All about Grid Stability

In the energy sector, the term “curtailment” refers to the reduction of power production (“generation curtailment”) or – less frequently - power consumption (“load curtailment”) when there is too much electricity in the grid (generation curtailment) or when there is not enough power in the grid (load curtailment). Curtailment aims at lessening the stress on the grid at a given moment of the day. Most commonly, curtailment is associated with the reduction of infeed from renewable energy sources.

Ancillary services ensure a proper operation of the power grid. The grid operators (transmission grid operators and distribution grid operators) are responsible for ancillary services. To ensure a reliable power supply, it is necessary that frequency, voltage, and power load remain within certain limits. This does not happen automatically, but through continuous corrections: namely, ancillary services. The most renowned service is probably the frequency control/balancing energy. Even in the event of a blackout, ancillary services help restart the power grid as quickly as possible. Ancillary services can be divided into four sections : Frequency measure, voltage measure, supply reconstruction, and operational management.

Thu., December 3 2020, 10 a.m. (CET)

The uptake of electric vehicles (EV) is accelerating across the globe and paving the way for clean mobility. EVs can play a key role in the energy transition with their massive storage potential and charging capacity. Orchestrated in a Virtual Power Plant, EVs provide a clean and distributed alternative to conventional power plants in keeping the grid in balance.

To ensure the required grid frequency of 50 or 60 Hz (depending on the concerning country) the Transmission System Operators (TSO) of each country need instruments to maintain this reference value. These instruments are the balancing services. Balancing services are reactive short-term means to level out frequency deviations in the power grid. When frequency deviations occur, e.g. in consequence of a power plant outage, the Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) intervenes automatically within seconds in the entire synchronous area to restore the balance between supply and demand. The FCR, also known as primary control reserve, is the first response to frequency disturbances. If the deviation persists, the Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserves (aFRR) subsequently replace the primary control reserve.

After two years of development, in August 2020, Next Kraftwerke and Jedlix started offering secondary reserve power (aFRR) to the Dutch grid using a pool of electric vehicles (EVs). Nick Hubbers, Jedlix, and Elias De Keyser, Next Kraftwerke, talk about their ambitions, how they realized this project, and what they learned along the way on using electric vehicles to balance the grid. Fasten your seat belts and keep reading!

On Friday 14 Aug, an extremely hot and dry day in California and the west, California’s independent system operator (CAISO) had to resort to limited rolling blackouts that affected approximately 400,000 customers in California on Friday and the following Saturday 15 Aug.

In a Virtual Power Plant, thousands of systems provide balancing services every day. But how exactly are the individual units selected for the provision of balancing energy? Which factors are taken into consideration?

How the mixed-pricing system turns the security of the electricity grid into a speculative mass: On the sixth, 12th and 25th of June 2019, market distortions occurred in Germany; some of which had severe effects on the electricity grid.

The term ‘dispatch’ refers to resource planning at a power plant by the plant’s operator. ’Redispatch’ refers to a short-term change in how a power plant is utilized. This request comes at the behest of a transmission system operator to prevent bottlenecks in the grid.

It is well-know that household alternating current (AC) in Germany and Europe has a frequency of 50 Hertz (Hz), while other parts of the world run on 60 Hz. What is less known is that this utility frequency (also known as mains frequency or grid frequency) also provides information about the ratio of electricity generation to electricity consumption in a power grid. If the frequency drops too low, there is not enough electricity in the grid; if the frequency increases too much, there is too much electricity in the grid. An intelligent supply-demand mechanism and a functional system for ancillary services to compensate for frequency deviation is necessary to keep the utility frequency at a stable 50 or 60 Hz.