Energy balance in the new electricity business context

During the last years many changes have happened in the electricity sector, leading to a paradigm shift that could meet new aspirations, needs and objectives, such as: moving to an user centric approach, supported by valueadded services, innovative price plans, micro-generation, etc.; improving supply overall security while increasing DER and electricity distribution capacity; promoting an effective liberalized market; implementing Demand Side Management (DSM) measures in order to answer to the external pressure for energy efficiency; and implementing a network transformation, supported by assets and processes renovation and by network automation capabilities. In the new Distribution business concept, Energy Balance concept emerges to quantify the energy consumed or produced by a network or system, associated with the analysis of the energy flows through various dimensions that will help answering to operational, business and market needs. Supported by a business benefits analysis, we believe that accurate and detailed Energy Balances will be decisive for future investment decisions (CAPEX), OPEX resulting from the need to take corrective actions over the network, and more commercial and financial approaches related to billing and unaccounted energy, among others. In this context, EDP Distribuicao is working in order to redefine its IT Architecture and to introduce the necessary components to respond to challenges that are being faced, namely the ones mentioned that are correlated with the Energy Balance concept. THE RELEVANCE OF THE ENERGY BALANCE CONCEPT IMPLEMENTATION Why EDPD needs to correctly characterize energy flows within distribution network Being Portuguese mainland DNO, with approximately 6 million customers, excepting some thousand installations from small LV Distributors, EDPD is also responsible for metering data acquisition, management and delivery to other entities and market players. GENERATION AND TRANSPORT DISTRIBUTION CONSUMPTION Energy Production ? Balance between Energy Consumption and Energy Production Energy Consumption ► ► S gm eted A n aysis ? Consumers Group Z Consumers Group A ► S gm eted A n aysis Figure 1 – Energy Balance conceptual draw This responsibility extends the traditionally more technical concept of Energy Balance corresponding to the internal point of view to a different and expanded one that also takes into account the market related needs, completing an important set of reasons to effectively characterize energy flows: • Precisely determine energy amount to be billed due to network operations, according to applicable regulation; • Provide information to all market players so that they can clearly identify individual payments and contributions, namely entities like TNO and Supplier of Last Resort (SLR); • Provide daily reconciliation information to System Operator in order to calculate energy balances and necessary adjustments between acquired energy from each market supplier and total amount of energy consumed by their customer’s portfolio [2]; • Deliver information to liberalized market agents about their’s clients energy consumptions [3]; • Control and determine energy balance between MV incumbent operator and LV DNOs; • Support Special Regime Generation payments management operations by the Supplier of Last Resort , as well as the subsidized costs (over costs) redistribution among the related players; • Provide regular data to the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) and the Directorate General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), like: electricity C I R E D 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution Prague, 8-11 June 2009 Paper 0476 CIRED2009 Session 6 Paper No 0476 consumption from different segment levels in order to calculate market profiles; energy balances between market players; SRP; etc; • Calculate network technical losses and identify ways to improve operation; • Identify and control commercial losses, particularly frauds affecting contracted power demand and energy; revenue assurance; • Optimize overall network operation through correct and earlier address of needs, in order to keep coping with quality of service required by legislation and, simultaneously, improve efficiency and create operational and financial conditions for network modernization demand by near future challenges. Mentioned needs were identified based on actual services completed by an extensive processes gap analysis that evolved several organizations. Based on that, it was possible to identify areas to be improved through the implementation of a new application that will address the EB in its different perspectives – from technical to commercial, including relation with other stakeholders. Conceptually speaking, it corresponds to the implementation of a centralized application where meter data and events from all installations are aggregated and added-value EDM functions could be implemented. Data Sources Availability Low High Market & Regulation t l ti R1 Distributed Generation R2 Micro-generation R5 Energy Consumption R6 Energy Balance for Distribution Net. R3 Energy Balance w/ National Grid