National Grid ESO is looking to indefinitely postpone the phaseout of its Dynamic and Static Firm Frequency Response (FFR) systems.
The operator has set out a new consultation on both Dynamic and Static FFR, following which it hopes to continue to procure the services beyond March 2023.
It currently procures around 250MW of Static FFR, which provides support for post fault frequency recovery to within statutory grid limits of 49.5Hz, within a minute from an excursion.
“We intend to continue to procure Static FFR for the foreseeable future. We see it as a cost-efficient option to support post fault frequency recovery to meet our frequency obligations,” the operator stated.
“Therefore, we are making minimal changes to the service to be able to procure it in a manner compliant with the Clean Energy Package (CEP).”
The key changes it is consulting on are; the daily procurement of Static FFR, the payment mechanism, the requirement to submit independent bids for each EFA block, the automatic formation of contracts, and the prequalification and testing managed via the Single Market Platform.
National Grid ESO currently procures 300 – 350MW of Dynamic FFR, which delivers power automatically proportional to frequency deviations
It is intending on replacing the service with its Dynamic Moderation (DM) and Dynamic Regulation (DR) products. But it needs to grow these markets as it phases out Dynamic FFR, said the ESO.
“This will require some time for the markets to mature and some ESO system and process changes to correctly reflect the new products in our real time response holdings,” National Grid ESO stated.
“To enable a smooth transition, we will request a derogation against CEP 6(9) to procure Dynamic FFR beyond March 2023.”
National Grid ESO launched DM on 6 May, and DR on 8 April 2022. These followed on from the launch of its Dynamic Containment service which went live in October 2020.
The operator’s consultation on Dynamic and Static FFR services is set to close on 28 October.
