Balancing Strategies Evaluation Framework Using Available Multi-Area Data

The penetration of variable renewable energy sources, the deregulation of electricity markets, and the expansion of HVDC-transmission capacities all increase the variability, uncertainty, and imbalances for system operators (SOs) to handle. Meanwhile, frequency quality has deteriorated and occurrence of balancing problems has increased. Therefore, there is an increased need for SOs to improve their balancing strategies. In this paper, we present a new balancing evaluation framework. The main idea of the framework is to be applicable for real and large power systems and provide support for SOs when comparing already used balancing strategies with new ones using historical available data. This is important as only comparatively low-resolution data measurements such as hourly mean values for production, consumption, and HVDC transmission are stored in many power systems. The framework consists of model building, system parameter identification, testing different strategies, and targets supporting the corporate missions of the SOs. In a case study, the framework is tested for a real power system where the model setup mimics measured frequency accurately. The case study illustrates how the framework can be used to evaluate the impact of different balancing strategies on a series of selected targets, which support the cooperate missions of ENTSO-E.