles when prices are lowest are needed to let customers truly benefit from the changes. “Those who don’t use flexible devices or don’t have a dynamic tariff won’t immediately take note of the switch,” he added.
The EU has worked for decades to merge the electricity markets of its member states and make the flow of power across borders as seamless as possible. As renewables reshape electricity systems, it is ever more important to integrate ever more to strengthen supply security, ensure affordability and advance sustainability.
